It starts with that little annoying sniffle. Then you notice your throat is scratchy. Soon you’ve blown your nose so much that you have a Kleenex mustache and whenever people see you, they head in the opposite direction. Quickly.

Yes, it’s flu season, that dismal time of year when you wonder why no one can produce a decent tasting cough drop (Honey lemon? Yuck!) and you’re forced to spend way too much time on your couch home sick, watching daytime TV (Maury Povich is our favorite).

The CDC estimates that every year, between 5 and 20 percent of the population catches the flu virus, but it seems like more, right? Doesn’t it seem that your boss is asking you to work an extra shift almost every week because someone was too lazy to wash their hands and drink OJ?

Staying healthy is often a matter of common sense. But there are a few tips and tricks that aren’t as obvious. For example, did you know that setting up and diving down the Slip ‘n Slide on a crisp 23-degree day actually increases your odds of getting ill? True story. And shaking hands and slapping high-fives with everyone hanging out at your doc’s waiting room is also a no-no.

To get some legitimate, credible advice on how to avoid the flu, and to find out if you should be considering a flu shot, check out these comprehensive CDC resources.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 5th, 2007 at 3:19 pm and is filed under Health & safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.