Prepare your Home Against the Flu

It’s that time of year again: flu season.  According to Flu.gov, “In the United States, flu season occurs in the fall and winter. Seasonal flu activity usually

peaks in January or February, but it can occur as early as October and as late as May.”  It is around this time that pharmacies and doctors’ offices begin to advertise flu shots, and we start to reiterate the importance of hand washing, and covering one’s mouth when you cough to our children.  Flu.gov advises that the best way to protect yourself against the flu is the flu vaccine, but on their Prevention of the Flu page they also suggest:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water or an alcohol-based hand rub.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• Practice good health habits. Get plenty of sleep and exercise, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat healthy food.
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone without the use of fever-reducing medicine.

These are all good steps to take, but we can go a step further and even prepare our home to avoid the flu. How?  The first way to do this is through a humidifier.  The flu virus thrives in humidity that is over 98% or under 50%, which is why it is so prevalent in the dry winter.  Having a humidifier in your home can help you regulate the moisture in the air so that it stays out of the flu danger zone.  Recommended humidity levels are between 50-60% to avoid both the flu and mold growth.

A second way to prepare your home is through an air purifier or filter with the use of a UV Germicidal Light.  These lights and purifiers can be installed in the duct work of your home and work to both filter out and kill bacteria and viruses.

For more information about the flu, please check out Flu.gov, and for more information about humidifiers or air purifiers please feel free to contact FLAME!

Sources:  Flu.gov, Air Purifier Reviews, “Humidifier Can Help Prevent Flu.”