Text Box: Preventing the Flu The flu vaccination is the single best way to prevent the flu each fall. Cover your cough and sneeze with a tissue. Drop your used tissue in a wastebasket. Wash your hands. Wash your hands with soap and warm water or clean with gels or wipes with alcohol. Cleaning your hands often keeps you from spreading germs. Keep your distance from people who have the flu. Stay home if you're sick. You're contagious even before you show symptoms and for 3-5 days after the symptoms appear. Maintain a healthy lifestyle: Avoid smoking and second-hand smoke, eat healthful foods, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, get enough sleep, reduce stress. Get lots of rest. Drink lots of clear fluids daily. Keep your nasal passages moist: use saline spray/ increase the humidity in your home. To raise the humidity in your home —use a humidifier (make sure to keep it clean!!!), boil water on the stove, or sit in the bathroom with hot shower running. If chemo has your white counts low and you find yourself needing to go out into a crowded area, try things like: Sit at the end of the aisle at church Grocery shop at odd times when the crowds are smaller Keep hand sanitizer handy and use it often when out and about

Ever wonder where the germs like to hang out?

Some places may surprise you…

 

*Door knobs                                   *Money

*Kitchen sinks                                *The bathroom

*Dirty laundry                                *Public drinking fountains

*Shopping cart handles                 *ATM buttons

*Purses                                           *Playgrounds

*Bathtub                                         *Telephones/Cell Phones 

*Remote controls                           *Credit card swipe machines

*Buttons in elevator                      *Handles for escalator or stairs

*Keyboards and the mouse of a computer

*Mats and machines at the health club

 

*** It’s a great idea to carry hand sanitizer and/or sanitizing wipes around with you in public for when you encounter the above situations.