Today, when the COVID-19 has scared-off the entire world, seasonal flu has knocked the doors to make the situation even more worse.
Yes, you heard it right. Seasonal flu is affecting many people and is overlapping with COVID-19 pandemic. It's nothing but the seasonal flu that affects a majority of the population altogether. COVID-19 has already made huge damage to humankind. This year the situation would be more dangerous as the seasonal flu and COVID-19 would overlap and will create more fuss than the COVID-19 alone.
Struggling with how to do and what to do to keep yourself safe from seasonal flu, come, have a read and find answer to all your queries.
Let’s understand some differences between these two and educate ourselves on how to stay protected from the seasonal flu and keep our surroundings healthy.
Seasonal Flu- When it starts?
The flu season starts with the arrival of the monsoon and it reaches its peak during the winters when there is nip in the air. From December to February, flu engulfs the majority of the population every year. However, flu can affect a person during summers as well.
It is always better to keep yourself and surroundings hygienic to avoid this seasonal flu. Hence precautionary measures are advisable to keep yourself safe from it.
What is the seasonal flu?
During the monsoon, we have to deal with many viruses and flu, but the list is topped by Influenza, which is commonly termed as seasonal flu or seasonal Influenza. It is characterized by
• cough,
• fever,
• joints and muscle pain,
• headache,
• sore throat, and
• runny nose
These symptoms are also common for COVID-19. But in COVID-19, loss of smell and taste is also a common symptom.
Influenza outbreaks every winter in the north and south hemisphere. The virus goes through an "antigen drift" genetic variation in which the genetic structure of the virus changes every time so the people affected by this flu will develop immunity for a year maximum but they would be receptive again the next year.
Whom does seasonal flu affect the most?
Typically it affects the elderly most but this is not the case always. Kids are also susceptible to this disease that is the reason infants and kids below age 6 needs to get the vaccination to fight against influenza.
Precautionary Measures to safeguard your health and avoid getting affected with flu:
1. Keep your surroundings clean: It is quite a basic thing to keep your home and workplace clean and germs free. The flu virus can live up to 48 hours on any surface therefore you need to disinfect your living and working space. Always use disinfectors to clean high-touched surfaces like switches, doorknobs, phones, and types of equipment that are being used by several people.
You can lower the risk of flu by keeping your surrounding fresh and clean. Sheets and towels should be washed in hot water or with disinfector to kill germs and bacteria.
This isn’t enough. For deep-cleaning of your workspace and homes, mopping and disinfecting on your own isn’t the best thing. There are many commercial cleaning companies offering the best of services to keep your homes and offices safe and germs-free. You can hire them for deep-disinfecting your buildings.
2. Keeping Immune System Strong:
The best favor you can do to yourself is just make an effort to not get sick as much as you can. You can start by keeping your immune system strong. Start having nutrient rich diet that make you stronger and immune to seasonal flu. Following are the ways you can boost your immune system - Eat healthy food (include more fiber)
- Exercise regularly - If possible, quit smoking and alcohol - Your sleep schedule should be at least 6-7 hours - Stay hygienic, wash your hands regularly - Indulge into some supplements like:
• vitamin C, D, B6
• probiotics, and
• zinc as they are good for strengthening your immune system
3. Get Vaccinated: The best way is to get the vaccination before the flu season. Flu shots are the best to keep yourself safe during the widespread season of influenza. You can speak to your health care expert to know exactly when to get flu shot. The best time is to do it is before the winter season (during monsoon) but if you missed it during that time then you can still get yourself and especially your children during the winter season. This year is very crucial in terms of health and hygiene aspects and they we can do to ourselves is staying away from diseases as COVID-19 is already taking many lives.
Precaution is always better than cure and keeping yourself vaccinated would be the best precaution. This would affect the overall health care resources as the challenges are more to fight against both covid-19 and flu together, hence only the preventive measures can save us.
It won't' be wrong to say that Prevention is better than cure fits well in the present scenario.
Final Words-
There are various precautionary measures you can take to safeguard yourself from getting seasonal flu. But if you notice the symptoms, you should definitely talk to your doctor. By keeping your homes and offices germs-free, you can provide a safe habitat to your loved-ones.
Got more queries, talk to Metrowest Cleaning Systems and let us take the pride in serving you. Our offices are located in Massachusetts & Connecticut.
Stay safe!