Tips to combat the flu season

It is the flu season now and the best way to stay functional is to protect yourself from the flu virus. Flu is the shortened form of influenza. Its symptoms include fever with chills, sore throat, fatigue, blocked nose and continuous cough. Flu disturbs you and invalidates you for up to three weeks. Most over-the-counter drugs treat only the symptoms while flu itself needs to pass. And if your children are affected with flu, then it is more energy-draining than ever.

Here is a list of some home remedies that can be tried to keep you and your family safe from flu:

• Do not make close contact with anyone suffering from the flu. The Flu spreads fast and if you come across someone, who is affected from the flu, then try avoiding contact with him or her. Keep your distance.
• Cover your face, mouth, and nose.It is your prime responsibility to cover your mouth, face, and nose while driving or going out from your home. Always carry a handkerchief and keep your-self warm in order to decrease your risk of catching the flu virus.
• The best way to protect yourself from flu season is to get a flu shot at a time when you are not already having flu or cough and cold.
• Make it a habit to wash your hands before and after a meal. Hands and feet are the first places for germs to latch on to before passing on to the mouth and face. Make sure you use alcohol-based hand wash solutions.
• Keep your-self and your surroundings clean. Staying neat and clean, disinfecting, and avoiding direct contact with dirt are some of the forms of good manners that everyone should adopt and practice in everyday life.
• Stay at home when you are sick and keep your children too at home when they get sick. Take a lot of fluids to keep you hydrated and take rest. Sleep is the best cure for children who are school going.
• If and when you get sick, it is your biggest responsibility to contain the infection, by not letting it spread. So cover your nose and mouth whenever you cough or sneeze. Do not use bottles to drink from since your family is at risk of catching the Flu when they too drink from the same bottle. Wash your plates and glasses immediately after you use it.

These are some of the basic efforts that everyone should take, as preventive measures, to combat flu season. Flu for some people is just some days leave from routine work, but it really affects the entire family and derails your daily routine for a while. Most of the time you may feel a heavy head and have a constricted feeling in the chest that can be temporarily relieved through pain killers and the symptoms are harmless. But sometimes, Flu can be a serious issue for the patients already suffering from asthma, diabetes or low immune system.