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Bitter cold

As the temperatures have dropped dramatically in recent weeks, you will hear more and more sneezing and “bless you” afterwards. Everyone seems to be talking about this year’s flu season. A news report from the US made the cold season sound even more horrible last week.

The US Food and Drug Administration is considering banning the sale of over-the-counter cough and cold medicines for young children because of its weak treatment and unsafe side effects.

What should you do if the doctors are still arguing about what to write on the prescription? If you do get sick, knowing what to do can help you feel better faster.

How can you prevent getting a common cold?

★Practice preventative measures: wash your hands, and keep your fingers away from your eyes and nose.

★Avoid close contact with cold sufferers.

★Help your immune system: get plenty of rest, drink lots of water, eat well-balanced meals, sleep for 7-8 hours per night and take regular exercise.

Try these tips if you get the flu:

★Drink lots of fluids.

★Get lots of sleep and take it easy. This is a great time to chill with your favorite DVDs without your mom or dad asking you to help out around the house!

★Take painkillers to relieve fever and aches. Over-the-counter cold or cough medicines may also relieve some flu symptoms. Avoid taking aspirin, though, unless your doctor says it’s OK. Aspirin can put teens at greater risk of developing another serious illness that sometimes follows infection with the flu virus.

★Wear layers. You might be cold one minute and hot the next, and wearing several layers—like a T-shirt, sweatshirt and robe—makes it easy to add or remove clothes as needed.

★Wash your hands frequently. You don’t want to spread the flu to everyone else, if you can help it. Also, avoid sharing cups and eating utensils with other people.

★ Get the flu vaccine in advance. Flu vaccines are available commonly as a shot. The shot contains killed flu viruses that won’t cause people to get the flu, but will cause the body to make antibodies to fight off infection by the live flu virus. Getting a shot of the killed virus causes your body to be protected against the particular type of live flu virus that’s in the vaccine.

The flu shot is about 80 percent effective against the flu, which means that a few people who get the shot will still possible to get the flu. In addition, the shot only contains certain strains of the virus.