Thumbs are key to avoiding colds or flu.
That’s the message from the Provincial Health Services Authority.
To avoid transferring germs to your mouth, eyes or nose, you need to wash your hands with soap and water for 30 seconds, covering not only your palms but also the webs between your fingers and the backs of your hands, says Bruce Gamage, manager of the Provincial Infection Control Network of the PHSA.
“People often forget their thumbs altogether,” he said. “They just tend to wash the palms of their hands.”
Cover the same area with a quarter-sized dollop of hand sanitizer, he says, and rub it in for 15 seconds.
The latest influenza surveillance bulletin from the B.C. Centre for Disease Control reveals an upswing in influenza, mainly the H1N1 strain, from Dec. 29 to Jan. 4.
Parents often lament how their children and then they face a constant barrage of germs.
Gamage said sick students should stay home.
Kids attending classes should be reminded about the importance of properly washing their hands and coughing or sneezing into their sleeves. When students eat lunch in a classroom without visiting the bathroom first, teachers should get students to use a hand sanitizer.
Gamage says potential prevention measures or cures of vitamin C or copious amounts of garlic haven’t been proven effective. The ailing should dose themselves with plentiful fluids and rest.
“One of the things we suffer from in our society is called ‘presenteeism,’ which basically [is] if you can get up and drag yourself to work, you do,” Gamage said. “And you’re not doing yourself any favour and you’re not doing your co-workers any favour because you’re just bringing your germs to work.”
Post-viral coughs can linger for a month. Chronically ill people, those with asthma and the elderly should see their doctors if cold symptoms persists.
“For most people, unless you’re running a fever, you probably don’t need to go and see your doctor,” Gamage said. “If you’ve got the cold or the flu and you go and see your doctor all you’re doing is exposing more people, so stay home, stay in bed, keep it to yourself.”
The provincial government recommends calling 811 for professional medical advice about symptoms.
Colds and flu are most contagious when the bearer is experiencing the most acute symptoms, but people who have a flu virus can be contagious up to 24 hours before they experience symptoms.
Gamage noted the B.C. Centre for Disease Control ordered more than a million doses of the flu vaccine and more people are choosing to have the shot.
Those who’ve already had a flu should get the vaccine because it protects against three strains, one of which isn’t usually seen until the spring.
Those seeking the vaccine should call ahead to their GP, clinic or pharmacy to make sure they have a supply because it’s predicted they will run out.
As for concerns about the H5N1 virus that felled a Canadian woman, Gamage says the chances of contacting this flu, even for those who were aboard the same plane from China or Vancouver, are “really low” because it’s typically passed from infected chickens to people.
Since the outbreak of the avian flu virus in the late 1990s Gamage says there have been 650 cases reported worldwide.
“It’s just not easily passed between people,” he said.
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This story has been edited since it was first posted.
