• Protecting Your Family From the Flu
    Awake!—2010 | June

    • Measures of Protection

      Recognizing the need to be prepared, many governments have action plans already in place. But what can you do? Let’s review three basic protective steps:

      Strengthen the body: Make sure that your family gets sufficient sleep and eats foods that will help the body strengthen its defenses. Your diet should emphasize fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins, which supply the amino acids needed to build up the immune system.

      Create an environment unfriendly to germs: To the extent possible, keep your counters and tables thoroughly clean daily. Wash cooking and eating utensils after every use, and regularly wash bedclothes. Disinfect things that people touch: doorknobs, telephones, remote controls. Maintain good ventilation, if possible.

      Practice good habits of personal cleanliness: Wash your hands diligently with soap and water or with an alcohol-based hand cleaner. (If practical, carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer with you.) Try not to share towels with anyone for drying hands or face, not even with other family members.

      Do not touch your eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands. If possible, use disposable tissues to cover your mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and throw them away immediately. Avoid sharing devices that can readily spread germs, such as telephones. Children need to be thoroughly trained in these practices. Such habits are good all the time but especially so during the flu season.

      Show Consideration for Others

      It is possible to start infecting others a day before you show any symptoms and up to five days after getting sick. Symptoms are similar to the common cold but much more intense. They include fever (usually high), headache, extreme tiredness, dry cough, and muscle aches. Runny nose and stomach symptoms​—such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea—​are more common in children than in adults. If you have symptoms, stay home if possible and avoid infecting others.