With flu season in full swing and the spread of the novel coronavirus, many of us are focused on how to stay healthy. From slurping soup to dousing in hand sanitizer, you've probably read about a million different ways to avoid getting sick. But which prevention strategies really work?
If you've already stocked up on surgical masks and gloves, you may be disappointed to learn that these methods won't reduce your chances of catching the common cold, flu, or coronavirus. Below we demystify many of the popular beliefs.
Masks are a good defense against the flu (or any airborne disease)
Despite much research, the effectiveness of masks in preventing infection against influenza and other airborne infections (such as the novel coronavirus) is still up for debate. There is no conclusive evidence that the use of masks protects healthy people in their daily lives.
Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that people in good health use it to avoid contracting respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19.
This is partly because germs are small and can easily pass through the mask, especially if it is loose fitting or not worn correctly. Keep in mind how small a virus actually is. The typical length of a virus ranges from 200 to 1.000 nanometers (for reference, a red blood cell is about 10.000 nanometers), and many of the masks, which are commonly worn inappropriately, cannot prevent something that small from entering our bodies. .
So is there an appropriate time to use it? According to a March 2020 article in JAMA, other than a healthcare professional, the average person should only wear a mask if they are experiencing symptoms of a respiratory infection (such as coughing, sneezing, or in some cases fever) or if they are caring for ( or are in close contact) with someone who has a respiratory infection. And that's really to prevent you from spreading any potentially harmful germs to others.
The best defensive strategy is to wash your hands properly, carefully cover your mouth when coughing and sneezing, and not touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Wearing gloves can keep you from picking up germs
I hate to break it to you, but wearing gloves, whether they're winter gloves or surgical gloves, is not the best way to avoid germs.
Gloves are like a second skin: they pick up the same pathogens as your bare hands. Later, they can also transmit, and infect you with, harmful insects if you touch a dirty surface and then touch your face. In other words, for the gloves to fulfill any protective function, you would have to wash (or change) them as regularly as you would your bare hands, which pretty much defeats the purpose of wearing them.
However, if you are caring for someone with an illness such as the coronavirus, experts recommend that you wear disposable gloves when you come into contact with the person's blood, feces, or bodily fluids (including saliva, sputum, mucus). nose, vomit and urine). This also applies when cleaning "high-touch" surfaces such as counters, tables, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, and keyboards, and when handling soiled clothing and linens for laundry.
In these cases, always avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with your gloved hands. Then throw them away immediately (use them only once!) and immediately wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
Vitamin C helps you get better faster
When you are under cold, you can have a small glass of orange juice. But does a little vitamin C work when you're sick?
Vitamin C is important for immune defense, and we need good immune function for healing. That said, research has found that taking daily vitamin C supplements only modestly reduces the duration of a cold, by about 8%, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Vitamin C's ability to slightly shorten the duration of a cold (and reduce the severity of its symptoms) may be due in part to compensating for the increased inflammatory response. But if you start taking vitamin C once you're already sick, it won't do much to speed your recovery.
The best remedy is to sleep well. The more you rest your body, the faster the recovery will be.
The flu is the same as having a bad cold.
Although you may experience typical cold symptoms such as a sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, hoarseness, and cough, the flu can be more dangerous than a common cold. And certain populations are at higher risk, including infants, older adults, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems. Also, if you have a medical condition, such as heart disease, cancer, or diabetes, the flu can lead to more serious complications.
Healthy people don't need the flu shot.
As mentioned above, certain groups are at higher risk of encountering flu-related complications, but anyone is susceptible to getting the flu, including healthy people. And once infected, people can become infected and spread the virus to others. That's why experts recommend that everyone (6 months and older) get vaccinated every flu season.
And getting a flu shot every year is key. The flu virus mutates, so getting vaccinated every year is important to make sure you have immunity against the strains most likely to cause an outbreak.
Do you need antibiotics for the flu?
Fake, fake and fake. Antibiotics are specifically made to kill bacteria, not viruses like the flu or the novel coronavirus, which are completely different organisms. Supportive therapy, antiviral drugs (not all viruses have drugs), and preventative vaccinations are the right approach to treat viruses.
However, sometimes a patient's immune function is so challenged during a viral infection that they develop a superimposed bacterial infection such as pneumonia. In these cases, taking an antibiotic may be beneficial.
You should "starve" the fever
This is fiction. Although eating may be the last thing on your mind when you're down with a bad cold, giving up food may not be your best option for a quick healing process.
Whether it's the cold or the flu, your immune system needs nutrients and energy to do its job, so eating and getting enough fluids is essential.
Hydration is key to recovery. So if you can't handle solids, try drinking water, tea, and broth.
The flu vaccine causes the flu
If you've ever caught the flu shortly after getting a flu shot, you might have assumed that the shot itself made you sick. But this is not true. The flu vaccine is made from an inactivated virus that cannot transmit infection.
In fact, it takes a week or two for the vaccine's protection to kick in, so people who become symptomatic immediately after getting a flu shot were already on their way to getting sick before they got vaccinated.