Beating the bug

How to limit your chance of getting the flu this year

STEVE BOHRN Staff

It’s that time of the year again. Walking around anywhere, you will hear quite possibly the most frightening sound known to man: the sounds of coughing, sniffl ing and sneezing. Th ese sounds could only mean one thing.

Flu season is here.

Now, we all know about the fl u shot, heaven knows the media informs us about it at every turn. It’s as if the phrase “get the shot, not the fl u,” is everywhere.

But no one really likes needles and there is always the chance of some nasty side eff ects from the shot. So there has to be a better way to avoid the fl u and getting by during this time of year.

In fact, there are many things that you can do to be less of a target for the fl u bug and, therefore, avoid an awful lot of discomfort this winter.

One of the best ways to avoid the fl u is to keep your hands clean. Th e fl u virus travels from one person to the next by contact and interaction. But by washing your hands, you can stop the virus dead in its tracks.

Th is means really washing your hands, not just a little dunk-and-dash under a running tap. You have to lather the soap for at least 20 seconds, and rub your hands together thoroughly to really kill the germs on your hands. Also, pay close attention to the area underneath your nails, where germs like to situate themselves.

Make sure to clean your hands thoroughly after handling money. Th e money you handle has most likely has passed through many diff erent hands and the chances, especially in fl u season, of one of them being sick is a lot higher than any of us would like.

Another important note to keep in mind is that you can minimize your risk by keeping your nostrils clear. It may sound silly, but it works.

By keeping your nasal passage clean you allow your body to breathe through the nose, and the nose fi lters out the germs far better than the mouth, thus reducing the risk of picking up a virus.

Also, there are a lot of obvious things that we can do to avoid the virus. Don’t share anything with someone who is sick, especially food, and avoid those people that appear to be really under the weather as much as possible.

But all of these are really not the best defence against the fl u. Th e best thing that you can do for yourself is to keep your immune system strong and not do anything to jeopardize it during fl u season.

Get lots of rest and take in enough fl uids. Th e eight-and-eight rule is in eff ect: eight hours of sleep and eight glasses of water and you will be on your way to a happy fl u season.

Taking supplements like echinacea and other herbal doses that boost your body’s tolerance to viruses and make your immune system stronger is also good advice. Th e more things that you do to help your cause, the better.

If you do all of these things, you are not guaranteed to escape the clutches of the fl u, but you are more likely to do so, and upon catching it, you are also more likely to get over it faster and resume your normal hectic schedule.

And isn’t that what we all really want in the end?