Go Au Pair Philadelphia, Bucks & Montgomery Counties and parts of NJ

Many Au Pairs become sick every year. Here are some of my favorite tips for  flu prevention.

Get a flu shot. Go to Target, CVS, Walgreens, or your local health clinic to get a flu shot. One of the best first-lines of defense from flu is to have a flu shot, preferably in the fall.

Wear warm clothes. I noticed that many Au Pairs who came from “warm” countries, don’t wear appropriate cold weather clothes and boots. Wearing warm coats and boots keep our immune system stay strong.

Eat fruits and vegetables – A Berlin 2011 study reports that a dietary supplement from fruits and vegetables provided a “20% reduction of moderate or severe common cold symptom days.” Eat garlic and onions. Garlic is also known as Russian Penicillin. Eat orange, red and yellow bell peppers, slice them up and eat them as snacks all the time. They are loaded with vitamin C and other vitamins.

Take Vitamins and supplements – Colds and flu strike harder in winter because limited sunlight deprives us of Vitamin D and other vitamins and supplements. Kids usually take vitamins, buy some vitamins and take them too. Vitamin D also can be found in fortified milk and orange juice, fatty fish, and other food products.

Drink a lot of water – drink, drink, drink. Keep your body hydrated with 8-10 glasses of H2O daily.  Water strengthens the immune system by transporting oxygen to cells, moving nutrients to our tissues and organs, and flushing out toxic impurities.

Wash your and kids hand and  don’t infect your face.  Wash your hands frequently, make sure the children you care for wash theirs, carry a bag of clean tissues and use a hand sanitizer.  Do this especially before and after cooking, school pickups, and visits to crowded places. Our eyes are the most susceptible at absorbing viral particles, shut your eyes and move quickly away if someone sneezes or coughs near you.  Don’t touch your face.

Walk and play in the sun. Walk , run or play with kids outside especially when bright sunshine glance through the winter. Solar radiation in sunshine delivers flu-and-cold-combating Vitamin A to our bodies and make as strong and feel happy.