general health BY NORA HESTON TARTE
SICK SMARTS
“Washing your hands is extremely important.” Dr. Elyas Parsa, San Joaquin General Hospital
QUICK TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY
Whether it’s the common cold or a pandemic like COVID-19, there are ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness onto others. Regardless of the type of illness, many of the precautions are the same. “As a primary care physician, I always emphasize that we need to do whatever it takes to boost our immune system,” says Dr. Elyas Parsa of San Joaquin General Hospital. Strong immune systems mixed with good hygiene habits can make all the difference. A strong immune system “likely will impact your reserve to recover from common illness faster and or have less severe symptoms when you do get sick,” Dr. Parsa says. It’s near impossible for anyone to avoid all of the viruses that cause colds, flus, and COVID-19 because of how easily they spread. For example, a person can There are a couple of common pick up any of these illnesses by shaking someone’s misconceptions about illnesses like hand or touching a surface such as a countertop cold and flu. One is how people or doorknob. It’s simply impossible to know where get sick. While some illnesses are germs might be—and the fact that they can aerosolized, which means they can live on surfaces for up to three days makes travel from person to person spreading these germs even easier. in the air, this isn’t always a To protect yourself, avoid touching common way to get sick. your face as much as possible especially Another falsity is that when out in public and avoid contact the flu vaccine can infect with those who appear sick. Hand Kids, on average, someone with the flu. “From washing is perhaps the most important get sick nine a molecular level we know way to prevent illness. The goal is to times per year. that the flu vaccine is not a wash with soap and water for twenty life virus and therefore cannot seconds and use hand sanitizer as a make you ill,” Dr. Parsa says. backup when washing your hands isn’t possible. The rule of thumb is to sing the FEEL SICK? MAKE AN APPOINTMENT: happy birthday song as you wash, but we find it more SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY CLINICS fun to hum the chorus to Lizzo’s Truth Hurts (also 20 French Camp, Stockton, Manteca seconds).
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(209) 468-6820 SJCClinics.org SanJoaquinGeneral.org
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2020 SJ HEALTH AND MEDICAL GUIDE
HOW TO BOOST YOUR IMMUNITY DR. PARSA RECOMMENDS THIS: ì Sleep six to eight hours per night,
ì Eat well-balanced meals that consist of mainly plants ì Maintain a healthy weight ì Get at least 150 minutes of moder ate-intensity aerobic activity per week ì Maintain stress levels through meditation, mindfulness, and other activities
