Late fall through early spring is traditionally cold and flu season. To stay as healthy as possible and to keep those around you healthy, consider these tips:

1. Wash your hands – Your hands touch all kinds of shared surfaces through the day and a quick stop to wash your hands with warm water and a little soap can really make a difference. How do you get your kids to wash well? Teach them to wash while they sing the Happy Birthday song twice, or about 20 seconds. Alcohol based hand sanitizer is better than nothing, but, the pressure from the water on your hands does a better job.
   
2. Wash your surfaces – Keep things clean around the house to avoid picking up infections from others.
3. Avoid others who are sick – Do your best to avoid friends, family and coworkers who are sick. We can do our part to help each other by staying home from work and keeping kids home from school when they are sick. The general rule is stay home 24 hours past the last fever before heading back to work or school.
4. Cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough
5. Keep your hands away from your face – Especially your nose, eyes, and mouth which are easy germ entry points.
6. If you get sick, take care of yourself! – It’s true. Let yourself sleep the amount that you need. Drink lots of fluids. Eat nutritious food. Don’t smoke. All these things are important for prevention and treatment of illness.
7. Is it more than a cold or flu? – The flu virus can be very serious. Sometimes the flu can even set you up for a more serious infection like pneumonia. If you are ill for more than 5 days, short of breath, unable to keep fluids down, or are suffering from dehydration, severe pain, or are unable to take care of yourself, please contact our office so that we can help you to get the care that you need.