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Healthy Tips to Prevent Colds & Flus

Keeping your family healthy during cold and flu season is no easy task. Research shows that the average person will catch 2 to 4 colds this winter, and thousands are expected to be hospitalized for influenza-like illnesses. When you factor in that a typical flu season can last well into March, there’s more than a little cause for concern.

The good news is, there’s plenty you can do to help build up your family’s immunity and make your home a healthier, more comfortable place to hunker down this winter.

Build Your Home’s Immunity

• Keep air circulating by opening a few windows for at least 15 minutes a day.
• Mold and mildew thrive in damp dark places, and can worsen respiratory ailments like allergies and asthma. To help prevent that, keep vent fans running while bathing and cooking to remove excess moisture from the air.
• Take care of plumbing leaks right away to eliminate the potential for new mold and mildew growth.
• Purify and revitalize the air in your home with houseplants. Varieties like Boston fern, English ivy, and weeping fig remove pollutants and airborne bacteria and fungi from the air, and add the right amount of humidity to combat respiratory-causing pollutants.

Build Your Body’s Immunity

• Get plenty or rest, wash your hands with warm soapy water often, get your exercise, and stay hydrated.
• Soak up some sun – and vitamin D – whenever possible.
• Load up on zinc to fight the common cold, prevent and treat pneumonia, and regulate overall immune function. Some sources of zinc include peanuts, lobster, baked beans, and pure dark chocolate.
• Avoid foods high in saturated fat – it makes it difficult for your body to combat harmful bacteria and viruses.

At Messmer Mechanical, there’s plenty we can do to help promote a healthier living environment at home. From under-sink water filters to whole-house air purifiers and humidity control systems, we can help make your air and water cleaner now and all year long. Contact us today for more information or a free in-home comfort analysis and new system proposal.