By Connie Colbert
Director, Canyon Health and Wellness Clinic
We are in in the height of flu season, and this flu season is revving up quickly. The flu is hitting harder and more frequently than previous years.
What can you do to prevent the spread and minimize your chance of illness?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends several ways to control germs:
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible to keep from infecting them.
- If you are sick with flu symptoms, the CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone except to get medical care or for other necessities. (Your fever should be gone for 24 hours without the use of a fever-reducing medicine.)
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based rub.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces and objects that may be contaminated with germs like the flu.
- See these CDC resources -- "Everyday Preventive Actions" and "Nonpharmaceutical Interventions" -- for more information about actions, apart from getting vaccinated and taking medicine, that people and communities can take to help slow the spread of illnesses such as influenza (the flu).
Other recommendations:
- Get enough sleep (7-8 hours is best).
- Eat healthy and avoid large amounts of sugar: As I stated in previous articles, sugar can decrease your body’s natural defenses and leave you more susceptible to infection.
- Take daily vitamins, including immune booster,s such as Vitamin C.
- Stay hydrated; drink a lot of water!
Visit the CDC’s website to find out what to do if you get sick with the flu.
Be diligent to prevent the spread, and stay home if you are sick!
