Giving Wintertime Sickness the Cold Shoulder

With this bitter winter weather, often times comes winter cold and flu. This winter season has seen over 292 confirmed cases in Johnson County.

Your best offense for cold and flu is a good defense.

Check out the below tips to help you avoid a cold and the flu this winter!

  1. Get vaccinated! Influenza is the only respiratory virus that is preventable via vaccination. If you haven’t received your flu vaccination this season, please contact your primary care provider.
  2. Wash your hands! Washing your hands often, with soap and water, will help prevent the spread of germs and keep your household winter illness free!
  3. Keep sanitizer close! While sanitizer cannot boast the same effectiveness that washing your hands does, this is an excellent “in-between washes” option to help keep your family’s hands germ-free.
  4. Eat right and maintain exercise! Eating healthy, balanced meals and practicing a safe exercise routine can boost your immune system. Exercise also speeds up recovery from illnesses.
  5. Don’t touch your face! Did you know that the most common place for germs to enter your body is through your nose and eyes? Avoiding touching your face as often as possible will help keep any germs from entering your body and causing wintertime illness.

So how do you know… is it a cold or is it the flu?

While both a cold and the flu are respiratory illnesses, they are caused by different viruses and have other key differences that may help you tell them apart.

 

If you are concerned that you may have a cold or the flu, you should do these three things:

  1. Stay home! If you think that you may have one of these respiratory illnesses, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever has subsided.
  2. Sleep in! When you are fighting off an illness, it is more important than ever to get enough sleep in order to recover.
  3. See your primary care provider! If you feel as though you may have a wintertime illness, call your primary care provider and schedule an appointment as soon as possible. They will be able to help you identify your sickness and identify a plan to recover. If you do not have a primary care provider, find a provider in a community near you!