How to Prepare Yourself for The Cold and Flu Season

Since it's the holiday season, it's also the season for the cold and flu. It's coming whether you're ready or not. There will always be the risk that you'll get the cold and flu especially if you're not well-prepared for it. However, preparedness is all you need to avoid these 2 nasty viruses. So, what do you do? Check out these preparedness tips:

1. Stock up your medicine cabinet - While you're still healthy, take the time to buy necessities for your medicine cabinet. Throw away any expired medicines and come up with a list of what needs to be replaced and replenished. You should include medicines for fever and pain relief, antihistamines, decongestants, and cough medicines. Try to also consider buying nasal sprays, throat lozenges, and cough drops because these can help when you're down with the flu as well. If you have babies or children with you, you can also check with your doctor or pharmacist on which ones are suited for them as well.

2. Buy other health supplies - Apart from medicines, you should also think about other health supplies that you'll need. It's ideal if you have a functioning thermometer and fresh batteries since they are helpful in verifying if you're sick or not. A humidifier can also come in handy since it purifies the air. You can also focus on buying the basics like tissues, hand sanitizers, and anti-bacterial soaps. It's good to have plenty of these on-hand because they will make you ready when you have the first sneeze.

3. Practice proper hand washing - Proper hand washing may be simple but it's really effective in preventing colds and flu. It's an easy thing to do and can be easily taught to children. You can do this by starting with warm water, then followed by an anti-bacterial soap. Make the lather work for 20 seconds, making extra attention to your fingernails and jewelry. For children, it helps if they sing the "happy birthday" song to help pass the time and ensure that they get a good washing for their hands. After that, rinse and dry your hands properly. If you have disposable towels, use them so that you can turn off the water without contaminating your hands.

4. Keep your hands away from your face - A great way to protect yourself from the virus is to keep your hands away from your face. Specifically, try to avoid contact on your eyes, nose, and mouth. These are the common areas where the cold virus would gain entry into your system. The very same bug that causes the cold can also cause the viral pink eye. If ever you need to touch these areas on your face, make sure to wash your hands properly before and after.

5. Prevent the spread of germs - If you're healthy, better keep some distance from sick people as much as possible. But if you do get sick, make sure to learn how to keep the germ to yourself and prevent it from spreading unto others. These strategies can also be taught to kids so that they'll carry on the teaching when they grow up. When you cough and sneeze, do it on a tissue and dispose it properly. If you don't have a tissue with you, cough or sneeze into your elbow and avoid doing it on your hands. As much as possible, use your own cups and utensils and avoid sharing it with others. This will help limit the spread of germs to the people around you.

Being sick is something that people would want to avoid since it can impact the way they go on with their everyday lives. If you want more health tips, be sure to seek some advice from a health professional like Dr. Alex Tam, Vacaville Chiropractor. He's one of the best practitioners from the top chiropractic and holistic center in the Solano county so you can guarantee that with his help, your health is in good hands.