Flu Season Checklist: Prevent Germs in Your Office
Many people dread when fall arrives, because it marks the beginning of flu season, a period categorized by a notable outbreak of the influenza virus. The colder temperatures of the fall and winter months help make the virus more stable in the air, allowing it to spread around easily. For some people, the flu can be relatively tame, but for others, it can be a very severe illness. Every year people do whatever they can to not only avoid catching the flu, but to also keep it from spreading. Below are just a few of the things you can do to try to keep the flu at bay in your home and office.
Fighting off Influenza
Get a Flu Vaccine
One of the most common ways to try and prevent the flu is to get a flu vaccine every year. After it is injected, the vaccine develops antibodies that are designed to fight off the influenza virus if it gets into your body. The antibodies can take up to two weeks to form, so it is generally better to get vaccinated as early as you can.
The best time to get vaccinated is early in the fall, just before the virus really starts breaking out. During flu season, a majority of medical facilities offer flu vaccines, so you can simply visit your local hospital to get one. Even the healthiest people can get the flu, so even if you haven’t gotten sick at all this year, it would be wise to get a vaccination anyway.
Keep Up With Exercise
Exercising regularly is another good way to try and prevent the flu. When you exercise, blood circulation in your body increases, and the potency of your immune system increases. This in turn gives your immune system a better chance of fighting off serious illnesses, like the flu, before they become a serious problem.
Reports from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine in 2014 stated that at least two-and-a-half hours of vigorous exercise a week can help decrease the chance of getting the flu or flu-like viruses. If you do not have a weekly exercise schedule, it might be a good idea to set one up.
Wash Your Hands Regularly
One of the facts of life is that germs are everywhere. Germs can stay in one place for a good amount of time, and during this time of year flu germs can be anywhere. You touch a lot of things throughout the day, so there is a good chance that those germs will end up on your hands at some point. To combat this, you should be washing your hands regularly.
It is recommended that you always wash your hands with soap or sanitizing gel, because water by itself will do little to kill the germs. If you are unable to get near a sink for a good portion of the day, take hand sanitizing wipes with you.
If You’re Really Sick, Stay Home
In the case that you do catch the flu, you should consider staying home for the day so you don’t get your coworkers sick. While it is important to keep up with your work, going to the office with the flu allows you to spread the illness around. If a majority of your coworkers come down with the virus because you gave it to them, more people will be out sick, cutting down on productivity dramatically.
Most offices offer a handful of sick days throughout the year, so do not be afraid to use one if you feel that you really need it. The pressure to do your job can be hard to ignore, especially if your job doesn’t offer sick days. However, if you are already a model worker, taking one day off won’t cause serious problems, especially if it means you won’t be spreading around a potentially dangerous illness.
Clean Your Home and Office Space Regularly
Cleaning is another thing you should be doing to deal with the flu germs. There isn’t always a lot you can do about germs in public places, but you can certainly fight off the ones at home or at work. While you should be cleaning in as many places as possible, you should be most concerned about cleaning things that will be used by different people. These can include remote controllers at home and the buttons on the microwave in your office’s break room.
A wide variety of brands offer many supplies that can help you get rid of as many flu germs as you can. Keep in mind that basic cleaning supplies only move the germs away from a particular location, and that the disinfecting supplies that will actually kill them off. If you need a restock on cleaning supplies CMF Supplies has a wide variety of products available.
