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Editor’s Note: This post is from our partners at the NEA Health Information Network (NEA HIN). Each month, we feature a new column on a topic related to school health. Through this effort, we hope to inform the public of important health issues that impact schools and offer educators and parents resources to address them.

Today's post was authored by Édeanna M. Chebbi, Hygiene and Disease Prevention Program Coordinator for the NEA Health Information Network.

Fever. Stuffy head. Sneezing. Runny nose. Sore throat. Does any of this sound familiar? Oh yes, it’s that time of year again! Flu season is just around the corner, and that means the best time to prepare and prevent illness is now!

The flu (influenza) is one of the most commonly spread infectious diseases in the United States. It is responsible for an average of 5 missed work days a year.  Flu can impact children and adults alike.  And because the severity of illness from the flu depends on each person’s level of immunity, you may be one of the 200,000 Americans who are hospitalized each year from flu related complications.

But there’s good news! The flu is preventable.  The number one means of preventing a flu infection is through vaccination.  Each year the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) utilizes data collected on the most prominent flu viruses from the previous year and includes them in the flu vaccine. This is why it is recommended that each eligible child and adult receive a flu vaccine annually – because the vaccine changes annually.   Flu vaccine can be found at your doctor’s office, your local pharmacy, and even in some schools and workplaces.

In addition to vaccination, good hygiene will go a long way!  The most important form of good hygiene is frequent hand washing.  This does not mean throwing some soap on your hands and rinsing it off.  Rather, the most effective method of hand washing is with soap and warm water, ensuring that the hands are scrubbed for at least 30 seconds (or one round of the ABC’s) before rinsing. 

Next always be sure to cover a cough or a sneeze with either a tissue or a sleeve.  If you use a tissue, be certain to throw it away in a trash receptacle immediately!  Don’t use your hands – ever! But if you insist, then wash your hands with the hand washing method mentioned above.

If you follow all of this advice and still get the flu this season please stay home until you are fully recovered.  You are still contagious until you have been fever free for 24 hours.

For further information on the flu and methods of prevention, please visit: www.flu.gov.  And, as always, NEA HIN will maintain up-to-date information on our website: www.neahin.org.

Image added by the Learning First Alliance and attributable to Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-92279-0002 / CC-BY-SA