{"id":2880,"date":"2019-03-13T20:50:48","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:50:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/Home\/?p=708"},"modified":"2019-03-13T20:50:48","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T20:50:48","slug":"cold-and-flu-season-goodbye-germs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/cold-and-flu-season-goodbye-germs\/","title":{"rendered":"Cold and Flu Season: Goodbye Germs"},"content":{"rendered":"

We are officially in March! It\u2019s the second week of March and we are starting to see signs of warmer weather. Just because it\u2019s warm that doesn\u2019t mean we have escaped the cold and flu season. Enjoying the last bit of winter doesn\u2019t mean we are safe.<\/p>\n

69% of working Americans don\u2019t take sick days, even if they are actually sick.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Sometimes we can be very hesitant about taking a sick day, or maybe we already used up all of our sick days.\u00a0 Not only are people getting sick. 79% of those people are getting sick twice or more each cold and flu season. On average people have gone to work while being sick. The flu season usually peaks at its highest between December and February. The common cold viruses widely circulate during flu season. This causes the average adult getting two to four colds per year. Mainly between September and late April.<\/p>\n

In order to be able to fight the common cold and influenza, we need to know the difference between the two.<\/p>\n

The Cold:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
    \n
  • Fever \u2013 Tends to be rare when it\u2019s just a cold<\/li>\n
  • Headache \u2013 Rare, headaches tend not to happen<\/li>\n
  • General aches and pains \u2013 You could experience slight aches and pains<\/li>\n
  • Fatigue, weakness \u2013 Sometimes feel fatigued and\/or weak<\/li>\n
  • Extreme exhaustion \u2013 Should never be the case with a cold<\/li>\n
  • Stuffy nose \u2013 Having a stuffy nose is very common<\/li>\n
  • Sneezing \u2013 Usual to be sneezing often<\/li>\n
  • Sore throat- Very common to have a sore throat<\/li>\n
  • Chest discomfort \u2013 You could have a mild to moderate chest discomfort<\/li>\n
  • Cough \u2013 It is more of a hacking cough<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    These symptoms are very similar to the flu. That is why most people get the cold and flu confused. The following are symptoms of the flu.<\/p>\n

    The Flu:<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
      \n
    • Fever \u2013 Usual, Can have a high fever of 100 F to 102 occasionally higher. Fever usually last 3-4 days.<\/li>\n
    • Headache \u2013 Are common to have with the flu<\/li>\n
    • General aches and pains \u2013 Usual, can often be severe<\/li>\n
    • Fatigue, weakness \u2013 Usual, can last up to 2 to 3 weeks<\/li>\n
    • Extreme exhaustion \u2013 Usual, experience mainly at the beginning of an illness<\/li>\n
    • Stuffy nose \u2013 Sometimes can have a stuffy nose<\/li>\n
    • Sneezing \u2013 Sometimes<\/li>\n
    • Sore throat \u2013 Sometimes can have a sore throat<\/li>\n
    • Chest discomfort \u2013 Can be common<\/li>\n
    • Cough- Usual and can become severe<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

       <\/p>\n

      Now knowing if either you have the cold and flu you can take the correct medicine and precautions.<\/p>\n

      There are a lot of different over the counter medicines that one can take. Mucinex Fast-Max Cold & Flu is every popular and fast acing. Advil or Tylenol are best for aches and sore throats. They both can also lower fevers. Sudafed or Benadryl works best to treat congestion\/stuffy nose. Cough drops help to soothe sore throats and control coughing. Cold treats like ice pop or gargle with salt water can help soothe a sore throat. Don\u2019t forget to drink lots of liquids to stay hydrated.<\/p>\n

      Regardless of either having a cold or flu, there are some general things we can do to prevent getting ourselves or others sick.<\/p>\n

        \n
      1. Get your flu shot<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> Go to your nearest drug store and get your flu shot. If you didn\u2019t get your flu shot at the beginning of flu season it\u2019s never too late. Getting your flu shot, later on, can still be beneficial.<\/li>\n
      2. Wash your hands<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> Wash your hands before eating and after using the restroom. Make sure to use soap and water. Hand sanitizer like Purell is great to have for whenever you can\u2019t wash your hands.<\/li>\n
      3. Cover your cough or sneeze<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> Use a tissue to cough or sneeze into. If you don\u2019t have any tissue around use your upper sleeve, not your hands.<\/li>\n
      4. Disinfect and clean surfaces often<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> If you have been sneezing and coughing all day in the office, make sure you wipe everything down. Use items like Lysol disinfectant sprays or Clorox disinfectant wipes to keep your area clean.<\/li>\n
      5. See a doctor<\/strong> \u2013<\/span> If you do get sick with the flu, see a doctor they can prescribe you medication or suggest the best over the counter medicine for you.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Staying healthy is important to being productive and having a good workday. Now you don\u2019t have to worry if you have any sick days left. Just remember to keep your area clean and say goodbye to germs!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        We are officially in March! It\u2019s the second week of March and we are starting to see signs of warmer weather. Just because it\u2019s warm that doesn\u2019t mean we have…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":962,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[69],"tags":[74,75,76,79,17],"class_list":["post-2880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-janitorial-sanitation","tag-flu","tag-flu-season","tag-germs","tag-sickness","tag-wellness"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2880\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.office3sixty.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}