Projo Fitness Blog

It's time to exercise some common sense as flu season begins, writes registered nurse Patricia Stumpf in the autumn issue of Tale Health Care, a newsletter of the Yale Health Plan.

"Many people think of the flu as an uncomplicated disease," she writes. However, the influenza virus that causes the flu is far from simple and can cause very serious illness in some people. There are various strains of influenza, which are constantly changing form and structure. This constant shifting of the virus is why flu vaccine must be given each year--since the vaccine must be matched to the flu strain--and why limiting the flu's spread is difficult."

Assess your own flu sense:

I wash my hands with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand cleanser after I cough or sneeze.

I teach my children to wash their hands often, but especially after they cough or sneeze.

I cover my mouth and nose with a tissue when I cough or sneeze and I dispose of it in a waste basket.

If I do not have a tissue, I cough and sneeze into my upper sleeve.

I regularly clean work surfaces and equipment that might be contaminated especially those that are shared like telephones and keyboards.

I stay at home from work, school and errands if I am sick with flu-like symptoms.

I avoid close contact with people who are sick.

I get a flu shot every year.

 Tags  flu health prevention Yale

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