Oct. 26--HICKORY -- It's a sick season.
The flu, especially the H1N1 strain, is widespread, say health officials. There's little you can do about that.
There is, however, a lot you can do to stop the flu's spread if it makes its way into your home.
1. In addition to disinfecting counters, sinks, tabletops, trash cans and other spots you often remember to clean, disinfect surfaces everybody touches but no one scours. Those include doorknobs; light switches; lamps and the knobs that turn them on; telephones -- home and mobile phones; computer keyboards (disinfectant wipes are safe for your hardware); remote controls; MP3 players, headphones and stereo controls; and shared children's toys.
2. Health experts can't say it enough: Wash your hands. Wash them after you cough or sneeze. Wash them after you touch something others have touched. Wash them after you put the laundry in the washing machine. Wash them any time the opportunity arises.
But if someone in your house has been sick, opt for a paper towel instead of the hand towel hanging by the sink.
If you can't stand to throw away all those paper towels, dedicate a cloth towel to each person in the house. Just make sure everyone knows which is which.
3. While you're in the bathroom, get rid of that reusable plastic cup. When anyone in your house is sick and during the days afterward, use disposable paper cups instead.
4. Separate toothbrushes. A sick person's toothbrush shouldn't be touching a healthy person's toothbrush. The American Dental Association suggests everyone rinse toothbrushes with hot water after every use, even when people aren't sick. When your flu patient gets over the illness, make sure to replace his or her toothbrush with a new one.
5. Hot water is your friend. Make sure to use it when you wash sheets and towels used by someone who is or has been sick. The same goes for dishes.
Also, when you're collecting laundry in a house where someone has been sick, don't "hug" the clothes to you.
6. When your flu patient is finished with a glass, a plate or silverware, make sure that stuff goes immediately into the sink or the dishwasher so it's not sitting around to spread sickness.
7. Limit visitors to your sick child or spouse. As often as possible, have one person in the house responsible for taking care of the sick person. That means fewer people are exposed. And keep the flu sufferer out of common areas when you can.
8. Stock up on tissues, chicken noodle soup, juice and Tylenol, Aleve or Advil before anybody at home gets sick. That way, you limit the number of people exposed to illness. It also will be a comfort if you're the one who's sick. A trip to the grocery store and the pharmacy is no fun when you're feeling bad.
9. If a sick household member is pregnant, has trouble breathing or has a heart disease, asthma, diabetes or other immune-compromising conditions, that person need to see a doctor within the first 48 hours of sickness. Other symptoms that require a doctor are purple or blue lips, vomiting and inability to keep down liquids and signs of dehydration such as dizziness, inability to urinate and crying without shedding tears. However, the majority of people sick with flu do not need to be tested or seen by a doctor, according to the American Red Cross. In fact, an emergency room or doctor's office is a likely place to catch a flu bug in the first place.
10. A sick person should never go back to work or school until 24 hours after the fever has gone away without the help of fever-reducing medicines.
Sources: American Red Cross and Catawba County Department of Public Health
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