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DBA AdPro Media Sales, All Rights Reserved Written by: Kamau Austin
What do you do to help prepare yourself and your family for cold and flu season? Do you cross your fingers and hope you're lucky enough to keep from becoming infected with the cold or flu virus? Do you put yourself and your kids through the pain of an annual flu shot? Do you do what your mother did and make massive quantities of old-fashioned chicken soup and then freeze it so you're prepared with what most believe to be the best remedy for curing cold and flu symptoms?
Well, let me tell you one thing if those are the things you do then you could be doing much more to help protect your family this cold and flu season. And most of what you can do revolves around keeping those annoying cold and flu viruses from invading in the first place. Easier said than done, you think? Well that's not true. You'd be surprised at how far good common sense and proper hygiene can go towards keeping cold and potentially debilitating flu viruses away from your family.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers these tips to help keep the influenza virus from spreading. Now admittedly, keeping the influenza virus from spreading can be challenging, especially if you have small children. The virus is present in the air and it can also cover the things that you touch regularly like the telephone and computer keyboard.
How to stop the spread
The most obvious way to keep the influenza virus from spreading is to steer clear of others who are coughing, sneezing and blowing their noses! The influenza virus can ride along on those droplets that burst forth from the mouth each time an infected person coughs or sneezes. Try to stay at least 3 feet away from those exhibiting cold or flu symptoms. And if you're the one who is sick, or you have a sick child, do everyone a favor (including the one who's sick) and stay home! If you work, it can be hard to stay home with a sick child, but sending him or her off to school or day care is not going to do anyone any good. That sick child needs rest and you need to find a way to make that happen.
Another important strategy for keeping the influenza virus at bay is to stop touching your nose, eyes and mouth. Each of these areas has mucous membranes that the influenza virus can latch onto in a moment. If you've got the virus on your fingertips and then you put those fingertips into contact with a mucous membrane, then guess what? There's a good chance you've just infected yourself. Children are notorious for touching one another with sticky, gooey fingers. They wipe their noses with their hands and even their arms and then they think nothing of twirling your hair with their contaminated fingers or sharing that salty taste by sticking their contaminated fingers into your mouth for you to suck on. Yuk!
So while it's probably going to be difficult to get your kids to keep their hands to themselves, at least until they're a bit older, there is something else you can do. You can teach them the importance of washing their hands. In addition to teaching them why it's important to keep their hands clean, you've also got to teach them how to properly wash their hands. A little splash of cold water isn't going to accomplish anything. Children and adults need to wash their hands with soap and hot water for at least 20 seconds or washing won't be effective at containing the spread of germs. Twenty seconds might seem like a long time, but it really isn't. And if it can help keep you and your family healthier, then it'll be time well spent. Keep several boxes of tissues handy, too and teach everyone to use them.
There is one more thing you can do to help protect you and your family this flu season. You can try Immunitril, an herbal supplement designed to help give your immune system a boost. I think Immunitril is definitely a product that includes outstanding ingredients which have been reported to have supportive benefits to help boost your immune system. Find out more about Immunitril at better online stores like www.Amazon.com and the www.BODeStore.com.
About the Author:
Disclaimer: This article is not meant to provide health advice and is for general information only. Always seek the insights of a qualified health professional before embarking on a health or fitness program.
Written by the V-Team courtesy Kamau Austin Publisher. The V-Team writes articles for the health and fitness enthusiast. Their timeless health and fitness tips are at the Fit After Forty Blog. See more useful news and tips on supporting our immune systems with Immunitril at http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com/blogs/fitnessblog.htm
