Keeping Yourself Well During Cold and Flu Season
Staying healthy during the cold and flu season is important for several reasons. You want to avoid being sick, even for a day or two. Others are counting on you, whether you’re on caregiver duty, getting your children ready for school, or helping with the church bazaar.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) keeps track of each flu season and reports that 5-20% of people will end up getting sick. As for colds, adults average 2-3 a year, and children about 6-8. Why do we tend to catch the flu or a cold in the winter, anyway?
• Cold weather brings people indoors, making it easier for exposure. A sneeze can send droplets into the air to anyone nearby. Also, the flu virus is more stable at cold temperatures, so it can last longer.
• Humidity is lower in the winter, allowing the droplets from sneezes and coughs to hang in the air longer. The drier air can make mucus membranes work harder to protect the respiratory system from letting in flu and cold viruses.
You’ve gotten your flu shot, of course. And you know that you should wash your hands more often. What else can you do to prevent becoming ill?
• Wash your hands even more often. A doctor or nurse will wash hands or use a sanitizer before and after each patient contact, up to fifty times a day. “I try to wash for 20 seconds - sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to myself twice,” says Nancy Hughes, MS, RN, Director of the Center for Occupational and Environmental Health in Silver Spring, Md.
• When using public restrooms, use paper towels to dry your hands, turn off the faucet, and open restroom doors.
• Instead of using your hands to eat something such as a burger and fries, use a fork and knife.
• Pay attention to “secret” surfaces, both at work and at home. Door knobs, microwave handles, computer keyboards, telephones, even the pen or stylus to sign for a credit card purchase can be covered with germs. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it frequently.
• Wipe counters, sinks, and any flat surface with antiseptic wipes. Don’t wait until someone is sick to start, but be proactive all winter.
• Exercise! It stimulates and builds the immune system. One study showed that women who worked out had one-third the colds of women who didn’t.
• Get quality sleep. Fatigue can lower your ability to fight infection.
• Make sure to get enough protein in your diet. The immune system relies on protein to function. Of course, you need a complete diet with fruits and vegetables, too.
If, in spite of your best efforts, you find yourself with any flu or cold symptoms (runny nose, fever, cough, headache, chills, and fatigue) stay home for 24 hours after your fever is gone, without using anything to treat the fever.
Flu and cold season has been described as the “Candy Season”…from Halloween to Easter. Just a few measures can help you and others enjoy all the holiday treats without worry!
