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Evolve Behavioral Health Services
Healthy Connections
My Kids Pediatric Clinic

CALL US: 888.710.8220

Healthy Habits Can Stop Germs

The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent flu. The tips and resources below will help you learn about steps you can take to protect yourself and others from flu and help stop the spread of germs.

1. Get Vaccinated

The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. There are several flu vaccine options for the 2018-2019 flu season. If you haven’t received your flu shot this season, visit one of our Healthy Connections clinics to make an appointment.

2. Avoid close contact.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

3. Stay home when you are sick.
If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.

4. Cover your mouth and nose.
Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Flu and other serious respiratory illnesses, like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), are spread by cough, sneezing, or unclean hands.

5. Clean your hands.
Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

  • Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
    Tips on hand washing and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers
  • It’s a SNAP Toolkit: Handwashing
    Hand washing resources from the It’s A SNAP program, aimed at preventing school absenteeism by promoting clean hands. From the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention, a collaborative project of the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cleaning Institute.

6. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

7. Practice other good health habits.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

 

Get a Flu Vaccine and Take Preventive Actions

The CDC is raising awareness about important influenza (flu) prevention actions, including receiving a flu vaccine every year. Preventive actions, including covering your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough and limiting your contact with others if you become sick, can also help prevent the spread of flu.

Learn more at www.healthy-connections.org/flu.

 

Who Needs A Flu Vaccine?

From the CDC

Everyone 6 months of age and older should get a flu vaccine every season. Vaccination is particularly important for people who are at high risk of serious complications from influenza. See People at High Risk of Developing Flu-Related Complications for a full list of age and health factors that confer increased risk.

Flu vaccination has important benefits. It can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. Flu vaccine also has been shown to be life-saving in children. In fact, a 2017 study showed that flu vaccination can significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from flu.

Different flu vaccines are approved for use in different groups of people. There are flu shots approved for use in children as young as 6 months of age and flu shots approved for use in adults 65 years and older. Flu shots also are recommended for use in pregnant women and people with chronic health conditions.  The nasal spray flu vaccine is approved for use in non-pregnant individuals, 2 years through 49 years of age. People with some medical conditions should not receive the nasal spray flu vaccine.

There are many vaccine options to choose from.  CDC does not recommend one flu vaccine over another. The most important thing is for all people 6 months and older to get a flu vaccine every year. If you have questions about which vaccine is best for you, talk to your doctor or other health care professional.

More information is available at Who Should Get Vaccinated Against Influenza.

Who Should Not Receive a Flu Shot:

Factors that can determine a person’s suitability for vaccination, or vaccination with a particular vaccine, include a person’s age, health (current and past) and any relevant allergies.

Information for who cannot get a flu vaccine and who should talk to their doctor before getting a flu vaccine is available at Who Should & Who Should NOT Get Vaccinated.

When should I get vaccinated?

You should get a flu vaccine before flu begins spreading in your community. It takes about two weeks after vaccination for antibodies that protect against flu to develop in the body. CDC recommends that people get a flu vaccine by the end of October.  Getting vaccinated later, however, can still be beneficial and vaccination should continue to be offered throughout the flu season, even into January or later.

Children who need two doses of vaccine to be protected should start the vaccination process sooner, because the two doses must be given at least four weeks apart.

Special Consideration Regarding Egg Allergy

People with egg allergies can receive any licensed, recommended age-appropriate influenza vaccine (IIV, RIV4, or LAIV4) that is otherwise appropriate. People who have a history of severe egg allergy (those who have had any symptom other than hives after exposure to egg) should be vaccinated in a medical setting, supervised by a health care provider who is able to recognize and manage severe allergic reactions.

Flu Shot Facts

Getting an annual flu vaccine is the first and best available way to protect yourself and your family from flu and its potentially serious complications. Flu vaccination can reduce flu illnesses, doctors’ visits, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as prevent flu-related hospitalizations. Flu vaccine also has been shown to significantly reduce a child’s risk of dying from influenza. The more people who get vaccinated, the more people will be protected from flu, including older people, young children, pregnant women and people with certain long-term health problems who are more vulnerable to serious flu illness.

For the 2018-2019 flu season:

  • Flu vaccines have been updated to better match circulating viruses [the B/Victoria component was changed and the influenza A(H3N2) component was updated].
  • The nasal spray flu vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine or “LAIV”) is again a recommended option for influenza vaccination for people for whom it is otherwise appropriate.

What flu vaccines are recommended this season? For the 2018-2019 flu season flu vaccine, providers may choose to administer any licensed, age-appropriate flu vaccine including inactivated influenza vaccine or “IIV,” recombinant influenza vaccine or “RIV4”, or the nasal spray vaccine (live attenuated influenza vaccine or “LAIV”).

Options this season include:

Standard dose flu shots. Most are given into the muscle, usually with a needle, but two can be given to some people with a jet injector. (*Note that no intradermal flu vaccine will be available during 2018-2019).

A high-dose shot for people 65 and older.

A shot made with adjuvant for people 65 and older. • A shot made with virus grown in cell culture.

A shot made using a vaccine productiontechnology (recombinant vaccine) that does not require the use of flu virus or eggs.

Live attenuated influenza vaccine (LAIV) – or the nasal spray vaccine – is also an option for use in otherwise healthy  persons 2 through 49 years of age who are not pregnant. (Note that there is a precaution against the use of LAIV for people with certain underlying medical conditions.)

Get your flu shot at a Healthy Connections location today.

Learn more at www.cdc.gov.FightFlu