West Ottawa Meet

West Ottawa Results
Due to the amount of illness going around the team, we decided to bring only those who were healthy and swim only the events we felt our girls needed. It was a strange feeling giving a pump up speech to only 16 swimmers last night, but I'm confident that those who are ill will be ship-shape by next week when it really starts to count. High points of last night include Cristee Cordes breaking the school and WO's pool record in 6 dives and qualifying our 200 free relay for state. Congratulations Cristee on taking down a 13 year old record!

Mission: Stay Healthy!
I talked with the girls a few times during the week this week and last night on the bus
about staying healthy this last week of season. I've repeated myself many times that "It is MUCH more important that you are healthy, than you are here at practice." The girls need to understand that staying home until they are 100% helps both them and the team by keeping the rest of the team from getting sick and preventing them from getting worse by exerting themselves. These two weeks are important but the truth is that if they are swimming sick at conference, no amount of "taper" is going to help them. Taper is all about rest and if that is what they are doing at home, they are going to swim fine come conference time.

Please keep your girls at home if they show any of the following signs:
-Heavy Cough/Chest Congestion
-Fever
-Stomach Ache
-Vomiting/Diarrhea
-Body Aches

Here are some tips I've shared with the girls about preventing illness.
-Wash your hands A LOT!
-Keep your hands off your face (this years flu's have only been linked to infection through the nose, eyes and mouth)
-Be mindful of touching other people and other commonly touched surfaces.
-Take all of the vitamins and minerals your body needs to have a healthy immune system
-Rest, rest, rest, rest, rest
-Drinking warm liquids and gargling with salt-water help keep infection from starting

Please help our team's efforts to staying healthy for the one of the most important meets of the season.


H1N1 Information
Thanks to Randy VanHoven for sending out the following info on H1N1 as a few cases seem to be making their way through both Grandville and Kenowa Hills districts.

Symptom	Cold	H1N1 Flu
Fever	Fever is rare with a cold .	Fever is usually present with the flu in up to 80% of all flu cases . A temperature of 100°F or higher for 3 to 4 days is associated with the flu .
Coughing	A hacking, productive (mucus- producing) cough is often present with a cold .	A non-productive (non-mucus producing) cough is usually present with the flu (sometimes referred to as dry cough) .
Aches	Slight body aches and pains can be part of a cold .	Severe aches and pains are common with the flu .
Stuffy Nose	Stuffy nose is commonly present with a cold and typically resolves spontaneously within a week .	Stuffy nose is not commonly present with the flu .
Chills	Chills are uncommon with a cold .	60% of people who have the flu experience chills .
Tiredness	Tiredness is fairly mild with a cold ..	Tiredness is moderate to severe with the flu .
Sneezing	Sneezing is commonly present with a cold .	Sneezing is not common with the flu .
Sudden Symptoms	Cold symptoms tend to develop over a few days .	The flu has a rapid onset within 3-6 hours . The flu hits hard and includes sudden symptoms like high fever, aches and pains .
Headache	A headache is fairly uncommon with a cold .	A headache is very common with the flu, present in 80% of flu cases .
Sore Throat	Sore throat is commonly present with a cold .	Sore throat is not commonly present with the flu .
Chest Discomfort	Chest discomfort is mild to moderate with a cold .	Chest discomfort is often severe with the flu .