SICK SMARTS

SICK SMARTS QUICK TIPS FOR STAYING HEALTHY

“Washing your hands is extremely important.” Dr. Elyas Parsa, San Joaquin General Hospital

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 pick up any of these illnesses by shaking someone’s hand or touching a surface such as a countertop or doorknob. It’s simply impossible to know where germs might be—and the fact that they can live on surfaces for up to three days makes spreading these germs even easier.

To protect yourself, avoid touching your face as much as possible especially when out in public and avoid contact with those who appear sick. Hand washing is perhaps the most important way to prevent illness. The goal is to wash with soap and water for twenty seconds and use hand sanitizer as a backup when washing your hands isn’t possible. The rule of thumb is to sing the happy birthday song as you wash, but we find it more fun to hum the chorus to Lizzo’s Truth Hurts (also 20 seconds).

Did you know?: Kids, on average, get sick nine times per year.

There are a couple of common misconceptions about illnesses like cold and flu. One is how people get sick. While some illnesses are aerosolized, which means they can travel from person to person in the air, this isn’t always a common way to get sick. Another falsity is that the flu vaccine can infect someone with the flu. “From a molecular level we know that the flu vaccine is not a life virus and therefore cannot make you ill,” Dr. Parsa says. FEEL SICK? MAKE AN APPOINTMENT:

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY CLINICS

French Camp, Stockton, Manteca (209) 468-6820 SJCClinics.org SanJoaquinGeneral.org

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