Our family had a really rough go of it last cold and flu season. If my two-year-old wasn't sick, then I was sick or my husband was sick. We seemed to keep passing things around to each other until I could hardly wait for spring/summer and the end of months of sickness! This year, we decided we HAVE to be proactive because we can't handle another winter like the winter of 2010. Here are some things we are resolved to do to keep our family cold and flu free this year:
1) My husband and I will be getting the flu shot. I am excited about this since they have the new shots that don't require needles. I'm not a fan of needles, so I think this is an amazing new way to administer the flu vaccine. I believe my daughter is still too young to get the shot, but even if she does get the flu, two healthy parents to take care of her is better than all 3 of us getting it at once. What a nightmare when everyone in your house is sick at the same time!
2) I will be routinely wiping down surfaces and anything that my daughter brings to school or outside the house with sanitizer. I really love the Lysol two-sided wipes for our kitchen because I can scrub and it's disinfecting at the same time. Keeping our surfaces free of germs is an important way to fend off colds and the flu.
3) We've already started using hand sanitizers before and after we enter stores. I find that we stay well longer when we wipe off carts before we use them and when we sanitize our hands before we leave the stores since we usually touch lots of surfaces during our shopping time. I've even started carrying a small hand sanitizer with me to use if my daughter happens to touch anything that I think might have more germs on it than her immune system can deal with. BUT...I am careful not to overdo it either. I do want her to come in contact with some germs to build up her immune system.
4) We are going to be eating healthier and taking our vitamins! My husband and I have set aside extra money for fruits and veggies during the winter months because it's important to eat well to stay well. We've also started to focus on taking vitamins to fill in what we might be lacking in our diets.
So, there you have it! These are four steps we've taken to help our family stay cold and flu free this year. We've got a long way to go, and I'm sure we'll come up with other ways to stay healthy as the months progess. If you've got a tip on how you keep your family healthy, I'd love to hear it in the comments section!
“I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Lysol blogging program, for a gift card worth $40. For more information on how you can participate, click here.”