A doctor’s advice to avoid catching the flu

Chances are you have at least one person around you who got sick during or after the holidays. And for good reason, the seasonal flu epidemic has been on the rise across France since Christmas, and the peak is still to come. The respiratory infection especially affects unvaccinated young people : For the majority of the population, it is not serious, causing fever, muscle and joint pain, and respiratory symptoms (dry cough, sore throat). some fragile profiles are at risk in a serious or even fatal way, such as people over 65, those with weakened immunity or chronic pathologies, pregnant women or even infants. Certain gestures and measures help you protect yourself from the flu that affects every winter 2-6 million people in France, according to the Institut Pasteur.

Lifestyle

The first defense and the most effective one is the vaccine, Hortense Ducuret, a general practitioner in Paris, immediately emphasizes. “In France, any adult can get vaccinated by going to a pharmacy,” the doctor recalls. The flu vaccine is recommended and reimbursed for those patients who are most at risk.” It is also available for children ages 2 to 17.. Please note that the vaccine must be repeated every year as the virus mutates.

Moreover, healthy lifestyle measures allow individual protection against winter viruses. The point here is to strengthen your immune system, which is a real shield against these external “aggressors.” “Good sleep hygiene—sleeping 7 hours a night—contributes to good immune system health,” explains Dr. Hortense Ducure 2-3 times a week also helps.

Good sleep hygiene—going to bed early, getting 7 hours of sleep a night—promotes a healthy immune system

Hortense Ducouret, general practitioner

The food aspect is, surprisingly, important to strengthen your immune system. it is in food that we find the most,” informs the general practitioner. In practice, we use fresh foods (processed ones are almost devoid of nutrients and therefore should be limited as much as possible), fruits and vegetables that will provide vitamin C, in particular, valuable allies of the immune system thanks to their nutritional and trace elements and minerals.

Collective events

Influenza is transmitted through aerosols through the nose and mouth. To protect yourself from the virus, we avoid kissing or shaking hands. You can also bring hydroalcoholic gel and use it, for example, when leaving public transport. “In the office, we circulate the air, ventilating the rooms as much as possible, particularly the meeting rooms, 2-3 times a day, for 10 minutes,” continues Hortense Ducure.

In the office, we circulate the air by ventilating the rooms as much as possible, particularly the meeting rooms, 2 to 3 times a day for 10 minutes.

Hortense Ducouret, general practitioner

One of the most effective protections remains to limit contact with sick people. “As soon as the first symptoms appear, we stay at home, cough into our elbow and wear a mask in limited places,” recalls the doctor. To get tested, the test can be done at a pharmacy. Finally, we take care to protect others by limiting the exposure of sick children to the most vulnerable profiles. “Children are the main transmitters of the virus, they contaminate each other tremendously in the kindergarten or in the classroom.”