Flu season is here, and as everyone who lives with me has noticed, I try to avoid sickness as though my very life depends on it. I am only so paranoid because it seems like it takes the germs of just one rogue sneeze to infect me. Taking preventative measures – like getting the flu vaccine – has never been enough to keep me healthy.
Every year during winter, I attempt to ward off any and all infected friends so as to better my chances of survival. This year I want to prevent as much spreading of the flu virus as possible, and would like to share some tips with those who aren’t always as careful as they could be. Preventing the spread of disease in any way we can is imperative in order to maintain a healthy community.
Avoid contact with others when you are feverish or feeling sick in general. Please, stay home. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that you stay home for 24 hours after your fever is gone. Basically, unless you’re going to get medical care, it’s safer for the rest of the community to simply stay home.
Avoiding contact can also mean not touching, coughing or sneezing on others around you. Sometimes, when all you have is the sniffles, it feels ridiculous to stay home – I know, I’ve been there. If you have a cold and you feel you absolutely do not need to stay home, do your best to keep clear of your fellow peers.
Although the best way to prevent yourself from getting the flu would be going to get a vaccine, there are other ways to prevent the spread of disease as well. Cover your mouth and nose when you cough or sneeze, either with a tissue or specifically your elbow. Coughing or sneezing into your hands spreads disease faster than imaginable, especially in public places.
It has been proven by several studies that the influenza virus can survive on surfaces without a human host for two to eight hours at a time. Thinking about where I have to place my hands nearly every day (door knobs, bike racks, desks, etc.) makes me very nervous about that information.
If you blow your nose, disinfect your hands after with either soap and water or hand sanitizer, and please, throw used tissues in the trash. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially after touching public surfaces. The CDC warns that touching your face with such germs on your hands is one of the fastest ways to spread disease onto yourself.
Now that it’s week eight, people are hitting their highest stress levels of the term. We all know how that goes, but did you know that stress breaks down your immune system? When you are stressed, your immune defense lowers and you are more likely to get sick. Now especially is the time to be careful. Anyone who claims they haven’t been extra stressed recently – tell me your secret.
The University Health Center is always willing to help someone who is sick with the cold or flu. Staying healthy is a daunting task, but it is absolutely possible. If you are already sick then drink lots of water, get good rest, take hot showers and eat some soup. Above all, stay home. You can’t rest if you’re out and about, and you can’t spread your sickness if you stay put.
