As the winter is coming so is the flu season. From the month of November till start of March days get shorter and colder here in Galway. The windy nature of the city does not help when it comes to the spread of the flu. In this article we will tell you about preventive measures, symptoms and some tips on how to take care of yourself if you are home alone and sick.
Preventive Measures:
While talking to SIN, Dr Eoin Mac Donncha, said, “The key things in preventing or reducing the risk of picking up flu is general well-being and self-care and making sure you are eating a regularly healthy diet and eating right. Treating yourself once in a while is good but maintaining a good healthy balanced diet as it helps in building a good immune system.”
He also says that, “Taking all kinds of vitamins is not necessary if you have a healthy diet, but due to the shorter days in cold months it is recommended to take vitamin D as we don’t get much sunlight here in Ireland.
“Always maintain clean hygiene. Constantly wear mask when you are in crowded places. Such type of simple measures help a lot since they stop the bacteria to have a direct contact with your mouth of eyes.
“Other than flu or influenza covid is also wreaking havoc again so if haven’t by now please get you booster shot it helps a lot in protecting yourself. If you feel you are suffering from flu and it is not getting better please do an antigen test which is freely available outside of the student health unit and in the student union office.
“Do the test at least thrice to be sure that it wasn’t a false negative. The tests are available in the pharmacy too. They are made free for the people who have a high risk of contracting it, are above the age of 65, or have any underlying disease that can make them susceptible for example people with asthma.”
Here are some symptoms of flu and Influenza:
Not everyone shows all signs or symptoms of flu and influenza. So here is a list of some of the symptoms that you can cross check and refer to.
Note: If you feel that these symptoms are very strong, seek medical assistance.
- Severe Body Pain
- Joint Pain
- Feverish
- Nauseous
- Sweats
- Chills
- Weakness
If you have two or more of these sickness, make sure to get yourself checked. When you have these symptoms you are on the couch or the bed due to the weakness. But on the other hand if you a head cold your symptoms are likely to be a sore throat, runny nose and cough, which won’t make you very weak, in very rare cases head cold gives your weakness.
Home Remedy
Here are some ways that you treat yourself when you are at home.
- Symptomatic management: For some people the first symptoms to be shown before falling sick can be ache, or a joint pain and the best way is taking care of the pain with a mild painkiller or a paracetamol and curing it.
- Taking the right amount of medicine, and always asking your pharmacist for advice on what you should and can take.
97% of the infections that happen during this season are flu and viral infections and they don’t need anti biotics to be treated, or immune system helps in quick recovery.
For more information you can still visit the site hse.ie for more knowledge on maintain health and preventive sickness.
