There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent the flu but good health habits like covering your mouth when you cough and washing your hands often can help prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu and colds.
Many people equate the cold winter weather with colds and flu and feel that being cold and wet from the chill of winter is what makes people catch colds and flu. This myth must be true because everyone gets sick in the winter, right? No.
Although the cold wet weather of winter is very uncomfortable and the stress of getting around in the snow and ice may reduce our immunity or resistance, it is not the weather that causes our colds and flu. It is germs, bacteria and viruses that cause our misery. As the weather gets colder we spend more time indoors, children return to school and with vacations over more people are huddled closer together as activities move indoors.
This proximity to one another leaves us vulnerable to passing and sharing infections with each other. As the children play at school they pass around germs which they bring home to the family. Cramped buses and trains leave us no where to escape as a sick passenger unwittingly passes germs with each sneeze or cough. At work we cover our mouth when we cough or sneeze but each time we answer the phone, touch the employee coffee pot, our keyboard or the handle to the rest room we share our germs with our coworkers.
Serious respiratory illnesses like influenza, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) are spread by coughing or sneezing.
According to the Center for Disease Control, between 10% and 20% of people in the United States become ill with the flu each year. Infants, the elderly and those with immune system conditions are usually at risk but these organisms can have an impact on seemingly healthy folks. About 3 to 6 million people are affected each year.
The World Health Organization estimates that cost of influenza to the U.S. economy in terms of health care costs and lost productivity can range from $71 billion to $167 billion a year.
Below are some basic good health habits to help keep you and your family healthier this holiday season. These are simple things we each can do daily to protect our selves and others.
• Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing and dispose of the soiled tissues properly. Teach your children to use tissues and be sure they have tissues in their schoolbag. If you have no tissues do the sleeve sneeze. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your upper sleeve, not your hands..It may prevent those around you from getting sick.
• Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. Wash with soap and water or Clean with alcohol-based hand cleaner.
• Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.
• Stay home when you are sick.
If possible, stay home from work, school, or activities when you are sick. Just as you try to avoid being near sick people to prevent You will help prevent others from catching your illness.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Don’t use the phone, computer, or desk supplies of a sick coworker. Advise children not to share drinks or toys with sick friends.
• Practice other good health habits.
Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. All of these actions help maintain your immunity to fight off illness. See your doctor for regular checkups, vaccinations, and appropriate treatment to decrease the duration of symptoms.
For additional information see :
http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
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