Flu (Influenza) season peaks in the winter, you can get it in the fall and spring, too. The flu virus can spread even before symptoms appear, and you can infect others up to a week after you first become sick, Dr. Magdy Badran says.
Flu is a highly contagious respiratory illness, it is caused by a virus that attacks mainly the nose, throat, and bronchi and rarely also the lungs.
It rapidly spreads around the world in seasonal epidemics. It results in between three and five million cases of severe illness. It causes about 500 000 deaths annually around the world.
By practicing a few simple rules at home, you can help keep your family healthy and prevent the flu from spreading.
Get Vaccinated
You need a flu shot every year for two reasons. First, flu viruses change. Each year's virus maybe just a little different. If the virus changes, the vaccine used in the flu shot is changed.
Second, the protection you get from a flu shot lessens with time, especially in older people. So, you should get the shot every fall to do your best to stay protected from the flu.
[caption id="attachment_79779" align="alignnone" width="1024"]
Try To Prevent Spread of Germs[/caption]
Recent research found that the seasonal flu shot prevents severe flu in older adults and reduces admissions to the hospital, reduces hospitalization from serious flu complications by 60% in children, decreases flu cases by 70% in infants under 6 months whose mothers were vaccinated during pregnancy, reduces hospital admissions in people with type 2 diabetes by 30% for stroke, 22% for heart failure, and 15% for pneumonia.
A seasonal flu shot is the single best way to protect against the flu. It’s best to schedule your family’s vaccinations in the fall before the start of flu season, preferably in October or November. But it’s never too late to get the flu shot.
Some people may experience mild symptoms after receiving the flu shot, such as fever, headache, chills or soreness at the injection site. These symptoms are usually mild and go away within one to two days.
Who Needs a Flu Shot?
The standard flu shot is recommended for everyone 6 months and older. Some people may be more prone to infection than others. The shots are not 100-percent effective in preventing the flu. But they are the most effective method to protect against this virus and its related complications.
Certain groups are at an increased risk for getting the flu and developing potentially dangerous flu-related complications. People in these high-risk groups must be vaccinated.
These inpiduals include pregnant women, children between 6 months and 5 years of age, people 18 and under who receive aspirin therapy, people over 50, anyone with chronic medical conditions, anyone living or working in a nursing home or chronic care facility, and caregivers of any of the above inpiduals.
People who live in close quarters with others, such as college students and members of the military, are also at a greater risk for exposure.
Chronic medical conditions that could increase the risk of flu complications include: asthma, heart disease (such as congenital heart disease, congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease), lung problems, cancer, metabolic diseases, neurological conditions, blood conditions, such as sickle cell anemia, obesity, kidney or liver disease and people taking steroid medications on a regular basis. In people at risk of heart disease, their risk of heart attack is six times higher in the first 7 days of flu.
People who are in regular contact with at-risk inpiduals, such as the elderly and children, should also be vaccinated.
Those people include teachers, daycare employees, hospital workers, public workers, healthcare providers, employees of nursing homes and chronic-care facilities, home care providers and emergency response personnel.
Cover Coughs and Sneezes
Flu germs spread through droplets from the mouth and nose. Those with flu contaminate the air around them simply by breathing.
Good cough and sneeze etiquette involves taking steps to minimize the likelihood that someone else will catch your cold or flu when you cough or sneeze.
There are many simple measures you can take. Cover your mouth and nose every time you cough or sneeze. Use a disposable tissue to cover your mouth or nose if possible.
If a cough or sneeze sneaks up on you and no tissue is available, cough or sneeze into the crook of your elbow. This prevents your hands from becoming contaminated with flu viruses.
[caption id="attachment_79783" align="aligncenter" width="849"]
Cover Your Coughs[/caption]
Dispose of single-use tissues immediately after you cough or sneeze. Try to ensure a waste bin is available so that tissues can be disposed of (e.g. if you’re in bed with the flu, put a bin beside your bed so you don’t have to get up to throw your contaminated tissues away).
If you cough or sneeze onto a hard surface like a desk or telephone, clean it immediately with a disposable disinfectant wipe to remove the flu germs.
Avoid Touching your Eyes, Nose, and Mouth
Flu viruses can live for two to eight hours on hard surfaces. One single doorknob or tabletop could spread a virus to 60% of workers and visitors within just 2–4 hours of contamination.
That’s why it’s so easy to pick up flu germs without knowing it. You can get infected if you touch an infected doorknob or light switch and then rub your eyes or bite your nails.
Every time people touch their mouth or nose, they transfer germs between their face and their hand. This "self-inoculation," or transfer of germs from one body part to another, is a primary way that germs wind up spreading from contaminated surfaces to people's faces, and from sick people to often-touched surfaces.
People touch their faces an average of 3.6 times per hour, and common objects an average of 3.3 times per hour.
This rate of self-touching means that people likely get germs on their hands much more frequently than they wash germs off their hands. It is important to be aware that re-contamination can occur very quickly after we wash our hands.
Recommendations issued to the public typically emphasize hand-washing, but during potentially severe disease outbreaks, the messages should be shifted to ensure that people understand how self-inoculation occurs, and avoid touching their faces.
Wash your Hands Often
All handwashing is not equal. Make sure to run warm water over your hands, add soap, scrub for at least 20 seconds, be sure to lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails, rinse and dry.
There is no added health benefit for using soaps containing antibacterial ingredients compared with using plain soap.
If soap and water are not available, use alcohol-based hand sanitizing products containing 60% alcohol. These products are also effective in removing flu germs from contaminated hands.
The right way to use a sanitizer is to apply it to the palm of one hand and rub it all over the surfaces of both hands until they’re dry.
[caption id="attachment_79785" align="aligncenter" width="768"]
Wash Your Hands Well Always[/caption]
Even though alcohol-based hand sanitizers can deactivate many types of microbes when used correctly, they’re not effective if people don’t use enough sanitizer or wipe it off before it dries.
Regular hand washing is especially important at certain times. Always remember to wash up before and after preparing or handling food, before eating, after changing diapers, after using the bathroom, after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose, after touching an animal or animal waste, after handling garbage, before and after treating a wound, before and after caring for a sick person.
Recent research found that hand hygiene and wearing surgical masks reduce the spread of flu-like symptoms by up to 75 percent.
At the office, the paper towel is a very good friend - a great way to avoid flu germs. Use a paper towel to open a door, or turn a faucet. You can even use a paper towel or cloth to touch elevator buttons.
Limit Contact with Family Members Who are Ill
If someone in your family does get the flu, take these steps to prevent the flu from spreading: keep the sick person at home, limit close contact between the sick person and other family members as much as you can while they’re contagious up to a week after they show symptoms, change sleeping arrangements, if possible.
Try to avoid crowded public places as much as you can. You should also avoid sharing the following items from the sick person: washcloths, towels, dishes, toys, and utensils,
Practice Healthy Habits
The following tips can go far in keeping your immune system healthy this flu season. Get plenty of sleep, avoid stress, eat well, with lots of vegetables and fruits, drink lots of fluids, exercise regularly, walk more and walk faster.
Vitamin D supplements have been demonstrated to halve the risk of respiratory infections such as flu in people with low baseline vitamin D levels. Vitamin D plays a vital role in the functioning of the immune system.
Quitting smoking could be a useful preventative measure against flu — not only for you but also for your children, family, or anyone else who lives with you.
People who smoke have a more exaggerated response to viruses, including the flu. Smoking may cause an overreaction of the immune system to flu, which harms health.
Follow the latest news on Google News
