Flu season is back! You’re going to be hearing those commercials about flu shots, and you’re going to be on guard around the office when one of your co-workers starts sneezing and coughing.

So what can you do to best prepare? Here’s a list:

1) Get vaccinated!

2) If you are sick… stay at home!
There’s no sense in bringing everyone else down with you! If you have a fever and respiratory symptoms, stay at home until 24 hours after the fever or other symptoms end.

3) Clean yourself up!
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water. Use one of those alcohol-based hand sanitizers if water is not available.

4) Avoid touching your nose, mouth, and eyes.
So that you don’t spread anything, or so that you don’t pick germs up and bring them in.

5) Cover your coughs and sneezes with a tissue, or cough/sneeze into your upper sleeve.
Also, it’ smart to throw tissues into a ‘no-touch’ wastebasket.

6) If you cough or sneeze… go wash those hands again.

7) Keep your phone/keyboard clean!

8) Don’t use stuff that other people put their hands on! (Phone, keyboard, pens, pencils…)

9) Avoid shaking hands or making contact with others who you suspect may be ill.

10) Eat right, exercise… a healthy body does a better job of fighting disease!

These are just a few tips… as always, be smart about how you treat your body. If you find yourself in a unique situation that may need special attention (elderly, pregnant, asthmatic, etc.), consult your personal physician.