Get a Jump on the Cold and Flu Season 

Finding ways to build your immune system before the cold and flu season and before exposure to a virus is considered wise. It’s much easier for your body to attack a virus with a strong immune system than to fight a virus while trying to strengthen it simultaneously. 

According to a cold and flu season research study, flu viruses may remain detectable on surfaces like keyboards and doorknobs for up to 24 hours. But, they remain infectious for a shorter time period, generally 4-9 hours.

Cold and flu viruses generally remain active longer on non-porous surfaces, like counters or keypads, as opposed to porous materials like paper and fabric.  This silver solution has been a major breakthrough to help safely clean these type of areas. 

Other Cold and Flu Season Factors 

 Such as the amount of virus deposited on a surface and the temperature and humidity of the environment, also determine how long cold and flu viruses stay active outside the body.

 It's possible to catch a cold or the flu after touching an object an infected person sneezed or coughed on. But, you’re more likely to become infected by someone contagious. Being in physical contact with an infected person or breathing in droplets from a cough or sneeze in the air is identified as the most common way by which viruses are spread.  Cold and flu season can have many different variables to deal with. 

How to Lessen Your Chances of Catching a Cold 

To prevent illness during the cold and flu season, receive a flu shot at the season's start annually.

 Another preventative measure is to avoid sharing personal items. If you share drinking glasses, utensils, towels, or makeup with someone infected, you could be exposed to a virus. The same precautions go for cold viruses, but there are no vaccines to protect us against colds.

Build Your Immune System Before Cold and Flu Season

Staying healthy involves more than just practicing good hygiene and staying away from contagious people.  It involves keeping your immune system healthy.

 The time to focus on building your immune system isn't when you get sick. It’s now. When you build your immune system, your body’s better prepared to fight off viruses. Knowing what your body needs to strengthen it is the place to start.

Lifestyle Plays a Role

Many lifestyle factors influence the immune response. For example, smoking and excessive alcohol consumption can decrease your body’s immune response. Eating a healthy diet, exercising and getting enough sleep have a positive impact on the immune system.

Proper Nutrition

Giving your body the nutrition it needs to strengthen your body’s immune function is paramount.

Your body needs a well-balanced diet filled with lots of vegetables, healthy protein and fruit. Whether you follow a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, plant-based diet or none of these, you must get the nutrition you need to build a healthy immune system before cold and flu season starts.

Some veggies, fruit and spices are particularly helpful in boosting the immune system. Spinach, citrus fruits and ginger are a few examples.

Exercise

Your body is built to move. The last thing we want to do before the cold and flu season is start sitting around developing bad habbits.  Our bodies are not designed for sitting at desks or lounging on sofas for hours every day.

Exercise doesn’t have to be strenuous. Just getting up from your chair and moving around a little every hour can make a difference. 

Going for a walk or bike ride, playing a sport, dancing or any activity that gets you moving can be effective in helping to build your immune system.

Sleep

 During the cold and flu season the quality of your sleep each night is more important than the number of hours you sleep. Although experts recommend eight hours of sleep, tossing, turning, interruptions, or shallow sleep mean your body doesn't receive the quality rest it needs for health.

If you feel you’re not getting enough quality sleep, there are things you can do and things you can avoid doing to help improve your sleep quality. 

A few things you can do are:

• Keep your bedroom cool
• Make your bedroom as dark as possible
• Make your bedroom as quiet as possible

A few things you can avoid are:

• Texting or any other phone or computer activities in bed
• Watching TV in bed
• Drinking alcohol close to bedtime

To ready your immune system for fighting any virus or pathogen this cold and flu season, actively follow these tips and prepare.

If you need extra support for your immune system, try Ameo Life’s silver products.