Ways to Prevent Getting Sick During Flu Season

The flu absolutely sucks. Chills, awful body aches, painful coughing, fevers, and sniffle galore. Flu season, which can sometimes feel like every season, mostly peaks from December to February but starts in October. Influenza is an acute respiratory illness caused by the Influenza A or B virus. As viruses are not living, there are no magical antibiotics that can eliminate it. Even so, there are ways to avoid the wretched sickness.

Get vaccinated. Vaccination is the first step to flu prevention. Doctors inject whatever flu type or strain that was most popular in the last year. The flu shots average rate of effectiveness is between 40 to 60 percent. Those are pretty high odds. Although, since the average isn’t 100 percent, you could technically still get infected with the other type. Vaccination can be controversial, but luckily there are other methods of prevention.

Wash your hands. You should already be washing your hands, regardless, as Raven so eloquently phrased it “ya nasty!” Cold and flu viruses may be spread by indirect contact. After touching door knobs and desk tops that have probably been sneezed on, washing your hands is the best way to prevent getting sick.

Remember to cough into your elbow. Viruses cling to your hands, so reduce the spread of any illness by perfecting the classic, elbow cough. Everyday in kindergarten our teachers told us to do this, and we really all should’ve listened.

Drink a bunch of water. Water can strengthen your immune system, therefore keeping sickness away. If you do get sick, water flushes out your system, hydrates you, and rids you of any toxins.

Best of luck, stay healthy and of course take the “you” out of the flu.