5 Flu Prevention Tips to Help You Stay Healthy

Flu season is upon us again, which can be a scary time – especially for seniors. Luckily, you don’t have to worry if you take the proper precautionary steps to protect yourself from the flu. By reducing your exposure to germs with our flu prevention tips, you can make a huge difference to prevent flu symptoms!

Flu Symptoms in Seniors

According to the CDC, the most common flu symptoms we tend to see in seniors includes the following:

Cough
Headaches
Fever
Chills
Sore throat
Stuffy or runny nose
Body aches
Fatigue
Dizziness

5 Tips for Avoiding the Flu This Season

In addition to the flu prevention tips we’ve written about in past years, which include exercising regularly, drinking lots of fluids and getting plenty of sleep, here are some additional ways you can stay healthy this season:

1. Get the Flu Vaccine

The absolute best way to reduce your risk of contracting the flu is to get your annual flu shot! Not only does it protect you against actually getting the flu, but if you do end up getting it, the vaccine will significantly reduce the severity of your symptoms and help prevent complications. Being vaccinated also helps protect others around you from picking it up.

The flu virus adapts and changes each year, so the shot must be received each year to protect against the most recent strain.

For the 2021 flu season, the CDC recommends getting your flu shot before the end of October.

2. Avoid Touching Your Face

This one can be hard to remember, but try to avoid touching your face at all costs – especially during flu season! Your nose, mouth and eyes serve as a freeway for germs to enter your body and make you sick, so to reduce that risk be sure to keep your hands far away.

3. Keep Your Environment Clean

By regularly cleaning the space you live in or spend a lot of time in, the less likely you are to pick up germs from touching something around you. Using disinfectant when cleaning, particularly the kitchen and bathroom, doorknobs, light switches and countertops can make a huge difference in eliminating germs.

4. Sanitize Your Devices

This tip is often forgotten and is perhaps one of the most important: sanitize your devices! Our cell phones go everywhere with us, constantly being touched by potentially dirty hands and then touching our faces. Gently clean your devices (including tablets and e-readers) with sanitizing wipes or rubbing alcohol as often as you can to prevent the spread of germs.

5. Keep Your Distance

This may seem like a no-brainer, but it’s still worth mentioning: stay away from people who are sick. If you do need to come in contact with someone who is sick (or if you don’t know whether they are sick) be sure to limit your contact with them. The silver lining of COVID-19 is that people are much more cognizant of being sick than pre-pandemic, so will generally take extra precautions about staying away from others. That said, it’s better to be safe than sorry, so keep your distance nonetheless!

Not Feeling Well?

If you do feel sick, be sure to visit your primary care doctor as soon as possible for prescription antiviral medication, which can make your symptoms much less severe and help to prevent any complications.

Cumberland Crossing by OceanView

Cumberland Crossing by OceanView is an active senior living community for the 21st century! At Cumberland Crossing, experience blssful peace of mind for the future with maintenance-free living.

Residents at Cumberland Crossing have access to an onsite wellness office, complete with a Registered Nurse and complimentary annual health screening. Our wellness office maintains and updates a health record for each resident, so you can seamlessly exchange information between our RN and your PCP!

To learn more about our active retirement community, please contact us today!