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It's that time of the year again, the weather is getting cooler, the humidity level is quickly
going down and of course, many folks around the country are heading into the toasty indoors. But it's also time for that yearly health event many of us need to keep into mind-it's time to be thinking about protecting ourselves from the flu.
Every year, millions of people suffer from influenza. The respiratory infection is extremely
contagious-it's spread from person to person through coughing and sneezing. Unlike a cold, the flu progresses rapidly causing fever, muscle aches, dizziness, chills and in severe cases pneumonia. From November through April, the flu sends one-hundred fifteen thousand people into the hospital. Each flu season-thirty-six thousand people die from the infection.
The best time to get your flu shot is in either October or November. This time frame is
important because it take two weeks to a month for the vaccine to take effect.
The Centers for disease Control and Prevention recommends that you get a flu shot if you're
over age fifty, have a weakened immune system, adults and kids six months of age and up who have chronic medical problems such as asthma, heart disease, diabetes and kidney or blood disease, are a healthcare provider, and a women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy during flu season.
Now, if you've skipped protecting yourself from the flu in years past you no longer have an
excuse. Just in time for flu season-there is a new nasal spray vaccine. Talk to your doctor to see if it's right for you. Whether you choose the shot of spray-the key thing is, get protected. |