6 Ways to Stay Healthy During the Sick Season

   

Maybe it’s my imagination, but people are getting sick early this year. Summer wasn’t over before colds showed up around town. I walked into our vet’s office at the end of summer only to find the receptionist hacking away with a bad cold, and she wasn’t the only one. Right after leaving the cramped vet’s office I took essential oil beadlets to ward off any colds. Lol! Like many, our family would do handstands to stay healthy during this season. Life is so full and busy that getting sick prevents a real hardship for many. Staying healthy is easier when you add some simple practices to your life. Some of these oft-repeated suggestions are simplistic sounding but go a long way to keeping those cold and flu germs out of your body.

The Challenge

Families with small children face real challenges when it comes to staying healthy. When kids are young, they are learning good hygiene practices and things are far, far, far from perfect. When our kids entered preschool we were introduced to all sorts of new sicknesses (Hand, Foot, Mouth Disease anyone?? Periorbital Cellulitis??). The pediatrician’s office was often bulging with parents of small children. A few years later the infamous Swine Flu (or H1N1) made an appearance at our school and many kids went home. The bad part was many of them came back too early and relapsed, so of course they were sent home again. Our own kids were home for 2 weeks during that epidemic with scary high fevers. Thankfully, this season of life passes as kids learn appropriate hygiene. 

These valuable practices are worth making life-long habits because as adults we come into contact with many people. For example, last year there was an outbreak of meningitis at our son’s college and six students got meningitis! As many of us know, meningitis is serious stuff, so everyone was concerned. The college kept parents regularly informed and vaccinations were mandated. A year later the college notified us that there had been no new cases and the health department was lifting the outbreak designation status. Even with vaccinations this example shows us how important good hygiene practice are when interacting with lots of people. Living in crowded dormitories or cramped quarters with others makes this even more important. A little preventative effort goes a long way. 

It isn’t just our own selves we should worry about either. While colds are mostly inconvenient, when it comes to the flu many such as the elderly or the very young or medically fragile are at higher risk for flu-related complications that may pose a very real threat of death. It is important we do our part to minimize the spread of sickness. This is easier than we realize when we incorporate a few good habits into our lives. So, here are 6 highly effective ways to stay healthy this season and avoid passing unwanted germs to others.

     6 Ways to Stay Healthy During the Sick Season

1. Wash your hands a lot. We hear this a lot, and we need to hear it more- wash your hands! This is the single most effective thing you can do to prevent illness, and it still isn’t done enough according to the CDC. Doing a good thorough job matters as well, so take the time to wash properly because it is worth it. The CDC also says that washing your hands is more effective than sanitizing them (1); however, if you don’t have access to soap and water sanitizing is still a good option, so see number 3. It is amazing to me the number of grown women I see walking out of bathroom stalls and not washing their hands before leaving the bathroom. Wash your hands often!

2. Change those hand and bath towels frequently. With frequent hand washing in a household comes the need to swap out used towels for clean ones. Yes, it means a little more laundry, but that is still more desirable than passing that nasty cold or worse, flu around. Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist, learned through studies that towels are chock-full of all sorts of germs including fecal and e coli- gross! He recommends swapping them out every 2-3 days (2). On this note, washing sheets once a week is a good idea as well.

3. Use a hand sanitizer. The CDC recommends using a hand sanitizer of at least 60% alcohol in the absence of running water and soap for hand washing (3). Additionally, studies show that an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is more effective than non-alcohol-based sanitizers (3). Hand sanitizers are easy to make and there is a myriad of recipes to do so. They are also inexpensive to buy.

4. Clean the door knobs and handles. It’s no secret that loads of different germs collect and survive on these oft-touched, so wipe these down with a bleach spray when you clean house. Even better, keep alcohol-based disinfecting wipes stored in high traffic-locations such as the kitchen and bathroom and swipe commonly used knobs and handles daily. I also avoid touching public restroom handles by grabbing a paper towel or using something else to avoid making direct contact with the handle.

5. Get your rest. A run-down immune system is an open gateway for germs to come in and make themselves at home. So many people work long hours and multiple jobs that getting proper rest is a challenge. “Sleep deprivation suppresses immune system function” and additionally, if you get flu shots a run-down immune system may affect the effectiveness of your flu shot (4). Keep your body in top, germ-fighting state by getting some sleep and not burning the midnight oil. For ideas on sleeping better read here.

6. Watch the stress. When we are stressed our body produces the stress hormone called cortisol. Too much cortisol makes the body more vulnerable to inflammation (5). Additionally, too much stress also decreases our lymphocytes, or our white blood cells which fight sickness (5). Stress does impact the immune system, so make sure to practice a calm state of mind. For ideas on promoting calmness read this article here.

There are lots of other ways to stay healthy this season, but these important ideas are a great place to start. Eating right and exercising are also excellent ways to help keep sickness away. Loading your body with raw, nutritious veggies and staying hydrated goes a long way to keeping your body in top shape. Certain herbs are also good at boosting the immune system, and many are easily incorporated into your daily diet. Making your body strong through exercise also helps keeps sickness away. When our bodies are weaker, we are prone to illness, so even if it’s just a ten minute walk get out and exercise.

Maybe you have a great tip to leave below in the comments? Would love to hear your thoughts and ideas on this subject and how you stay healthy. Hope everyone has a great week and stays healthy this holiday season!

Best to you, Anna.

1  www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html        2 http://www.nbc12.com/story/19230339/12-investigates-towel-germs/              3 www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science-hand-sanitizer.html              4 www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/features/immune-system-lack-of-sleep#1                                  5 https://health.clevelandclinic.org/what-happens-when-your-immune-system-gets-stressed-out/