By Donna V. Scaglione
While the flu season is just beginning and the number of cases is low throughout the country, they are expected to grow as the calendar heads into the winter months and peak in January and February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Health officials say your best protection is the flu vaccine, which is recommended for everyone older than six months. This year’s vaccine covers the same virus strains as last year, as well as the H1N1 virus, and supplies are reportedly abundant.
But while getting a flu vaccine is important, a recent study in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal found that the most common vaccine in the United States works for 59 percent of healthy adults, not the 70 percent to 90 percent that previously had been reported.
The study, led by Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Minnesota, also found little data on how well the vaccine worked in two groups at greatest risk of illness and death from the flu: children and adults older than 65.
So to help boost the benefits of the vaccine, consider getting your immune system in top shape as we embark on this flu season. That means remembering the basics of good health practice, like frequent hand-washing and avoiding touching your eyes and nose, getting regular exercise and adequate sleep, and considering some natural remedies shown to help improve your immune system and fight the symptoms if you do get sick.
David Kiefer, MD, a board-certified family medicine physician and clinical assistant professor of medicine at the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona, shares his anti-flu and anti-cold advice with Newsmax Health.
Sing ‘Happy Birthday’ while you wash. We’ve been told to wash our hands since we were children, but you have to scrub long enough to get rid of germs. Kiefer recommends scrubbing for as long as it takes you to sing “Happy Birthday” to yourself twice. “Don’t forget your thumbs,” he tells Newsmax Health. “Those are often ignored.” In a public restroom, use a paper towel to turn off the water faucet and to open the door when you’re done washing. Can’t get to a faucet? Use hand sanitizer and rub for 20 seconds or until it evaporates.
