Take simple precautions.
- Ask your doctor about getting a "flu shot." The single best way to protect against the flu is to get vaccinated each year, preferably in October or November. The flu shot is approved for use on people older than six months, including healthy people and those with chronic medical conditions.
- Disinfect your home to control flu viruses.
- Maintain a healthy lifestyle. Eat appropriate portions of nutritious meals, get plenty of rest, exercise regularly and manage stress. · Encourage anyone with a cough or fever to stay home from work or school or errands to rest and avoid contact with others.
- Avoid crowds wherever possible during peak flu season.
Practice good personal hygiene. Reducing the risks of flu in your home starts with your own behavior. Make sure you and your family practice good personal hygiene.
- Wash hands frequently, for 15 - 20 seconds at a time (approximately the time it takes to sing the song "Happy Birthday to You"). Alcohol-based hand cleaners may be used to supplement hand washing.
- Cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.
- Do not share food, drinks, dishes, utensils or beverage containers.
- Remind children to practice healthy habits, including hand-washing and refraining from touching their noses, mouths and eyes.
Take extra precautions when someone at home is ill with the flu.
- A single sneeze can send flu-infested droplets as far as three feet. Encourage those with flu to cover mouth and nose when sneezing and coughing; dispose of used paper tissues immediately after use and wash hands.
- Caregivers should wash hands before and immediately after contact with a person sick with the flu. Dry hands thoroughly with a paper towel and use it to turn off the faucet, then dispose of it.
- Keep personal items separate and do not share computers, pens, papers, clothes, towels, sheets, blankets, food or eating utensils with those who are ill.
- Wash hands after handling dirty laundry. It is okay to combine laundry items from all family members, sick and well.
Flu Information Resources:
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fact Sheet: Key Facts about Influenza (Flu) Vaccine
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Preventing the Flu
- Mayo Clinic, Tools for Healthier Lives: Flu
- American Lung Association, Cold and Flu Guidelines: Influenza
