Top Healthy Tips To Consider To Avoid The Seasonal Flu

As you head into winter, you don’t only have to deal with colder weather and snow. There’s also seasonal flu you have to contend with. During the 2018-2019 flu season, an estimated 35.5 million people caught the flu, leading to 34,000 deaths. Babies, the elderly, and people who are immunocompromised are at the biggest risk of death if they catch the flu. However, just because you are young and healthy doesn’t mean the flu is a walk in the park. Depending on the strain, catching the flu can wipe you out for up to a week. If not treated, it can progress to pneumonia and require hospitalization.

It can be easy to confuse a cold with seasonal flu. In general, a regular cold has milder symptoms than the flu. Whether you’re old or young, it’s important to know the difference in symptoms. That way when you contact your doctor they can give you the appropriate prescription to help you. Some common symptoms of the flu include:

Fever
Headache
General aches and pains
Tiredness, weakness
Extreme exhaustion
Chest discomfort and coughs

If you have a stuffy nose, sneezing, and sore throat without the other listed symptoms above, chances are you have a regular cold. With that said, it’s a good idea to

Avoiding seasonal flu in 2020 is especially important because you’re also contending with COVID-19. Luckily, a lot of the precautions you’re already taking to avoid the spread of COVID-19 also work for the flu such as wearing a mask, washing your hands, and maintaining a safe distance from others. Even if you get the flu, there are ways you can heal up faster so long as you follow the tips below.

When Was The Last Time You Got The Flu?

Some people can go for most of their life without getting the flu while others get it almost every year. While you’re more likely to get exposed to the flu in certain situations such as working at a hospital or living in close quarters with other people, some people are just blessed with a great immune system.

Unless you have a very weakened immune system, you probably have a set of human leukocyte antigen genes (HLA) that code for molecules that fine-tune your immune response. When a virus or bacteria enters your body these genes will create proteins that flag a specific cell as infected so that your immune cells will swarm and destroy it. Much like fingerprints, everyone has a unique HLA gene assortment. These genes give you a variety of immune defense tactics, but it won’t necessarily be effective against every micro-organism. So maybe you catch a cold every year, but you’re impervious to stomach bugs.

Even if you have a hardy immune system, other environmental factors can affect your body’s resistance to threats. If you don’t follow a healthy diet or get enough sleep, you are weakening your body’s immune system. Catching certain diseases can also throw your immunity off-balance for years. Certain viruses latch onto immune cells, which then interferer with the cell’s ability to fight invaders. While you can’t control your environment completely, there are some measures you can take to strengthen your immune system.

Stay Home

If you feel like you have the flu, the best thing you can do is stay home. Your body is fighting off a virus and needs all the energy it can get to make you feel better. Hopefully, your house is already stocked up with supplies like soup, medicine, tea, etc. If not, ask your roommates or significant other to pick some up for you. If you live alone, pick up some supplies to have in your house, but don’t venture out for too long. Get in and out as quickly as possible.

Of course, staying home isn’t just for your benefit. The flu spreads easily in confined spaces so by staying home you are also reducing the amount of contact you have with other people. This way, you won’t spread the flu to other people. While it can be difficult to take sick time especially if you work in retail or hospitality, it’s better for everyone for you to take some time off to recover.

Vitamin D

Research suggests that low levels of vitamin D can negatively impact your immune system and increase the chances you’ll get the flu. Unless you work outdoors, chances are you probably aren’t getting enough vitamin D. In fact, around 41 percent of Americans do not get enough vitamin D. Around 50 to 90 percent of vitamin D is absorbed through the skin via sunlight with the rest coming from diet. Even just 20 minutes of sunshine daily with over 40 percent of the skin exposed can prevent vitamin D deficiency.

As we’ve learned over the years though, sunlight is also bad for your skin as it can lead to skin cancer. So what can you do? Taking vitamin D supplements every day can increase the amount your body gets as does getting more fatty fish like salmon, fortified orange juice, milk, whole eggs, and mushrooms.

Eat Plenty Of Produce and Probiotics

Certain foods have immune-boosting effects such as:

Garlic
Sauerkraut
Kombucha
Tempeh
Yogurt
Kimchi
Pickles
Miso

As you might have noticed, a lot of fermented foods can boost your immunity as they contain healthy bacteria called probiotics that can call your immune system to action In addition to updating your diet, getting exercise can also improve your overall health so that even if you do get sick, you will bounce back faster.

In addition, make sure to eat your vegetables. Focus on foods that are rich in antioxidants like blueberries, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes. These can help strengthen your body’s immune system and can help you get over the seasonal flu quickly. Even when you’re not sick, it’s important to eat a healthy and balanced diet. Your goal should be to eat at least one or two vegetables or fruit at every meal.

Get Flu Shot

Unless you work from home and never leave, chances are you’re interacting with other people on a regular basis from work to the grocery store. There are hundreds of opportunities for you to get the flu. It’s why getting a flu vaccine every year is important. Remember, the flu shot will not give the flu. It can give you a headache or low-grade fever for a day after the shot as the vaccine has inactive or dead flu viruses.

