Ouch! My head, my stomach, and my throat hurt, and I’m tired. These sounds like symptoms of the flu.  Flu season in the United States occurs during the fall and winter. The flu can take from two days to even a week or longer to recover from. The flu will make you miserable. Everyone is at risk of catching the flu, even if you believe you are one of the healthiest people alive.  With the flu there are complications that can occur when having the flu, but people over 65 are more likely to have these complications. But there are ways to help prevent the flu!

One of the best ways to prevent this is to go take the time to get the flu vaccine! Take everyday precautions, avoid contact with people who are sick, don’t go visit others and put them at risk, cover your mouth when sneezing, and after sneezing go wash your hands! Always wash your hands, constantly! Try to avoid touching your nose, mouth, and face as much as possible, as these are the most common ways germs can spread. If there is any chance that someone could be sick, or is getting sick, clean anywhere that they have touched, be proactive!

If you do happen to catch the unpleasant flu, there are ways to help make recovery time go by a little softer. It is always better to see your doctor if you think you have the flu, because they can prescribe you antiviral drugs that are made to help with the flu. They also have over the counter drugs that can also help make the symptoms a little easier on you so they won’t be as strong as prescribed ones, but they will definitely help.