Elevate Your Health Colorado Stock your flu prevention toolkit

Fall brings a lot of things to look forward to – football games, colorful autumn leaves, and cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, fall also marks the onset of flu season.

Seasonal influenza, and variant strains like the H1N1 virus are enough to make you, well…sick. Up to 15 percent of children and 10 percent of adults contract the flu annually. It can make you miserable, but you can take precautionary steps now to prevent the flu.

“People should start protecting themselves against the flu starting in October,” says Eric France, MD, a board-certified pediatrician and chief of preventive medicine with Kaiser Permanente Colorado.

Dr. France shares the best strategies for preventing the flu:

1. Get your flu shot. Believe it or not, no one is invincible to the flu. “Getting the flu shot is the single most important thing you can do,” says Dr. France, who has done extensive research on flu vaccinations. “Depending on when it’s available from the manufacturers, getting the flu shot by October or November should protect you for the season.”
   
   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends everyone 6 months and older get a flu vaccine. This year, the flu shot will combine the vaccine for seasonal and H1N1 flu viruses. The vaccine is available by shot and nasal spray.
    
2. Know what you’re dealing with. Differentiating between a cold and the flu isn’t always easy. Flu symptoms often include fever over 101 F, severe body aches, chills, sore throat, and respiratory congestion that can last up to seven days.
    
3. Keep your germs to yourself. The flu is spread through respiratory droplets from coughs and sneezes. Germs and viruses cling to bare hands and surfaces, and can enter your body through your mouth, nose, and eyes.
   
   Use a tissue to muffle your coughs and sneezes and throw it away immediately. If you don’t have a tissue, use the inside of your elbow to prevent germs from getting on your hands. Wash your hands frequently or use antimicrobial hand gels. Both are inexpensive, easy to use, and are widely available.
    
4. Practice a healthy lifestyle. Getting adequate rest, exercising daily, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and staying stress-free encourages the body’s immune system to ward off harmful viruses and bacteria. 
    
5. Feeling ill? Get some TLC. If you do get sick, remember, you are most contagious one day before you notice symptoms and up to seven days after you become sick. “You should stay at home until you are free of the fever for 24 hours,” Dr. France says. “Get lots of rest, drink plenty of fluids to stay hydrated, and try some Ibuprofen to stop body aches and break a fever.”
   
   And remember: consult your physician if you or someone you know is sick with the flu and is: a child under age 2, adult older than 65, person with a chronic health condition, or pregnant woman. These populations are at a higher risk for severe flu complications.
    

Learn more about vaccination programs and other strategies for preventing the flu at kp.org