{"id":415224,"date":"2024-10-21T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-10-21T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=415224"},"modified":"-0001-11-30T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"-0001-11-29T14:00:00","slug":"4-Tips-to-Keep-Cold-and-Flu-Season-at-Bay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/4-Tips-to-Keep-Cold-and-Flu-Season-at-Bay\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Tips to Keep Cold and Flu Season at Bay"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>(Family Features) It doesn\u2019t take much for cold and flu symptoms to take over. Even a mild case of the sniffles can make it difficult to navigate the demands of everyday life. It\u2019s virtually impossible to avoid germs altogether, but you can make sure you\u2019re ready to fight off an infection, whether it\u2019s a minor cold or a full-blown case of the flu.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI always share a few easy and simple methods with my patients when cold and flu season comes back around to keep them in the best shape,\u201d said Dr. Tim Tiutan, board-certified internal medicine physician. \u201cNot only does getting ahead offer protection, but knowing what to do when symptoms start to come on, and what to have in your medicine cabinet, can help ease the burden of an oncoming illness.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Preparation and prevention play important roles before a bug hits, but it\u2019s also valuable to know how to effectively treat an illness and keep your loved ones from getting sick.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"315\" height=\"560\" align=\"right\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zUpFn6VhRTM?feature=share\/?utm_source=familyfeatures&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=#17187-Mucinex\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><strong>Prevent<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Short of stashing yourself away in a bubble, there aren\u2019t many failsafe ways to fully avoid germs. However, some basic hygiene and preventive care can go a long way toward minimizing your risk. Regularly washing your hands can help get rid of germs before you accidentally introduce them to your eyes, mouth or nose.<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining an overall healthy lifestyle also helps ensure you\u2019re in optimal condition if you do get sick. That means eating a nutritious, well-rounded diet and keeping up with your exercise routine. Also be sure to talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting a flu shot.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Prepare<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Knowing you can\u2019t completely eliminate your exposure to germs, it\u2019s a good idea to ensure you have everything you need to fight a cold or flu on hand. At least once a year, give your medicine cabinet a thorough cleaning. Discard any expired medications and replace products that have run low, especially those designed to help fight symptoms like pain relievers, fever reducers, decongestants, antihistamines and cough syrups. It\u2019s also a good time to restock items like tissues, cough drops, hand sanitizer and antibacterial soap.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Treat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Once you\u2019re sick, sleep is one of the best remedies. Your body can redirect energy toward healing when you\u2019re sleeping, which helps boost your immune system. In addition to getting enough rest, it\u2019s important to treat your symptoms, not just mask them. Because symptoms like fever, runny nose, chest congestion, cough and more can indicate a more serious problem, finding the root cause of the symptoms can be a more effective treatment strategy.<\/p>\n<p>For example, some common remedies for chest congestion only mask the symptoms. Many doctors recommend an option like Mucinex 12-Hour because it treats the cause of <a href=\"https:\/\/youtube.com\/shorts\/zUpFn6VhRTM?feature=share\/?utm_source=familyfeatures&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=#17187-Mucinex\" target=\"_blank\">chest congestion<\/a> by thinning and loosening excess mucus. One dose lasts up to 12 hours, helping you clear mucus and relieve chest congestion.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Contain<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Getting rest and managing your symptoms are easier when you stay at home, but it\u2019s also the best way to prevent spreading germs to others. It\u2019s not always practical, but if you can, limit yourself to one area of the house, away from family members. Cough into your elbow or a tissue, never your hands. Use antibacterial hand sanitizer and wipe down surfaces to minimize others\u2019 contact with your germs. Take advantage of delivery or curbside services for essentials like groceries and talk with your employer about working remotely or using sick time until you\u2019re feeling better.<\/p>\n<p>Find more advice to help fight this cold and flu season at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mucinex.com\/?utm_source=familyfeatures&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=#17187-Mucinex\" target=\"_blank\">Mucinex.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Photo courtesy of Shutterstock<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ssl.google-analytics.com\/collect?v=1&amp;tid=UA-482330-7&amp;cid=1955551e-1975-5e52-0cdb-8516071094cd&amp;sc=start&amp;t=pageview&amp;dl=http%3A%2F%2Ftrack.familyfeatures.com%2F17187%2F9492&amp;dt=4-TIPS-TO-KEEP-COLD-AND-FLU-SEASON-AT-BAY\" \/><\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/images\/imgupload\/076b3640c43a839a450d95ca7f571daa.jpg\" width=\"480\" height=\"360\" \/><br \/>4 Tips to Keep Cold and Flu Season at Bay<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(Family Features) It doesn\u2019t take much for cold and flu symptoms to take over. Even&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-415224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-fitness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=415224"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/415224\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=415224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=415224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=415224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}