Flu prevention is important to help you avoid getting this sometimes debilitating illness. One of the best ways to prevent the flue is to practice good health habits. This not only keeps your safe from germs, it builds up your immune system so your body can fight the germs you do come in contact with.
The following tips can help you protect yourself from getting the flu and stop you from spreading germs to others when you get sick yourself.
Flu Prevention Tips
The best way to prevent the flu is to get your yearly flu shot. In addition, you can practice good health habits. Things like covering your cough and washing your hands regularly may not seem to make a big difference, but they do. Here are some other ways to protect yourself.
1. Avoid Close Contact with Others.
When you know people are sick, it’s best to avoid contact. Likewise, when you are sick, you should try to help others stay safe by avoiding them as well. Keep your distance from others, especially during flu season. This will only help add to your flu prevention.
2. Stay Home.
When you are sick, you should stay home from work, school, and other activities outside the home, if possible. This helps others with flu prevention.
3. Cover Your Mouth!
If you are frequently sneezing or coughing, you should try to keep tissues nearby. Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you need to sneeze or cough. In addition to flu prevention, serious respiratory illnesses go around this time of year. Whooping cough, severe acute respiratory syndrome, bronchitis, and pneumonia can all be easily spread by coughing and sneezing.
4. Bump Up the Hand Washing.
Washing your hands often protects from germs and also helps with flu prevention. If you are not in an area where soap and water are easily accessible, you can carry around an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Hand washing resources are available to help you learn the best ways to prevent the spreading of germs by washing your hands properly.
5. Avoid frequently touching your eyes, nose, or mouth.
Germs are easily spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth. Get in the habit of keeping your hands away from these areas when you can.
6. Practice Other Good Health Habits.
In addition to these methods of flu prevention, you should practice good health habits all around. Frequently clean and disinfect high traffic surfaces at home, work, or school. If you suspect something is easily contaminated with germs, keep it clean. Especially when someone is sick, you should practice more rigorous cleaning habits. You should also get plenty of sleep and manage your stress levels. Being physically active and eating healthy is helpful as well. Maintain a diet of nutritious food and drink plenty of fluids.
Other Ways to Prevent the Flu
There are other ways to prevent the flu. At school, you can teach your kids to do the following:
- Find out what plans your child’s school, daycare program, or other activity centers have in place if there is an outbreak of the flu or other serious illness. Be sure to stick to those precautions as much as you can.
- If you feel like your child’s school or daycare program does not practice flu prevention, speak up. Make sure your child’s school or daycare program cleans frequently touched objects and surfaces. Find out if they have a good supply of tissues, soaps, paper towels, alcohol-based hand rubs, and disposable wipes. Try to add to their supply if you can.
- Find out how sick students and staff are separated from others and who cares for them until they go home.
At work, the following flu prevention practices can be taken:
- Just as with your child’s school, talk to your employer about the plans they have in case of a flu outbreak. Find out if flu vaccinations are offered on-site.
- Routinely clean frequently touched objects and surfaces. Do your part to clean doorknobs, keyboards, and phones, to help remove germs.
- Make sure there is an adequate supply of tissues, soap, paper towels, hand rubs, and disposable wipes.
- Train others to do the same.
- If you begin to feel sick at work, go home as soon as possible.
The flu season can be scary to navigate. Sometimes even if you get the flu shot and practice regular flu prevention steps, you still end up getting sick. The good news is that if you practice these tips and do end up sick, your immune system generally has an easier time fighting the illness. Keep yourself and those around you safe this flu season!
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