Keeping away the colds and flus

Colds are certainly going around, and influenza (the flu) has been cropping up in a few states such as Florida and Washington. The flu that has been seen so far is not unusual, and if you have received a flu shot this should help.

The most important and effective ways to not get colds and flus are avoidance and hygiene.

• Wash your hands frequently with soap and warm water, or waterless hand cleanser. Anti-bacterial soaps are more expensive, but are not better. It's the scrubbing action that rids your hands of bacteria and viruses. A thorough hand washing should take as long as it takes to sing the Happy Birthday To You song twice (to yourself in your head, if you prefer : .).
• Avoid rubbing your eyes, and touching your nose and mouth. This is how bacteria and viruses enter your body!
• Avoid being around people who are obviously ill. This is tricky with Christmas coming up, but if you or your children are ill it's polite to inform family and other guests in advance.
• Masks are useful in preventing the spread of colds and flus.
• Surgical masks like those worn in operating rooms are disposable and made of thin paper-like material. These are worn by the sick person to prevent coughs and sneezes from throwing cold and flu viruses into the air, where they can float for up to several hours afterwards. They do not keep you from inhaling bacteria and viruses into your mouth and lungs!
  
• N95 respirator masks are reusable and are worn by well persons to filter out bacteria and viruses when you breath. This link shows several places you can buy them. They can often be found in hardware stores (for workers around fine dusts), and in medical supply stores (for allergy sufferers).
• N95 masks are so called because they are certified by NIOSH (National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) as filtering out 95% of workplace dusts and particles. Because of the material used, they actually filter out 99% of bacteria and viruses including TB, pneumonia, colds and avian flu ("bird flu").
• Get the kind that have a valve for breathing out because they are much more comfortable to wear.

Hopefully, these steps will help you to stay well during the cold and flu season!

Things that should concern you that you may have something more serious could include chest pain, shortness of breath or wheezing. Please feel free to call us to be seen as soon as possible to make sure that you don't have a more serious condition such as asthma or pneumonia.