Top tips to avoid flu's & bugs

Whether it be Covid outbreaks or the devastation wrought by the flu outbreak one hundred years ago, protecting ourselves and good hygiene has come to the forefront for all of us.

In 1918, just as the First World War drew to a close, the Spanish Flu pandemic swept the globe and claimed the lives of at least 50 million worldwide. Many were killed by secondary bacterial infections such as pneumonia. 

The Covid outbreak has a current total of over 638 million cases and 6.63 million deaths.

Here we are obviously just highlighting the extreme, but horrible coughs and colds will also be rife this Winter cancelling plans and ruining your days.

So what can we do to protect ourselves as winter approaches and contagious illness spreads? Follow our top tips and you’ll have a greater chance of staying healthy through the winter months and beyond.

Book an immunisation appointment. The best way to avoid catching flu is to be vaccinated against it. Flu jabs are available on the NHS for anyone aged 65 and over, pregnant women, and children and adults with underlying health conditions such as respiratory disease. If you are not eligible for an NHS jab, ask at your local pharmacy for private flu vaccination, which normally costs around £10.

Pay heed to hygiene. The flu virus is carried in tiny droplets expelled from the nose or mouth when we cough or sneeze. Droplets can travel up to one metre, landing on hands, clothes, and surfaces, and living for up to 24 hours. By touching a contaminated surface, you run the risk of transferring the virus onto your own hands. So, be scrupulous about washing your hands in warm, soapy water, and wiping down surfaces such as door handles, desks, keyboards, and mobile phones.

NatraSan is ideal as a disinfectant for the hands and for any type of hard or soft surface, safely killing 99.9999% of all harmful germs within seconds.

Avoid touching your nose or mouth. If germs have made it onto your hands and you haven’t yet had a chance to wash them, make a concerted effort not to touch your face, which could lead to inhalation of the virus. If you need to sneeze or cough, use a tissue and throw it away afterward. 

 

How to avoid winter bugs - wrap up warm & look after yourself

Be kind to yourself. When you look after your everyday health, your immune system will be far more robust. Sleep well, eat a balanced diet (nuts and berries are particularly good immune boosters), and avoid drinking too much alcohol. In cold weather, always wrap up warm: believe it or not, every mother’s warning that ‘you’ll catch your death of cold’ might have an element of truth to it. There’s evidence that exposure to cold temperatures suppresses the immune system, and subsequently increases the opportunity for infection. 

and finally...

Travel with a secret weapon! When you’re on the go, good hygiene can be difficult to maintain. Public toilets, train stations, airports, and car trips with friends – these are times and places when you’re likely to be more susceptible to lurking germs.

Put NatraSan Travel Buddy in your bag and you can clean your hands or suspect surfaces with one quick spritz. 

NatraSan is an incredibly effective disinfectant that’s kind to the skin and the environment. The active ingredient is hypochlorous acid, a chemical that’s produced naturally in human and animal immune systems and is 100 times more powerful than bleach. It kills pathogens in seconds rather than minutes, and is revolutionising cleaning regimes in hospitals and healthcare environments.

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