Some Tried and True, Some Brand New

This year’s shortage of flu vaccines has many people worried. Even if you are not one who usually gets a flu shot, the thought of more sick people walking around isn’t a reassuring picture. It does make sense to worry about spreading germs to grandparents or younger family members whose immune systems may not be as strong as our own. While we don’t want to panic, it is smart to teach our children to practice good hygiene and healthy habits.

You’ll find some of these tips are tried and true; our mothers and grandmothers are clearly saying, “I told you so!” Others are new and may require re-learning habits. All are important to teach our kids.

Tried and True

• Wash Your Hands. This is still the very best way to prevent the spread of germs. When you are not near soap and water, a hand sanitizer is a good substitute. I noticed that Staples is now selling tiny bottles of “Purell”, a hand sanitizer, on their check-out counters. The bottles are the perfect size to stick in your purse, glove compartment of the car, or your kids’ backpacks.

• Eat right. In order to keep our immune systems strong, we need to supply our bodies with a variety of foods, especially whole grains, fruits and vegetables. As hard as it is, especially with teenagers, we need to make sure our kids are eating a healthy and substantial breakfast.

• Get regular exercise. It is a fact that regular exercise boosts our immune systems. It may take a little more creativity on your part since it is now cold, rainy and getting dark at 5 p.m. But use your imagination. Head for the local gym and shoot some hoops, get an exercise video that the whole family likes, bundle up and take the dog for a walk, visit the indoor roller rink or rock climbing facility.

• Go to bed early. When we are run down, overworked or stressed, we increase our risk of illness. Our bodies need time to recuperate. Adults should get at least seven hours of sleep a night and young children need more. Contrary to what my teenage son tells me, you cannot make up for a lack of sleep during the week by sleeping half the day on Saturday.

New Ideas

• Coughing or sneezing. We were always taught to “cover our mouths when we cough,” with a tissue or with our hand if we didn’t have a tissue handy. Let’s face it, who carries a box of Kleenex around with them? So what really happens? Well, we cover our mouth with our hand, and then proceed to touch everything around us, shake hands with other people and spread all of the germs we so carefully stopped from flying off into the air. The newest advice is to cough or sneeze into your sleeve, and then your hands remain clean. It makes sense but for us adults it will be re-learning an old habit.

• Water bottle re-fills? While we all want to be sure to drink plenty of water, it is suggested that we do not want to refill or share our water bottles. They accumulate germs that we are then spreading. While it takes a little more effort, there are plastic water bottles that you can purchase. Starbucks makes a convenient sized one. These can be put through the dishwasher and safely refilled. 

• Taking supplements. While many doctors say that if you eat a healthy diet you don’t need vitamin supplements, are we really sure that our families are getting everything they need every day? I insist that my children take a multiple vitamin, and during flu season we also take extra vitamin C and Echinacea. My feeling is we need all the help we can get to stay healthy this time of year. Talk to your doctor to decide what’s right for your family.

So as we head into what could be a wild flu season, talk with your family now and take some precautions to keep them healthy this winter.