"Old Is The New Black"

There is so much in the news today about Ebola.  I asked myself, the other day, how concerned am I? I'm going to be traveling quite a bit this winter, by air, and that is the part that concerns me.  I know so many people who, after flying on an airplane, get sick with different respiratory illnesses.  According to the CDC approximately 20% of all travelers incur an upper respiratory infection and it's the viral pathogen respiratory infection that's the most common.  Here is a list of causative agents:  Thinovirus, respiratory synctial virus, influenza virus, human metapneumovirus, adenovirus and coronavirus. Legionella pneumophila and coxiella burnetii can also cause outbreaks of a respiratory illness.  To make matters worse for us snowbirds the best (or worse?) time of the year to travel is December through February.  In the southern hemisphere the peak flu season is June through August.   If you travel to a tropical zone you are at risk a...

  Sure, coffee and tea help us stay awake, but they may also help us stay alive.  Among nearly 2,500 people over age 40, coffee and tea drinkers died at lower rates over 10 years than those who abstained, a study shows.  Each daily cup of joe -- regular or decaf -- cut coffee lovers' risk of death by 7%.  Each cup of tea slashed the risk by 9%. Source:  Nutrition