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Avoiding the Flu and Cold This Winter Season

Influenza is a viral infection that affects about twenty percent of the population every year. While the flu can cause some a temporary annoyance, others with weakened immune systems require hospitalization.

Along with the flu, the winter season brings along the cold: Not only cold weather, but also the cold virus that can make you feel very sick.

Flu symptoms appear suddenly and are more severe than those of a cold. While a cold will cause symptoms that include a runny or stuffy nose, sneezing, coughing and a scratchy throat, the flu causes you to suffer from a fever, cough and body aches. 

Flu and Cold Prevention
As winter comes into full swing, staving off the cold and flu is one of people's main concerns. To prevent the cold, the only thing you can do is bolster your immune system by getting plenty of rest and taking the appropriate vitamins. That way, if or when you come into contact with the cold virus, your body will be strong enough to fight it off.

While avoiding the flu calls for the same prevention techniques as fighting off colds, you can also get a flu shot to booster your immunity to the virus. The flu shot works by exposing your body to a small amount of the flu virus to stimulate your body to develop antibodies that can fight it.

If or when you come into contact with the flu virus in its full-blown state, your immune system will already be prepared with antibodies to fight it off if you have gotten a flu shot. While you may still contract the flu, you will likely suffer from a far milder case than those who haven't had the flu shot. The best time to get a flu shot is in the fall before flu season begins.

Other methods of cold and flu prevention include:

• avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth after you have sneezed or coughed until you have washed your hands 
• eating healthy 
• frequently washing your hands 
• getting enough rest 
• limiting contact with sick people
• taking vitamins
• staying home when you are sick
• staying hydrated.

Who Should Get A Flu Shot?
Because there tends to be a shortage of the flu vaccine each year, medical professionals recommend that those with weakened immune systems get their immunizations early. These people are considered high-risk groups when it comes to the flu, meaning that an infection from the flu virus can be seriously dangerous and potentially fatal. Those in the high-risk group include:

• adults 65 years of age and older 
• caregivers of young children, especially those that care for children less than six months of age 
• children between the ages of six months to five years
• children between the ages of six months and eighteen years who are on aspirin therapy
• health care workers 
• nursing home and long-term care residents
• people with chronic health problems
• those with immune diseases, such as HIV
• women who are pregnant or will be pregnant during the flu season.

Getting A Flu Shot During Pregnancy
It is highly recommended that pregnant women get the flu shot, because getting the flu during pregnancy can increase the chances of complications. Experts also recommend flu shots for women who plan to be pregnant or who are nursing during the flu season.

Side Effects Of The Flu Shot
The flu shot is a safe vaccine with few side effects. If side effects occur, they are usually mild and disappear within a few days. Possible side effects include:

• fatigue
• mild flu-like symptoms
• muscle aches
• soreness in the arm in which the shot was administered.

Who Shouldn't Get The Flu Shot?
While it is extremely important that some people get the flu vaccine, others, such as those who may experience allergic reactions, should avoid it. Those who shouldn't get the flu shot include: 

• anyone who is allergic to eggs (The viral components of the flu shot are grown in eggs.)
• anyone who has had an allergic reaction to the flu shot before
• anyone with a history of Guillian-Barre Syndrome (a condition in which the body's immune system attacks the nervous system)
• anyone who is seriously ill with a fever (They can get a flu vaccine once they have returned to good health.).

If the potential for allergic reaction worries you, keep in mind that allergic reactions rarely occur. Consult your doctor to check your allergies before getting the flu shot if you are prone to allergic reactions.

Avoiding the flu and colds is not impossible. Using a common sense approach and following the steps listed above can decrease your chances of getting either one.