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Stay Healthy During Cold and Flu Season
Possibly the most effective preventive
measure against getting a cold or the flu is
very simple: Wash your hands. |
It might start as a little sneeze. Or
maybe you just have a case of
the sniffles from the cool fall air
– and then it happens – you wake
up with a sore throat, headache and
watering eyes. Uh oh! It's cold and flu
season. You can't run from a cold and
you certainly can't hide from the flu.
"There is no cure for the common cold
or flu," says Jonathon B. Shaffer, M.D.,
an internal medicine physician on staff
at Methodist Sugar Land Hospital.
"Once you have a virus, you'll have to
wait for your body to fight it off. Your
best bet is to take steps to prevent
getting infected."
Dr. Shaffer says that the average
American adult suffers from two to
four colds each year; children can get
between five and nine.
Although less common, the flu can be
much more severe. Nearly 200,000
people spend time in the hospital with
influenza-related symptoms and about
36,000 die from it annually, the majority
being the very young and the
elderly, according to 2007 data from
the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. Understanding the
differences between a cold and the flu
is an important step in staying healthy.
The flu is marked with a fever and
more intense muscle aches and
coughing.
Preventive Medicine
Whether it's the flu or a cold that
you’re battling, the most important
step in fighting the diseases is to stop
them before they start. Flu shots are
often very effective and are strongly
encouraged for the elderly and young
children. Contact your health care
provider for more information.
Possibly the most effective preventive
measure against getting a cold or the
flu is very simple: Wash your hands
often, and sneeze or cough into your
arm rather than your hands. The
majority of cold and flu bugs are spread
through hand-to-mouth contact, not
through the air. Also consider regularly
cleaning frequently used spaces such as
desks at work and school. The viruses
that cause colds can last for up to three
hours on a dry surface, so it's a good
idea to keep these areas disinfected.
If you do get sick, stay home. Slogging
through work or school while under
the weather increases the chances of
spreading the disease. Try staying
home for at least a day while your body
fights off the infection. When you do
return to work or school, bring your
own tissues and think about bringing
along a small bottle of hand sanitizing
gel to keep at your desk.
The body fights off most cold and flu
infections within about a week, but if
you experience more severe symptoms
without relief, contact a health care
professional immediately.
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