Cold and flu season comes around every year, and at this point, we are used to the drill of using hand sanitizer and wearing our face masks to avoid getting the bug that makes us stay home for a few days before resuming our daily routines. But what are the real risks of this yearly occurrence, and how can we minimize our risk of illness during this period of time?
Cold and Flu Season In Our Community
According to the Government of Canada, cold and flu season starts in late fall and peaks during the winter months. During these months, epidemics of influenza A and B are rampant, especially in high-density populations that include children, seniors, and those who are immunocompromised. The spread of cold and flu from one person to another is as easy as a face-to-face interaction, and the virus can be caught within moments. While most people experience minor symptoms such as a cough, runny nose, and perhaps an afternoon of fever and chills, some cases can include complications such as pneumonia, the worsening of underlying chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, and in most severe cases, death.
While most of us will never experience these complications, it is important to keep your immune system strong so that your lack of cold and flu can save someone else from a potential life-and-death situation, whether it be your elderly grandmother, your friend’s 3-year-old son, or the cashier ringing in your groceries at the supermarket. By protecting yourself, you are also protecting those around you in your community. Richmond is a small but populated city, home to over 200,000 people, with the largest age group being 55-60 year old residents. Not only is Richmond a growing city due to immigration, it is also a hub for travelers due to the international airport being only a city away in Vancouver. Richmond’s location and demographics make it specifically susceptible to influenza epidemics on an annual basis. To minimize the spread, we need to work together as a community to protect ourselves and our loved ones from the cold and flu.
Stopping the Spread
There are three major ways to reduce your risk of catching or spreading the virus;
1. Hand Washing
The virus can live on both hard and soft surfaces for a maximum of 48 hours, which can cause transmission just through touching an object.
According to the Center for Disease Control, washing your hands with warm soap and water or using a hand-washing alternative such as an antibacterial hand sanitizing solution can greatly reduce your risk of catching a cold or the flu.
2. Covering Your Mouth
Influenza A and B are both transmittable through the sharing of droplets when an infected member of the community speaks to, coughs on, or sneezes around someone else. Covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze by making a pocket with your elbow can reduce the spread of germs, while wearing a face mask when being in close proximity to other members of the community can also reduce the spread.
3. Getting Vaccinated
Every year, the Canadian Government supplies free vaccinations throughout the country, including in our own community here in Richmond, BC. These vaccinations are available at pharmacies around the city, including at Shoppers Drug Mart, Pharmasave, and London Drugs, amongst other pharmacies. Receiving a vaccination can greatly reduce your susceptibility to the cold and flu.
An Extra Boost: Acupuncture
While washing your hands, covering your mouth, and getting vaccinated are three important actions to take during cold and flu season, there is more you can do to boost your immune system and protect yourself and your loved ones, not just during the colder months, but throughout the year. Acupuncture is a scientifically backed treatment that can increase your immune system’s function to ward off illness. Acupuncture is based on the foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which uses the body’s own healing properties to regain balance and optimizes bodily systems, including the immune system.
For those of us that have underlying conditions affected by or stemming from our immune systems, acupuncture has been shown to treat and heal these conditions, resulting in a stronger immune system to ward off cold and flu viruses, amongst other communicable diseases.
For those of us who are not immunocompromised, acupuncture can regulate and improve the systems that are already at work, which can boost our circulation, reduce inflammation, and increase the strength of the immune system, which can make it harder for germs to infiltrate our body’s natural defense mechanisms.
At Evolve Therapeutic, we are dedicated to serving our community and helping members along on their health and wellness journeys. We want to help prevent you and your loved ones from becoming ill and or facing serious complications that can result from the cold and flu season that rampages through our city once a year. If you are interested in meeting with an acupuncturist to help boost your immune system through acupuncture treatments, we recommend booking a session at our clinic.
Please give us a call or email us if you have any questions. We look forward to helping you optimize your health and wellness!
