Nobody wants to be stuck in bed, sneezing and coughing your guts out to no avail in expelling what tastes like a cross between salty and rusty. Nobody likes the feel on your throat that’s as if you’ve just swallowed modeling clay or something else in that consistency and texture.
As soon as the flu season starts hitting and striking, those who wish to be spared will have to choose between these three flu preventive measures.
Keep Away
The flu virus usually transfers from one person to another by way of the tiny droplets of mucus or saliva that spreads around when a flu host coughs or sneezes. The passage way of the virus is through your eyes, nose and mouth.
The most obvious way of trying to avoid the infection is by staying away from people who have the flu virus. Now, this may not be enough because you don’t know if a person who has an infection has been to where you are now and has left droplets of infected saliva and mucus all around.
If so, you are likely to come in contact with the virus with your hands. Our hands make the most contact with the environment and the entry points of our body. While our nose, eyes and mouth are the doorways through which all germs and viruses enter, our hands have always served as the bad guy’s bell hops.
Knowing this, everyone should exercise proper hygiene by washing their hands as often as possible especially when they have to touch their mouth, nose and eyes. It is also important to disinfect the things that are commonly held like phones, computer keyboards and arm rests with alcohol before touching them.
Staying clear from potential influenza virus infected persons and contaminated places can be minimized but no totally dismissed. To cover for this imperfection, you can keep your immune system at its healthiest during the flu season by practicing the following items:
- Supplement with Vitamin C
- Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables
- Drink a lot of water, tea and fruit juice
- Get enough sleep
Anti-Viral Medication
If there are a lot of people catching the flu in your area and you have a medical condition that puts you at risk of flu like, diabetes, heart disease or kidney disease, you should take anti viral medicines like Tamiflu or Relenza.
You don’t have to wait until the first symptom of the flu comes out. You can drink these medicines for preventive measures.
Flu Shots
The best way of protecting yourself from catching the flu is by visiting the nearest pharmacy like Costco for a flu shot.
Flu shots are no longer exclusive in doctor’s clinics. They are sold over the counter at the most popular pharmacies and they can be administered by the pharmacists on duty.
Flu shots are the best preventive measure so far as it protects you from the common flu for one whole year.
However, in case you haven’t had your flu shot and have made contact with a person sick with the flu, this option may be too late and you can only take anti viral medication to keep the flu virus that may be already inside you from developing any further.
If you are over the age of 65, pregnant, a person suffering from respiratory diseases or with a weakened immune system, it’s best to accept the flu virus as high probable occurrence and get a flu shot right away or at least a few months before the flu season.
Responsibility
It’s worth considering that when it comes to the flu nobody can really take things lightly because a person could either be a victim or a carrier. Being young, strong and healthy may be your best assets against the flu virus but, that is not true for everyone.
You might be able to recover from a flu infection so quickly with zero complications but, the person you will be infecting may not have the same luck.
We have come to an age where flu vaccines have already been perfected, declared safe and effective. There is really no reason to exempt yourself from being protected and being a carrier of the virus.
It’s just a matter of taking responsibility for your own health and of those who you’ll be in contact with.
We also have a responsibility as adults to be an advocate of preventive medication. Parents should take the responsibility of making sure their kids have their flu shots either in school or through your own trip to the pharmacy. While you are at it, it would also be advisable to take the elderly members of your family along with you for they are the most at risk persons with regards to flu infections.
Flu shots should be dealt with on a pre-need basis. Once the flu catches you all you can really do is wish you had taken care of it earlier.
