When flu season arrives, everyone is at risk. This highly contagious virus causes a respiratory illness that comes on suddenly, hits hard and can have serious complications. Young children, pregnant women, people over the age of 60, and people with chronic health conditions or compromised immune systems are particularly at risk.
Your best defense is taking preventative measures. At Mayflower Medical Group, our clinics offer flu shots all year round. Contact one of our locations to schedule an appointment.
While a flu vaccine can help protect you from the virus, it’s not foolproof. In addition to getting a flu immunization, we recommend these measures to help prevent the spread of the virus:
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Discard the tissue in the trash after you use it.
Common Flu Symptoms
You may have the flu if you have:
- Fever or feeling feverish/ chills
- Cough
- Sore throat
- Runny or stuffy nose
- Muscle or body aches
- Headaches
- Fatigue (tiredness)
- Possible vomiting and diarrhea
What Can You Do to Address the Flu Season?
There are many things you can do to prevent flu viruses (or seasonal influenza, in general) to affect you. Keep in mind that people with certain chronic medical conditions can be seriously affected by the flu virus, which is why it's important to address this infectious disease as soon as possible.
The best way to deal with the flu virus is to have good health habits and get your annual vaccination. Overall, the flu vaccine is recommended for individuals at six months of age and older.
What Does the Flu Vaccine Do?
A flu vaccination will reinforce your immune system, ensuring you don't experience any severe symptoms if you get infected.
Those who don't get the flu vaccine run a higher risk of getting a serious illness like a respiratory infection, lung disease, or kidney disease.
How Do You Prevent the Flu with "Healthier Habits"?
There are three main things you can do to target flu germs and decrease the chances of having a weakened immune system. Those things include:
- Washing your hands
- Taking precautions when you go out (using a mask, covering up when you sneeze, trying to avoid close contact with people, etc.)
- Quitting smoking
Smokers tend to experience harsh flu-like symptoms once the season in early fall starts. However, if these people take the influenza vaccination, they have a higher chance of preventing respiratory illnesses and other complications.
Should You Receive a Regular Shot or a Nasal Spray Flu Vaccine?
There are different ways to get the flu shot, and the most common ones are the regular shot and the nasal flu vaccine. Both options are great to prevent the flu, although the nasal spray is a better option for those who don't like getting a shot.
Unfortunately, there are more restrictions regarding who can get the nasal flu vaccine, so make sure to check with our team before getting it.
Why Should You Get the Vaccine?
There are many reasons why you should get a seasonal flu shot for disease control. If you check any official government organization, for example, you will notice there are a lot of reasons why not getting the vaccine prevents you from having a stronger immune response.
- Some reasons why you should get a flu shot to stay healthy and prevent influenza symptoms include:
- It reduces the severity of most common symptoms.
- It reduces respiratory consequences that may arise in high-risk patients.
- It alleviates the stress on the health care system.
We Can Help You Fight the Seasonal Flu
Children, teenagers, and older adults are all exposed to the effects of the flu. The best way to deal with this problem is to take preventative measures.
Mayflower Medical Group offers flu shots during the entire year, ensuring you can battle this infection in the best way possible.
Even if you have children younger than six months (meaning they can't take the shot yet), we will advise you on the best ways to protect them from the flu season. We are committed to helping any sick person so that they can go through the recovery process much more comfortably.
About Mayflower Medical Group
Mayflower Medical Group offers everything patients need to stay healthy during the cold and flu seasons. Moreover, we offer the following services:
- Pediatric care
- Adolescent care
- Men's Health
- Women's Health
- Geriatric care
- Chronic disease management
- Cardiovascular care
- General primary care
- Office procedures and surgeries
Our team proudly serves Anaheim, Covina, West Covina, Duarte, La Puente, El Monte, and Rialto. You can check out our complete list of locations here.
Get the Flu Shot and Further Treatment with Our Healthcare Provider
The right flu prevention process can save you or a loved one's life. If you're looking for a team of experts in the medical field, don't hesitate to request help from the Mayflower Medical Group!
Aside from offering flu shots all year round, we also have a wide range of treatment options for you to address the most common symptoms more safely.
Schedule a consultation now or visit our clinics!