Now it’s true that you can still get the flu even if you get the vaccine. However, it will likely be less severe and you will be less likely to develop pneumonia. If you’re over the age of 65 there is also a special flu shot designed specifically for you. The great thing about the flu shot is that most insurances will cover the cost and you can get it same-day at your local grocery store or pharmacy.

To reduce your chances of getting the flu, you should try to get it in late October. However, you can get it at any time during the flu season. The shot can keep you healthy regardless of when you get it. Before you do get your shot, make sure to check with your doctor if you’re taking any medication or have a compromised immune system as there could be potential side effects. You should also not get the flu shot if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction to a flu shot in the past.

Stay Three to Six Feet Away

Chances are you’re already doing this (hopefully) due to the social distancing mandate for COVID-19. The flu virus travels through the air in small droplets of water that are expelled from someone’s body via a cough or sneeze. Someone with the flu can contaminate the air you breathe.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to tell if someone is just suffering from allergies, has a cold, or the flu so it’s best to keep your distance. This is true if you have the flu as well. Hopefully, you’re staying home, but if you have to go out to get something, try to distance yourself from other people. Also, make sure to wear a mask as it can reduce the number of water droplets you expel in the air when you sneeze or cough.

Keep hands away from face

In general, you should just stop touching your face and eyes. No matter how often you wash your hands, you are going to touch a dirty surface at some point during the day. While touching a contaminated surface won’t give you the flu or cold, once you touch your face to your eyes or mouth (or nose), the virus will then get in contact with your mucosal membrane. As you would suspect, the more you touch your face, the more likely you are to get infected.

It can be difficult to stop touching your face. For a lot of people, it’s not even a conscious decision. We rub our eyes to get out an eyelash or scratch our nose or even wipe your mouth with the back of your hand. Studies have found that the average person touches their face at least 16 times an hour. Luckily, it is a habit you can break. Be mindful about keeping your hands away from your face. Keep your hands busy or even leave post-it notes in your home or office to remind you to keep your hands away from your face.

Clean Common Surfaces

The flu virus can remain viable on surfaces for up to 24 hours. Regardless of whether you live with other people or not, chances are there are certain surfaces you constantly touch. If you do live with someone else, it can be harder to reduce the chances of exposing yourself to the virus. However, it’s not impossible.

One of the best things you can do is clean commonly used surfaces every day. This includes countertops, doorknobs, light switches, fridge handles, phone charges, etc. You just need to use a common household cleaner and then wipe everything down. Just remember that cleaning isn’t a surefire way to avoid the flu. Instead, it’s just another tool in your arsenal that can reduce your chances of contracting the virus. Of course, there are plenty of other opportunities for the virus to spread in shared environments like schools, work, etc.

Wear gloves

If you can’t stop touching your face or want to really avoid touching potentially contaminated surfaces, gloves are the way to go. There’s a reason doctors and nurses wear disposable latex gloves. It allows them to avoid contact with contaminated secretions and surfaces. Remember that this is no time to be budget-conscious. Do not reuse disposable gloves as that defeats the purpose altogether.

If you don’t want to spend money on gloves or you just don’t want to create that much waste, the next best thing is to wash your hands frequently. When washing your hands, make sure to use soaps and wash your hands with warm for a full 20 seconds. Frequent handwashing can be a pain especially in the winter as it dries out your skin, so keep some lotion handy so your skin doesn’t start cracking.

Keep windows closed

Wait, isn’t fresh air good for you? Actually, no. Cracking a window next to your sneezing coworker might make you feel safer, but it actually doesn’t do anything. Unless they literally stick their head out the window, the virus will remain suspended in the air. Plus, the flu virus’s outer coating hardens in cold temperatures so opening a window can actually make it viable for longer.

If you’re worried your coworker is sick, the best thing to do is try to move away from them and wear a face mask. If you can’t, the next best thing is to alert your manager to see if the sick coworker can be sent home. After all, if they have the flu they are potentially spreading it to dozens of other people in the office. This could negatively impact work productivity. It’s better to send one person home for a couple of days than have them come to work and then get even more people sick.

Top Tips To Stay Healthy and Avoid The Seasonal Flu This Winter Season

While there’s no cure or magic bullet for the flu, there are plenty of measures you can take that can lower the chances that you will get it. The best thing you can do in terms of prevention is to get your flu shot. Of course, even if you follow all of these steps you can still get it. However, chances are you will rebound from the flu faster.

It can take up to a week to fully recover from the flu, so make sure you don’t push yourself too much if you do end up getting it. Take time off work and really take care of your body. Rest when you’re tired and make sure to eat plenty of healthy meals to give your body’s immune system the nutrients it needs to fight off the infection. Most of all, try not to stress. Stress can actually make your symptoms worse and can make it more likely that you get the flu. Instead, take it day-by-day and just remain aware of what is going on around you.

Jessica Lauren is Founder, contributing Author and Owner of Citrus Sleep. Citrus Sleep is an online publication that highlights brands, sleep products, women’s fashion, subscription services and ideas creating positive social change and promoting a healthy lifestyle. After spending nearly a decade working in PR and marketing for several brands and startups, Jessica knows what truly drives conversions, sold-out launches and guest posts.

Follow Jessica at @jessicalaurencs | Jessica Lauren