With a few precautions, you can lower your risk for these viral illnesses
By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
At best, catching a cold or the flu can take you away from doing what you want to for a few days. For people with chronic respiratory conditions, a virus can snowball into a much more serious illness. To reduce your chances of catching a cold or flu, try these tips:
Tips from Diane Oldenburg, associate public health educator at the Oswego County Health Department:
• “Getting a flu shot can help prevent you from getting the flu or help reduce the severity of illness if you do get sick. Talk to your healthcare provider about which vaccine is best for you.
• “Avoid close contact with those that are ill.
• “Stay home if you are sick to prevent the spread to others. Stay home until you are fever- free for 24 hours without using fever reducing medication.
• “Wear a mask.
• “Wash hands frequently and keep your hands away from your face.
• “Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue. Make sure to follow up with handwashing and throw out the tissue or use your elbow to cover your cough or sneeze.”
Tips from physician Az Tahir, at Highpoint Wellness in Syracuse:
• “There are many ways to increase immunity. There are many supplements that can increase immunity. Also try taking cold showers, cold immersion, red light sauna, exercise and breathing exercises, which may all increase immunity.
• “Avoiding exposure to the infection is very important. I suggest washing the hands at least three times or more a day.
• “We should also take shower twice. Most important is when you come from work. Take shower and change our clothes.
• “Also, keep the house and work infection-free. If possible before leaving the house we should clean our chairs, tables, etc., with either rubbing alcohol or sanitizer and also, it’s a good idea to spray Lysol or anti-infective. We should clean our table and our chair with the rubbing alcohol-based sanitizer and we should spray Lysol if possible at our working room before we leave.
• “Wear a mask for example if you’re traveling on an airplane or if people are sick at work, you should wear the mask.”