kids flu
kids health

Tips to protect us from the flu

With the arrival of cold begins the flu. The period of this goes from October to March, and can even be extended until May. As we are in full season we are going to give you some tips to protect us from the flu.

The first thing we have to do is to know if we really have flu and not a cold. The symptoms can confuse us because they are very similar, but they are different diseases.

Differences between flu and cold:

Both are the cause of a virus, but of a different type. The flu is caused by the “influenza” virus while the cold can be caused by different types of viruses. The symptoms of the latter are milder and may appear several times a year in addition to being more common.

The incubation period of both is different: the cold goes from 48 to 72 hours while the flu from 18 to 36 hours.

Tips for prevention:

  • Getting vaccinated to prevent the flu is important if you belong to a risk group
  • Wash your hands well frequently and always before any meal.
  • Avoid cold and humidity by wrapping well. Avoid sudden temperature changes.
  • Practice healthy habits such as eating a varied diet and resting well to maintain strong defenses
  • Use disposable tissues
  • Do not share personal hygiene material such as towels or utensils such as spoons, etc.
  • Sneeze or cough covering our elbows and not with our hands.
  • Stay home if you have already fallen ill and always stay away from people at risk.

Risk groups:

As we have talked about before, there are people at risk and they may have more complications than those who do not belong to this group if they catch the flu. So you have to be more careful in these cases and get the vaccine. It is important to know that the injectable flu vaccine can only be given in children from 6 months of age .

Within this high-risk group we find:

  • Children under two years old
  • People over 65
  • Pregnant women or trying to get pregnant
  • People who work in a healthcare environment or take care of other people
  • People with a weaker immune system

How to relieve symptoms:

  • Rest
  • Drink plenty of fluids to keep us hydrated
  • Eating plenty of vegetables in creams and soups will relieve us and make us feel better
  • Always go to the doctor and not self-medicate since it can be harmful to health

It is important to know that antibiotics should not be taken when we have the flu, as this is a virus, and antibiotics do nothing against the flu.

We hope that these tips to differentiate a flu from a cold, how to prevent the flu from catching it and how to relieve the symptoms if we have already taken it will help you to have a better winter. If you are interested in having more information about this disease I leave the link of the Ministry of Health where they explain who should get vaccinated, date to get vaccinated, etc. We remind you again that it is important to see our doctor for any questions or queries.

Family greetings!

You may also like...

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *