With this year's flu season starting much earlier and infecting more people than typical, chances are you may already be sniffling and coughing. If not, you're lucky.
Flu (influenza) and colds are caused by viruses, which are easily spread from person to person. While the virus can attack at any time, we typically see most colds and flu in the fall and winter, when we are all spending more time indoors and in close quarters with others. The virus is spread through the air via sneezing and coughing or by touching a surface that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
Each year, the flu leads to more than 100,000 hospitalizations and about 20,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Death rates are highest for people 65 and older and for those with medical conditions that put them at increased risk for flu complications.
Here are some tips to ward off colds and flu:
• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for about 15 seconds to prevent spreading respiratory infections and picking them up from someone else.
• If you're sick, stay home. If not, stay away from sick people. If keeping your distance is too difficult, say in the case of parents who can't help but hold and kiss their sick kids, then wash your hands frequently and keep surfaces clean with a virus-killing disinfectant like a solution of one-part bleach mixed with 10 parts water.
• Take care of yourself by eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and exercising, all of which can help the immune system better fight off the germs that cause illness.
Should you see a doctor?
Most of the time, colds and flu simply have to run their course. You usually don't need to call the doctor at the first signs of cold and flu, but there are times when you should. Doctors will treat complications such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections and pneumonia.
If you aren't getting any better after about a week or your symptoms worsen, you should see a doctor. Your viral infection may have caused enough mucus build-up to allow for a bacterial infection to occur. Signs of trouble might be a cough that gets so bad it disrupts sleep, a fever that won't go down, increased shortness of breath and pain in the face because of a sinus infection. Another warning signal is if after feeling better for a short time, you start to feel worse and experience a high fever, chest pain or notice a change in the mucus you're producing. With children, be alert for high fevers and abnormal behavior like acting unusually drowsy, refusing to eat, crying a lot, holding the ears or stomach and wheezing.
For more information, call 1-800-SCRIPPS or visit www.scripps.org.
Flu (influenza) and colds are caused by viruses, which are easily spread from person to person. While the virus can attack at any time, we typically see most colds and flu in the fall and winter, when we are all spending more time indoors and in close quarters with others. The virus is spread through the air via sneezing and coughing or by touching a surface that has the virus on it and then touching your mouth, nose or eyes.
Each year, the flu leads to more than 100,000 hospitalizations and about 20,000 deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Death rates are highest for people 65 and older and for those with medical conditions that put them at increased risk for flu complications.
Here are some tips to ward off colds and flu:
• Wash your hands with warm, soapy water for about 15 seconds to prevent spreading respiratory infections and picking them up from someone else.
• If you're sick, stay home. If not, stay away from sick people. If keeping your distance is too difficult, say in the case of parents who can't help but hold and kiss their sick kids, then wash your hands frequently and keep surfaces clean with a virus-killing disinfectant like a solution of one-part bleach mixed with 10 parts water.
• Take care of yourself by eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and exercising, all of which can help the immune system better fight off the germs that cause illness.
Should you see a doctor?
Most of the time, colds and flu simply have to run their course. You usually don't need to call the doctor at the first signs of cold and flu, but there are times when you should. Doctors will treat complications such as bronchitis, sinusitis, ear infections and pneumonia.
If you aren't getting any better after about a week or your symptoms worsen, you should see a doctor. Your viral infection may have caused enough mucus build-up to allow for a bacterial infection to occur. Signs of trouble might be a cough that gets so bad it disrupts sleep, a fever that won't go down, increased shortness of breath and pain in the face because of a sinus infection. Another warning signal is if after feeling better for a short time, you start to feel worse and experience a high fever, chest pain or notice a change in the mucus you're producing. With children, be alert for high fevers and abnormal behavior like acting unusually drowsy, refusing to eat, crying a lot, holding the ears or stomach and wheezing.
For more information, call 1-800-SCRIPPS or visit www.scripps.org.