Flu Season and Staying Healthy

It’s that time of year again, the time when you start hearing coughing and sneezing throughout the workplace and a box of tissues is placed conveniently near your computer keyboard.

 The cold and flu season typically runs from November – April. Readily spread when people are indoors, cold and flu viruses are often passed along from person to person and surface to surface in the workplace. According to the CDC, people are most contagious during the first 2-3 days of contracting a cold and almost immediately and for about 5 days thereafter after being infected with the flu – even before symptoms develop. However, there are many actions you can take to prevent the spread of cold and flu viruses at work.

1.  Wash Your Hands for at least 15-20 seconds with soap  many times a day  or sanitize with an alcohol-gel hand sanitizer, especially  following contact with  potentially contaminated surfaces

2.  Avoid touching your face, eyes, or rubbing your nose

3.  Wash out your water bottle daily

4.  Clean shared items such as phones, keyboards, handles and door knobs with alcohol wipes or other sanitizer- type wipes

5.  Avoid close contact with anyone who has a cold or flu

6.  Sneeze and cough into a tissue, throw the tissue away, and then wash your hands. If you don’t have a tissue cough or sneeze into your elbow rather than your hand

7.  Drink plenty of fluids, but do not share drinking cups or straws

8. Get lots of fresh air

9. Exercise regularly and frequently

10.  Eat healthy foods such as whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables

Treating a Cold or Flu

1. If you do get sick, stay at home

2.  Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water or juices – between 9-13 cups per day)

3. De-stress and avoid strenuous activity – physical, emotional, or   mental stress can be      

    major drains on the immune system

4.   Get plenty of rest – most people need seven to nine hours of sleep each night

5.  Drink green tea or ginger tea each stimulate the immune system to fight off infections

6.  Ask your doctor about over the counter drugs which may alleviate symptoms

Cold and flu season: Keep yourself healthy!

When cold and flu season hit, we are bombarded with advice for getting well, but the best way to be well is to prevent yourself from getting sick.  While there are no known cures for colds and flu, there are some proactive measures you can take to keep yourself healthy.

#1 Wash Your Hands
Most cold and flu viruses are spread by direct contact. Someone who has the flu sneezes onto their hand, and then touches the telephone, the keyboard, a doorknob. The germs can live for hours -- in some cases weeks -- only to be picked up by the next person who touches the same object. So wash your hands often. If no sink is available, rub your hands together very hard for a minute or so. That also helps break up most of the cold germs. Or rub an alcohol-based hand sanitizer onto your hands.

#2 Don't Cover Your Sneezes and Coughs With Your Hands
Germs and viruses cling to your bare hands, muffling coughs and sneezes with your hands results in passing along your germs to others. When you feel a sneeze or cough coming, use a tissue, then throw it away immediately. If you don't have a tissue, cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow.

#3 Don't Touch Your Face
Cold and flu viruses enter your body through the eyes, nose, or mouth. Touching their faces is the major way children catch colds, and a key way they pass colds on to their parents and teachers.

#4 Drink Plenty of Fluids
Water flushes your system, washing out the toxins as it rehydrates you.  How can you tell if you're getting enough liquid? If the color of your urine runs close to clear, you're getting enough. If it's deep yellow, you need more fluids.

#5 Do Aerobic Exercise Regularly
Aerobic exercise speeds up the heart to pump larger quantities of blood; makes you breathe faster to help transfer oxygen from your lungs to your blood; and makes you sweat once your body heats up. These exercises help increase the body's natural virus-killing cells.

These are just a few tips to help you avoid catching a cold or the flu this season.