As the holiday season quickly approaches, many of us prepare for shopping, display festive decorations and listen to our favorite holiday songs. While these celebrations and traveling plans start to take shape, it’s also important to get ready for the upcoming cold and flu season that is right around the corner.
With a few preventative steps, you can enjoy your holidays with friends and family without feeling symptoms or spreading them to others. Take a look at the timeline of the cold and flu season and how to prepare for the spread.
- When Is Cold and Flu Season?
- How to Prepare for Flu Season
- Tips for Weathering Cold and Flu Season
- Combat Flu and Cold Symptoms With Mobile IV Medics
When Is Cold and Flu Season?
If you guessed that cold and flu season takes place in the winter, you would be correct! The end of fall and the entirety of the winter season are the most common times to catch the flu. These cases can range from October to April, depending on the cold temperatures in the geographic locations around the world. You can catch a cold or the flu during any of these months, with February having the highest peak of cases reported throughout the year.
Why Is Winter Cold and Flu Season?
The general rule of thumb around cold and flu season is the lower the temperature, the higher the increase in reports of being sick. These sicknesses spread easier because more people spend time indoors for warmth, and being in close quarters can cause an outbreak if you are around people. So, you can expect to hear sniffles from friends, relatives and coworkers throughout this span of a few months.
How to Prepare for Flu Season
Preparing for flu season can take time and dedication, but the outcome is worth the journey. You can practice healthy habits now that can strengthen your body and immune system to avoid catching a cold or the flu this winter.
Follow these guidelines for a happy and healthy winter season without the flu.
1. Get Your Flu Vaccine
The easiest way to lower your chances of catching the flu this holiday season is to schedule an appointment with your doctor to get your flu vaccines. The flu shot is 50% effective for healthy adults fighting the influenza virus. Even if you still get the flu after receiving your vaccine, you will notice fewer, less severe symptoms than those who did not get their shot before flu season.
2. Take Care of Your Health Year-Round
Healthy habits lead to a strong immune system, which can help you immensely during cold and flu season. It might sound cliche to say that eating right and drinking enough water each day can fix several health problems, but it’s true! Remember to add your daily five servings of fruits and vegetables to your diet, exercise for at least 30 minutes a day and enjoy the fresh air as much as possible all year.
These factors all have a positive influence on your immune system’s strength. If you keep your health at the top of your priorities, your immune system can fight off diseases easier so you can enjoy your holidays with friends and family without symptoms.
3. Have a Sick Plan
Even if you take all the right steps, getting sick can be unpredictable. If you or your family catches the flu, it’s always best to have a backup plan.
A good sick plan can have a comfortable place to recover, such as your bedroom, sunroom or another favorite part of the house where you can relax. You can also have an email template you can send to your employer or professor if you need to take a few days off from your daily schedule. Keep Tylenol nearby if you have a fever, a common flu symptom that can last two to four days after getting sick.
Tips for Weathering Cold and Flu Season
Staying healthy this cold and flu season is essential to enjoy spending memorable time with your favorite people while celebrating the holidays and the new year together.
Follow these cold and flu season tips to be as healthy as possible this winter:
1. Wear a mask
Since sicknesses can spread quickly indoors when people are in close quarters, wearing a mask can help lower the chances of catching a cold or the flu and giving it to others around you. This step can also help protect you from getting COVID-19 or other spreadable diseases during the winter season.
Wear a mask in public places or tight quarters with strangers. You can also encourage your friends and family to wear masks around older adults and young children who are more likely to have weaker immune systems.
2. Disinfect Around Your Home
Bacterial infections can spread through touching surfaces, doorknobs and other objects in public and your own home. You can avoid the cold and flu spreading around your house when you have guests over by cleaning around the living spaces with disinfectant products. Clean counters, cabinets, end tables and dressers with soap and water first and follow up with disinfectant wipes or a bleach solution. Remember the doorknobs, faucets and handles around the house that everyone in your home touches on a daily basis.
Even cleaning simple objects like remotes, the backs of seats and lightswitches can help you avoid spreading any sickness this winter season.
3. Wash Your Hands Regularly
While the washing-hands rule may sound cliche when you learn it in preschool, it can be one of the most effective ways to avoid catching and spreading the flu. Shaking hands with someone and touching your eyes and mouth can quickly give you a cold. You can also give sickness to another person without even knowing you’re sick by touching them or something they own.
To stay healthy this cold and flu season, wash your hands after going to the bathroom, spending time outside or going out in public.
Combat Flu and Cold Symptoms With Mobile IV Medics
Enjoy your holiday season without the severity of flu and cold symptoms with the help of Mobile IV Medics! Our IV treatments help you feel back to your usual self if you’re under the weather during winter. With our Cold & Flu IV Drip therapy, you can boost your immune system to help your body fight off the symptoms of your sickness.
The ingredients in this IV treatment, including Vitamin B12, Vitamin B Complex, zinc, fever-reducing medication and glutathione, help alleviate discomfort and congestion while giving your body more hydration. To make your session as comfortable as possible, our mobile services can travel to your home, where one of our talented registered nurses can walk you through our process.
