Coughs and Sneezes spread diseases....

We are well into the seasonal Influenza (Flu) season and with that and all the coughs and colds circulating,we need to look after ourselves.  Each year there are new strains of Flu and colds as the viruses that cause them are great at adapting, which renders us vulnerable to catching them. It is a problem we are unlikely to be free from.  Cold viruses are generally annoying and not serious and always self limiting, but Flu at times can be serious. Annually ten percent of the population catch Flu. If caught you will suffer for two to seven days with a high fever aches and chills and then recover, but sadly some people go on to develop very serious complications and tragically some of the most vulnerable people who catch flu will die. Being older, pregnant, less than six months old, or having an underlying respiratory, cardiac or immune problem will put you in a risk group for these complications. So is there anything to prevent us getting sick? The answer is yes!  The best line of defence is to get a Flu vaccine, especially if you are in the high risk groups or a health worker. Health experts work constantly to identify the main strains of Flu and develop vaccines for the most likely or dangerous outbreaks.  For example this year’s Flu vaccine was made to target this year’s three most likely strains. The next best thing recommended to prevent catching these viruses is to make sure your hand hygiene is good as they are highly infectious and spread easily. Making sure you wash your hands regularly after contact with things in the community and not touching your mouth, nose and eyes will help.  Another important thing to do if you are ill is to stay home! Don’t spread it! This reduces the volume of the viruses in our communities. The other thing to prevent infection is to stay healthy; following a good diet and more importantly, research has shown, getting a good amount of sleep will help improve your resilience.  Many people believe supplements will help, but a recent review in the UK found there is no evidence that either Vitamin C or Zinc supplements will prevent colds but the good news is they may help you recover if you do catch a cold or Flu. Many people believe that Echinacea will help but there are no significant results from current research trials which prove conclusively that they prevent viruses or aid recovery. One of my favourite findings was, while getting caught in the rain, not wearing enough clothes or going out with wet hair does not cause colds and flu (a previous old wives tale), recent research shows that you can make yourself more susceptible to catching a virus if you are cold! So in summary during this season you must: Wrap up warm, look after yourself, get a Flu vaccine and wash your hands regularly and hopefully you may then avoid the seasonal scourge of the Flu virus.