Wellness

Preventative Healthcare: 5 Tips to Keep You and Your Family Healthy This Flu Season

By Gail Smoy

The U.S. has been experiencing the worst flu season since 2009, overwhelming many physicians’ offices and emergency rooms with patients seeking care. This year’s strains have heavily impacted young children, with some cases causing serious neurological complications. With this in mind, now is a good time to check if you and your children are taking the necessary precautions to keep you healthy and out of the doctor’s office.

A tried-and-true preventative measure is good and frequent hand washing. It doesn’t matter if the water is hot or cold, just make sure you lather up with soap. I often remind my friends and family to wash their hands for at least 20 seconds and sing their favorite song as they wash to make it more fun (“Happy” by Pharrell Williams is a favorite of mine)!

Beyond hand washing, covering our mouths and noses when we cough and sneeze, and keeping ourselves from touching our eyes, noses, and mouths, there are other methods to help minimize or outright prevent the contraction of flu. Below are five ways to help make your body more resilient to illness:

Eating Right and Drinking Enough Water

Eating a balanced diet consisting of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and dairy can help not only strengthen your immune system but may prevent diseases such as heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Immune-boosting foods like citrus, garlic, ginger, and leafy greens all have properties that can provide the body with antioxidants and reduce inflammation. Drinking enough water (11.5 cups for women and 15.5 cups for men[1]) is also crucial for overall immune health, as it helps your body absorb nutrients and prevents pathogens from entering through your eyes, mouth, and nose.

Getting Adequate Rest

Obtaining seven to nine hours of sleep can be a challenge for many busy adults who are balancing work, children, and household duties. However, lack of sleep can greatly increase your susceptibility to certain illnesses. In fact, studies show that adults who frequently get less than seven hours of sleep a night are three times more likely to develop the common cold compared to those who frequently get eight hours or more of sleep.[1] Children require even more sleep to support their learning and growth. Adequate sleep helps regulate the production of inflammatory cytokines, proteins that signal your immune system to fight infections and aids in the production of white blood cells, which defend against infections.

Minimizing Stress

The phrase “you had me worried sick” has some truth to it. Stress can hurt the immune system in the short term and long term. Short-term effects of stress can cause problems such as a weakened immune system or elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline, while long-term effects can be an increased risk of autoimmune diseases and heart attack. Though not all stress is bad stress, adults should be aware of how it affects them and their children and come up with different approaches that help ease it for a better quality of life.

Exercising Regularly

Studies show that there is a link between moderate exercise and illness. If you exercise regularly, your body will have an easier time flushing bacteria out of your lungs and airways, helping to reduce the chance of catching the flu or other illnesses. It also can help slow down the release of stress hormones, the same hormones that can contribute to a weakened immune system. However, already active adults should not overdo their training. Heavy and extensive workouts can also be harmful as lack of rest can increase fatigue and decrease strength and endurance.

Staying Up-to-Date on Immunizations

The most recommended way to prevent flu infection is by getting your annual flu shot. Each year, a new flu vaccine is created to help protect against the most common strains of the season. If you do not stay up to date on your vaccines, the efficacy of the shot likely reduces, leaving you susceptible to infection.

This is especially dangerous for individuals battling chronic diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis because the flu can end up being severe enough to require hospitalization.

We hope that these insights help keep you healthy this flu season. With flu, RSV, and norovirus cases surging this winter, we recognize that many of you may have experienced recent illnesses.

Stay healthy!

Gail M. Smoy

Client Service Representative
Fairport Wealth Chicago

[1] Reed, T. (2025, February 18). U.S. facing worst flu season since 2009, experts say. Axios. https://www.axios.com/2025/02/18/us-facing-worst-flu-season-since-2009-experts-say

[2] How much water do you need to stay healthy? (n.d.). Mayo Clinic. Retrieved February 18, 2025, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/water/art-20044256

[3] How sleep affects your immune system. (2023, March 13). Yale Medicine. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/how-sleep-affects-immunity