As winter sets in across the region, flu and cold season gets in high gear and an ongoing symphony of sneezes and coughs can be heard. So far 2017's dry, cold air has helped cause a spike in the amount of flu-related cases at local emergency rooms and urgent care centers.
Front-line combatants like Dr. Jeffrey Hallazgo, an Urgent Care Physician at St. Anthony’s Medical Center, urges folks to take the following preventative steps to protect themselves and others.
To parents, Dr. Hallazgo advises, “Get [your kids] vaccinated with the flu shot. Otherwise, parents should preach basic hygiene practices: washing hands, covering your mouth when you cough, etcetera.”
Here are a few more tips from Dr. Hallazgo and the Center for Disease Control.
1. Get your flu shot!
Getting a flu shot helps fight off the flu. These days most clinics, pharmacies, physician’s offices, health departments, schools, and universities offer flu vaccinations for free or at low cost. St. Louisans can also check with local hospitals to see when they offer complimentary flu shots.
2. Wash your hands frequently
To better decrease your chance of getting a cold or the flu, frequent hand-washing with soap is strongly encouraged. To ensure your hands are free of germs, sing the “Happy Birthday” song twice as you diligently scrub your hand and fingers. It also takes a good rinse to kill off all germs. If you are on the go, it never hurts to use hand sanitizer frequently.
3. Avoid contact with people who are sick
Once cold and flu season hits, avoiding sick people is a daunting task. However, the contagion can also be reduced by avoiding personal contact: don't touch the eyes, nose, or mouth of other people, and cover your own mouths, nose, and eyes when coughing and sneezing. Shaking hands or sharing cups and utensils is also discouraged.
4. Stay home!
Keep others from getting sick by not exposing them. Health professionals urge folks fighting a winter bug to stay at home for at least 24 hours after symptoms (fever, congestion, coughing, and a sore throat) break, except to get medical treatment for other ailments.
5. Keep surroundings clean
The spread of viruses can easily be controlled with diligent sanitization
of home, school, and work environments. This means disinfecting phones, faucets, computer keyboards, and other surface areas.
6. Maintain A Healthy Lifestyle
Being vigilant about overall health is an easy way to fight nasty colds and the flu. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
If you think you are sick, avoid websites like WebMD, which may not fully understand individual medical situations. Call your local physician, instead.
The Center for Disease Control (CDC) also has more information on vaccinations, treatment, and prevention here.
