How to Stay Healthy During Flu Season
Clinical Advocacy has provided the following information to help keep you and
your family healthy during flu season.
The primary way that flu is spread is from person to person, through coughs,
sneezes and touching contaminated surfaces. Someone coughing or sneezing and
then touching someone, or something, such as a doorknob or computer keyboard,
spreads the flu virus. Droplets from an infected person can also travel through
the air and reach the mouth or nose of a person nearby.
The flu virus can remain infectious for:
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48 hours on a non-porous surface;
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8 hours on a porous surface such as clothing of furniture; and
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5 minutes on your hands.
Good hand washing and hygiene practices are the most important habits for
minimizing exposure to germs and preventing infections.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has published extensive
information on influenza and other subjects. What follows is the CDC’s
recommendations for effective hand washing.
When to Wash
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Before eating.
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Before, during and after handling or preparing food.
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After contact with blood or body fluids (like vomit, nasal secretions or
saliva).
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After changing a diaper.
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After using the bathroom.
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After handling animals, their toys, leashes or waste.
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After touching something that could be contaminated (such as a trash can,
cleaning cloth, drain or soil.)
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Before dressing a wound, giving medicine or inserting contacts lenses.
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More often when someone in your home is sick.
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Whenever they look dirty.
How to Wash
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Wet your hands and apply liquid, bar or powder soap.
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Rub hands together vigorously to make a lather and scrub all surfaces.
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Continue for 20 seconds. It takes that long for the soap and scrubbing action
to dislodge and remove stubborn germs. Need a timer? Imagine singing “Happy
Birthday” all the way through – twice!
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Rinse hands well under running water.
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Dry your hands using a paper towel or air dryer.
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If possible, use your paper towel to turn off the faucet
And, if soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based wipe or hand gel.
For more information about the flu, visit the CDC’s website at
http://www.cdc.gov/.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human has developed a web page specific to the
avian flu which is available at
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/.
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