Keeping Healthy This Flu Season

This flu season is a little different than in previous years, but experts say you can dodge the flu by boosting your immune system.

How? By living a healthy lifestyle and getting sufficient sleep, according to experts from Purdue University’s School of Nursing, in West Lafayette, Ind.

So far, nearly 13 million flu cases have been diagnosed this season in the United States, while 39 children and more than 6,600 adults have died from flu, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Still, officials say a healthy immune system could help you fight the flu.

Tips to help keep your immune system in tiptop shape include:

Getting seven to nine hours of sleep a night.

Maintaining a healthy weight.

Eating lots of fruits and vegetables.

Drinking plenty of fluids.

Staying physically active.

Not smoking.

Limiting alcohol.

Limiting stress.

If you have a mild cold, it’s fine to exercise, but if you have fatigue, body aches or stomach issues, “you should stay home and rest as exercise could increase your chance of an injury,” officials said.

It can be a challenge to keep germs contained in your house if there are children, officials noted.

“Kids touch everything, which is one big way germs are spread. Kids also tend not to understand or value what ‘personal space’ is and can be in each other’s faces all the time,” officials said. “Parents, teachers and caregivers can demonstrate proper hand washing and cough hygiene all year long — not just during flu season.”

Officials urge using sanitized wipes to clean things kids touch, such as remote controls, phones, tablets, toys, doorknobs and faucets.

And you don’t have to be symptomatic to be contagious. “As much as we love to show affection with kisses, it’s possible to spread the flu one to three days prior to the start of symptoms,” officials noted.