H1N1 & Flu Prevent Tips

It’s flu and cold season. When everyone around you seems to be sniffling and coughing prevention is the key to staying healthy. Here are some tips from the CDC website along with some common sense and home remedies to help you stay healthy.

From the CDC: Take everyday actions to stay healthy

1. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
2. Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
3. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread that way.

Other common sense suggestions:

1. Maintain a healthy body and healthy lifestyle; eat nutritious foods, drink plenty of fluids, exercise, take vitamins, get plenty of sleep and avoid stress.
2. Gargle twice a day with warm salt water (use Listerine if you want to avoid salt). Simple gargling prevents flush away viral particles and is a simple and inexpensive safeguard.
3. Clean your nostrils at least once every day by rinsing with warm salt water. Sinus irrigation can wash away viral particles before they have an opportunity to invade your body’s mucosa (i.e., the membrane lining inside your nose). Saline mixes vary in strength and effectiveness and are suggested for killing virus cell walls by osmosis (i.e., drying up the viral body).  Ask your Doctor about nasal lavage recommendations, such as a neti pot, nasal aspirator and a saline mix.
4. Or clean nasal cavities by blowing the nose hard once a day and swabbing both nostrils with cotton buds dipped in warm salt water to bring down viral population.
5. When you are traveling on a plane or spending time in crowded spaces with limited airflow, use a water soluble nasal gel or ointment which coats the nasal tissue to prevent the virus from entering.
6. Drink as much of warm liquids (tea, coffee, water etc) as you can. Drinking warm liquids has the same effect as gargling, but in the reverse direction. They wash off proliferating viruses from the throat into the stomach where they cannot survive and proliferate.
7. WebMD also has a comprehensive guide on flu prevention strategies that is worth reading.

Don’t forget to talk with your Doctor or healthcare provider about the flu and H1N1 flu shots and to ask them for medical guidance regarding the flu in your area.

Check with your Doctor or health care provider for medical advice. These tips are helpful hints and not meant to be taken as professional medical advice.

Mama Says an ounce of prevention is . . .