How to Protect Your Family This Flu Season
It seems like only a few weeks ago that we were preparing for summer and thinking about how to protect the kids in the heat. Now it’s time to start preparing for the cooler months and finding ways to help them to stay healthy. It’s impossible to protect your children from everything and in fact, we shouldn’t. Picking up coughs, colds, and normal childhood illnesses is essential for building their immune systems. However, there are some things we can and should protect our families from. Flu is one of these things. The flu can be horrible and even dangerous for young children. Here are some of the best ways to avoid illness this flu season.
Encourage Good Hygiene
Encourage your children to practice good personal hygiene from a very young age. Do this by teaching them the benefits, showing them what to do, and leading by example. Wash your hands regularly and especially after going to the toilet, emptying bins, cleaning, blowing your nose, touching your hair, feeding or playing with animals and before you eat. Invest in some anti-bacterial hand gel for when you are out.
Get the Flu Jab
Many people, both adults and children, are eligible for a free flu jab. But, even if your family aren’t, it’s worth getting one. A flu jab won’t protect you from coughs and colds so it’s a good idea to continue to practice good hygiene and look after yourselves, but it will stop you from getting some strains of the flu. However, it’s important to remember that you need to get a new one every year.
Keep Them at Home
If your children do get sick, keep them at home. Sending them to school or nursery when they are unwell will make them feel worse, cause the illness to last longer and spread it around their friends and classmates. When they are unwell, keep them home and let them get plenty of rest.
Look After Yourself
Looking after yourself is the best way you can protect your children. Get the flu jab, make sure you get plenty of rest, wrap up warm and consider a supplement such as those from doTERRA products which can boost your immune system and kill off harmful bacteria.
Eat Well
Eating a diet packed full of immunity boosting vitamins and minerals is a fantastic way to prevent the whole family from catching the flu. Broccoli, garlic, sweet potatoes and citrus fruits are great for boosting immunity and making you feel great.
Get Outside
You might not feel like going out when it is cold. But, making sure that you all get plenty of exercise and fresh air will keep you all fit, healthy and strong, which will help your body to fight off illness. Wrap up warm, make sure everyone is wearing waterproof shoes and spend some time running around outside, even when it’s cold.
When one member of your family gets the flu, it can be hard to stop it spreading to the rest of the household. So, the best thing to do is to try and stop everyone getting ill in the first place. Follow these tips and the whole family could stay fit and healthy all year around.