The flu is everywhere right now, seemingly worse than ever. And with the flu shot only being 10% effective this year and most of my family suffering from it right now, I thought it was the perfect time to remind you of 3 quick simple ways to protect yourself.
Don’t touch anything, if you can help it.
When out and about, do whatever you can possible to not touch anything. If that means pulling your sleeve down over your hand before turning a door knob, do it. But regardless of what you might have to touch, never ever touch your face. Putting germs near your nose and mouth is where the trouble begins so wash as often as you can and be careful to only eat with guaranteed germ-free hands.
Clean your environment.
Did you know that the remnants of a sneeze leave the nose at 90 mph and can go as far as 26 feet? With that in mind, be sure to clean your environment, especially that cell phone. What can happen is you go home, wash your hands thoroughly and then you pick that cell phone back up and reinfect yourself all over again. Your cell phone is carrying everything you just touched before getting home and those germs can stay alive for hours following.
Sleep as much as you can.
We often talk about sleep being essential to good health all year round, but it’s especially important right now. To protect yourself from the flu, be sure to get as many hours of sleep each night to keep your immunity up; this will help to fight off germs and infections coming your way. In addition, since antiviral medicines only work if started within the first 24-48 hours of illness and come along with awful side effects, if you get the flu, your best defense is sleep and rest. The flu generally lasts about 7 days, and the only thing you can do is to let it run its course, so catch up on your sleep as much as you can to allow your body to heal.
