With the snowy season comes the cold and flu season. To keep yourself and others healthy, there are steps you can take to avoid getting sick and guidelines to follow if you do.
Preventing illness largely comes down to minimizing your exposure to germs. Winter is the cold and flu season since germs spread more quickly when people spend more time together indoors in close proximity. Following this pattern, the influenza season typically begins in October and ends in May. The common cold, usually caused by variants of rhinovirus, occurs year-round but more often during the fall and winter.
While there’s no vaccine to prevent the common cold, since it can be caused by over 200 different viruses, there is an annual vaccine against several strains of the flu.
“The best thing to do to prevent the flu is getting the flu shot,” said Dr. Joanne Steane, director of the UW Student Health Service. “That’s number one.”
The flu shot decreases your chances of coming down with the flu. If you do become infected, the shot can also decrease the severity of symptoms and length of time you’re sick as well as help prevent potentially life-threatening complications like pneumonia or sepsis.
It takes up to two weeks after receiving the vaccine to develop immunity. With the flu season underway — Student Health has already seen cases — if you haven’t already gotten your flu shot, don’t delay. Student Health is awaiting a second batch of flu shots this week, but shots are still available for students from the UW pharmacy.
After getting the flu shot, the next best way to protect yourself against any inflection, including colds, is to avoid being around people who are sick. With class and work obligations, this is sometimes unavoidable, so it’s important for people who are sick to minimize the chances of spreading their illness. Cover your nose and mouth in the crook of your elbow when you cough or sneeze. Disinfect surfaces contaminated by coughing or sneezing, and be mindful of how often you touch potentially contaminated surfaces like doorknobs and desks.
Another important way to avoid getting sick: wash your hands correctly and often. Most people wash too quickly for hand-washing to be effective, Dr. Steane said.
Scrub your hands with soap under water running for at least 20 seconds, about the length of two “Happy Birthday” choruses. You should wash before eating and after coughing, sneezing or coming into contact with someone who is ill.
In public restrooms or facilities used by multiple people, it’s also recommended that you leave the water running when you finish washing and use the paper towel you dry your hands with to touch the facet and turn it off. This way you don’t touch the same surface contaminated by you and others. When you can’t wash your hands, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
Even if you’re vaccinated, avoid sick people and do your best to wash or sanitize your hands correctly and often, you can still get sick if you’re constantly touching your face near your nose, eyes or mouth.
“If you get somebody’s virus particles on your hands and touch those areas, that’s how virus particles get into your respiratory system and infect you,” Dr. Steane said. “Basically keep your hands away from your face.”
Finally, if you do get sick, take care of yourself with rest and fluids and do your best to avoid infecting others. If you have a cold, the decision to stay home largely depends on if you feel up to work or class.
“Some people can drag themselves to class and maybe shouldn’t and some people just get ill and don’t feel up to getting to class. I think it’s an individual call as to how you’re feeling because different people experience illness differently,” Dr. Steane said.
If you have the flu, however, there are specific guidelines on when to stay home. Isolate yourself until you haven’t had a fever for at least 24 hours without taking fever-reducing medications like acetaminophen or ibuprofen.
Follow these steps and you’ll have a better chance of surviving the cold and flu season happy and healthy.
