Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/149055
Both Hands ONE OF YOUR BEST DEFENSES AGAINST THE COMMON COLD AND FLU THIS FALL IS A CLEAN PAIR OF HANDS. FROM OPENING DOORS to using your cell phone, you navigate the world by using your hands. Sooner or later, you will touch your face, possibly allowing unwanted hitchhikers—germs—an opportunity to enter your body through your eyes, mouth, or nose. "Our hands touch dozens of surfaces every day, potentially picking up bacteria and dirt from all of them," says Cheryl Rihn, MSN, RN, CNOR, Infection Prevention Manager for the Hospital Sisters Health System Western Wisconsin Division. "Using alcohol-based hand sanitizer or washing hands with soap and water will remove most, if not all, of the harmful organisms that can make you sick if you touch your face or spread to others through contact with objects you've handled. The best ways to prevent cold and flu are to be accountable for your health and practice hand hygiene." For the most effective wash, scrub until you work up a good lather, then spread the soap over every inch of your hands and wrists, including beneath your fingernails. Follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation of scrubbing for at least 20 seconds by humming two rounds of "Happy Birthday"—or put together your own mental album of favorite hygiene hits. Happy washing! > To learn more ways to prevent cold and flu, visit sacredhearteauclaire.org and locate the topics in "Health Library" under the "A Healthy You" menu. Don't Forget Your Flu Shot ACHINESS, HIGH FEVER, NASAL CONGESTION, NAUSEA—THE FLU CAN SLOW YOU DOWN IN A HURRY. THAT IS BAD NEWS WHEN YOU LIVE AN ACTIVE LIFE FULL OF RESPONSIBILITIES, BUT LOWERING YOUR RISK OF INFECTION IS AS SIMPLE AS ROLLING UP YOUR SLEEVE. EACH YEAR, RESEARCHERS seek to identify the seasonal flu strains that will appear in the fall and spread throughout the population, sometimes well into spring. They develop a vaccine containing neutralized influenza that, when introduced into the body, helps the immune system ward off the active flu virus. The vaccine itself does not cause the flu. "Vaccination is the most practical action you can take to prevent flu," says Tom Joles, MD, SH, FC-A, Family Medicine Physician at Sacred Heart Family Care – Arcadia. "After vaccination, it might take a little time for your immune system to gain momentum, like a train picking up speed. The vaccine prompts antibodies to form and, once they do, your immune system will respond more quickly when it's exposed to flu than if you hadn't been vaccinated. The vaccine won't prevent every infection, but it may reduce the severity of symptoms." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends flu vaccination for individuals who are at least 6 months old. The vaccine is available in shot or nasal form, but the latter is not approved for certain individuals. Remember: When you get vaccinated, you are not just doing yourself a favor—you are helping keep everyone around you free from infection. > To inquire about flu vaccine availability at Sacred Heart Family Care – Arcadia, call 608.323.1500. SAC R ED H E A RTE AU C L A I R E .O RG Embrace Hygiene with 13