10 Tips to Get You Through Cold and Flu Season

It's that time of year when everyone starts getting sick and passing around cold and flu germs. If you have a chronic illness, it means that your immune system is already compromised — which makes picking up other people's winter illnesses harder to avoid. But you don't have to lock yourself away until spring, just heed some basic advice about how to keep nasty germs at bay. 1. Get a Flu Shot This is the most important, and one of the easiest things you can do to avoid getting the flu. Source: WebMD Should MS patients get the flu shot? Read our columnist Laura Kolaczkowski's opinion on influenza vaccination. 2. Limit Your Alcohol Intake Drinking alcohol interferes with your sleep. You'll sleep less and the sleep you get will be poor. You are more likely to fall prey to colds and flu if you're tired. Source: Health.com Did you know that drinking problems among MS patients could be associated with anxiety and family history? 3. Drink Tea with Lemon and Honey Ditch the milk and sugar and add honey and lemon to your cup of tea instead. Steam from tea stimulates the tiny hair follicles in your nose to help flush out germs. Honey (particularly manuka honey) is antibacterial, while lemons are high in vitamin C and help thin mucus. Source: Health.com Tea is good for everyone, but did you know that coffee may also have lots of benefits for MS patients and that drinking up to four cups of coffee a day might help you fight MS? 4. Sanitize Your Workspace Keeping your workspace as clean as possible will help keep germs away. Use disinfectant to deep clean anything that people handle a lot: elevator buttons, chair armrests, microwaves, fridges, remote controls, photocopier machine buttons, door handles, shared computer keyboards, and more. Source: Health.com To help you live better with your MS, here are 7 useful tips you should take a look at. 5. Use Your Own Pens Keep your own pens with you at all times so you won't need to use shared or borrowed pens at the bank, doctor's office, office reception desk, or anywhere else. Source: Health.com Wondering if you know enough about multiple sclerosis? Here's a list of 6 quick facts about MS that might interest you. 6. Stop Biting Your Nails Unless you can guarantee that your nails are completely germ-free (which is unlikely no matter how much you wash your hands) then biting your nails is a sure-fire way for cold and flu germs to enter your body. Source: Prevention.com Living with MS might be so stressful, you may want to bite your nails! Read our columnist Debi Wilson's article and learn how you can "Stress Less For Your MS". 7. Wash Your Hands — A Lot! The more you wash your hands, the less likely they are to harbor cold and flu germs. Aside from washing your hands after going to the bathroom, or before eating, you should also wash them after touching anything that other people have touched. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer gel around with you just in case there are no washrooms. Source: Prevention.com Did you know that there are some less common signs of MS you might not know about? Check this list with eight of them. 8. Sweat More! Work out at the gym, go for a run, or simply take a sauna — anything that makes you sweat. Sweating helps the body release toxins. Source: Health.com And what better way to sweat than to exercise? Check out how you can exercise and do physical activities with living with MS. 9. Look Out For Symptoms If you have a chronic disease, getting the flu is much more serious than the average person. Even a common cold or cough will affect you worse than others. Be aware of early symptoms (sneezing, sore throat, aching muscles, headaches, slight fever) and act on them as soon as possible to minimize the effects. You can get more advice from your doctor. Source: Prevention.com Learn more about MS with this list of 13 symptoms you should be aware of. 10. Be as Healthy as Possible Eat well, sleep well, avoid stress as much as possible, and get plenty of exercise. Taking supplements such as vitamins C and D can help keep colds and flu away. The healthier you are in the first place, the less likely you are to catch winter colds and flu. If you do catch them, you'll be able to recover quicker. Source: Prevention.com Living a healthy lifestyle is extremely important. But did you know that your lifestyle choices may be interfering and worsening with your MS? Multiple Sclerosis News Today is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

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