Flu prevention strategies

Looking for some flu prevention strategies? There's no denying that a bad case of flu can wipe you out with symptoms of fever, congestion, fatigue and body aches.

According to the NHS in the UK around 600 people a year die from seasonal flu. This rises to around 13,000 during an epidemic.

How is flu spread?

A virus that infects the nose, throat and lungs causes flu. Just like a cold virus, flu is usually spread from one person to the next when the infected person coughs or sneezes. The flu virus is passed from the lungs, throat or nose of one person through the air to another person. In addition, when people touch a surface - or person - that's contaminated with flu germs and then touch their eyes, nose or mouth, they infect themselves with the flu virus.

What's the best way to prevent flu?

To prevent flu, if advised to do so, make sure you get a flu jab - the essential key to flu prevention. You need it because there's no cure for the flu - and flu complications can be really serious in some people, especially infants and young children, elderly adults and people with heart disease, diabetes, lung disease and other chronic medical problems.

Talk to your doctor to confirm if the flu jab is right for you. In addition, encourage those around you to have a flu jab if they are advised to do so.

The Department of Health recommends flu jabs for all adults age 65 and older. It also recommends flu jabs for anyone over six months of age with certain chronic medical conditions, pregnant women, people living in nursing homes or other long-term care facilities, health care workers, anyone who has daily household contact with people in those risk groups.

Does the flu jab have side effects?

If you're worried about flu jab side effects, don't be. Most of the time, there are no side effects from the flu jab. After all, the flu jab is made from killed viruses - not live ones.

Still, some people may experience some mild vaccine side effects such as a low-grade temperature, aches or a slight runny nose after getting a flu jab. A few people have experienced a rare severe allergic reaction from a flu jab. Talk to your doctor to see if you might be at risk of this rare problem.

How can I keep my family members from getting flu?

For most families, when one member gets the flu, the virus spreads to the other family members, but it does not have to be this way!

Before you stock up on tissues and throat lozenges to prepare for flu season, we'd like you to think about flu prevention at home. Believe it or not, there are steps you can take to keep your home from becoming a hotbed for contagious germs - particularly the flu virus. Consider the following flu prevention strategies: