Clean your hands

Clean hands prevent the spread of flu virus. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly to stay healthy.

One of the most common ways to catch the flu is by touching the eyes or nose with contaminated hands. Handwashing prevents the spread of other communicable diseases as well: hepatitis A, meningitis, and infectious diarrhea among others.

Effective handwashing:

• Wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap.
• Rub your hands vigorously together and scrub thoroughly past your wrists.
• Continue for 10-15 seconds — about the time it takes to read these instructions. Soap combined with scrubbing acts to remove germs.
• Rinse well and dry your hands.
• More about handwashing

It's in Your Hands: Handwashing basics for kids and materials for teachers

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth

The flu virus easily enters the body when you touch a contaminated surface and transfer the virus to the eyes, nose, or mouth.

Stay home when you are sick

You are more likely to catch the flu if you are already sick with a cold or other illness. If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick to keep yourself and others well.

If you are sick, continue to follow the handwashing guidelines above.

Cover your mouth and nose

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing to prevent the spread of any illness to others.

Wash your hands after using a tissue.

Avoid close contact

Flu spreads easily: avoid close contact with those who are ill. If you are sick, avoid contact with others to keep them well.

More information

• Handwashing tips
• CDC Flu pages
• La Influenza en español
• If you get the flu

Children from six months to four years of age.

Recent studies have shown that children less than 2 years old, even if they are healthy, are more likely to be hospitalized from the flu.

To protect their health, all children 6 months to 59 months old should be vaccinated against the flu. Children and adolescents up to 18 years of age on long-term aspirin therapy should also be vaccinated.

The flu shot is not approved for use in children less than 6 months old.

Adults 50 and older.

People over the age of 50 are the largest group in the nation struck by serious or life-threatening cases of influenza. Flu also puts seniors at much greater risk for pneumonia. Pneumonia is a significant risk to the life and health of older adults, and hospitalizes more seniors each year than influenza.

If you are over 50, take steps to get your flu and pneumonia shots this season. The pneumonia vaccination won't prevent pneumonia, but it can greatly reduce the severity and deadliness of pneumonia. Flu shots will be available from private providers and your local health department. Your health department clinic can also supply you with a pneumonia shot alone, or when you get your flu shot.

Women who will be pregnant during the flu season.

Pregnancy can change the immune system in the mother, and affect the heart and lungs. This raises the risk of medical complications in pregnant women who get the flu, and makes hospitalization more likely. Early vaccination is especially important for expectant mothers who already have existing medical problems

The chronically ill, regardless of age.

If you are an adult suffering from a chronic illness such as diabetes, or a condition like HIV that weakens your immune system, a flu shot is especially important.

Chronic illness greatly increases the risk of getting the flu, having it longer, and suffering from more serious medical problems as a result of it. People with diabetes are almost three times more likely to die from flu complications.

Early prevention is essential. Influenza spreads from November to April — getting your flu shot before then gives you the best chance of staying healthy.

Fact Sheet on Diabetes and the Flu »

Other important groups

• Adults and children with difficulty swallowing or breathing due to any condition such as spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other neuromuscular disorders
• Residents of nursing homes or other older adults living in a group residence
• Caregivers and household contacts of children less than six months old
• Children on chronic aspirin therapy ages six months to 18 years
• Anyone with a compromised immune system due to HIV disease or medications such as chemotherapy

• Healthy adults and children who live with or care for young children (under 5 years old) or older adults (over 50 years old)
• Healthy adults and children who live with or care for anyone with a medical condition that could put them at higher risk for flu complications

• For more information on getting your flu vaccination, contact the health department in your county.
• Read more about the flu and vaccinations at the CDC web site.
• You can receive health news updates and other information from MSDH by e-mail: visit our subscription page to sign up.

Who should get a flu shot?

Flu shots are especially recommended for:

• Adults 50 years and older
• Children and adolescents aged 6 months up to their 19th birthday
• All women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
• Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities
• Children and adults with chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, or other health disorders
• Anyone with a compromised immune system due to HIV disease or medications such as chemotherapy
• Anyone with who may have trouble breathing or swallowing properly due to spinal cord injury, seizures, or other disorders.
• Health-care workers involved in direct patient care
• Adolescents and children over 6 months of age who are receiving long-term aspirin therapy
• Out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children aged less than 6 months, or adults over 50
• Healthy adults and children who live with or care for anyone with a medical condition that could put them at higher risk for flu complications

Who should NOT get a flu shot?

• Have a severe allergy to eggs
• Have had a severe reaction to a flu shot in the past
• Have had Guillain-Barre syndrome in the 6 weeks following a previous flu shot

Is it safe?

• The influenza vaccine cannot cause the flu. Flu vaccine is made from killed influenza virus that cannot give you the flu. It does causes your immune system to build defenses against it.

Why do some doctors have flu vaccine while others do not?

• Flu vaccine is supplied by several manufacturers in the U.S. and abroad. One of the largest manufacturers, Chiron, produces most of the vaccine for the U.S. public health system. Chiron is shipping much less vaccine than originally planned due to manufacturing delays, causing a nationwide shortage among its customers. Doctors and health providers who ordered from a different manufacturer have received their normal supplies.

How long does it take for a flu shot to start offering protection?

• It takes about two weeks to build the antibodies needed to protect you from the influenza virus.

What about anti-viral drugs?

• Anti-viral drugs can be used to prevent the flu, or to speed recovery from the flu. They are more expensive than flu vaccine, and are taken over a period of several days.

  For more detailed information, read the CDC's information page on anti-viral drugs.

Can the flu cause other health complications?

• The flu can cause bacterial pneumonia, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions such as congestive heart failure, asthma or diabetes. If you're in one of the groups at higher risk for pneumonia (people 65 and older, the very young, and people with special conditions such as heart or lung disease, diabetes, kidney failure, HIV and certain types of cancer), check with your doctor or health clinic about getting the PPV (pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine) when you get your regular flu shot. PPV will provide extra protection against pneumonia and other complications from the flu.

How can I tell if I have the flu?

• The flu's symptoms come on suddenly and can include a high fever and severe aches and pains. A cold, however, rarely causes a fever or severe aches and pains.

  Symptoms	Cold	Flu
  Fever	Usually none	High fever (102 - 104° F); lasts 3 to 4 days
  Headache	Usually none	Headaches can be strong
  General aches, pains	Very little	Often severe aches and pains
  Fatigue, weakness	Mild	Fatigue for up to 3 weeks
  Extreme exhaustion	Never	Exhaustion begins early and remains
  Stuffy nose	Nose usually stuffy	Sometimes
  Sneezing	Sneezing is common	Sometimes
  Sore throat	Throat is usually sore	Sometimes
  Chest discomfort, cough	Sometimes	Chest discomfort and coughing can be severe
  Complications	Sinus congestion or earache	Bronchitis, pneumonia; can be life-threatening
  Prevention	None	Annual vaccination or antiviral medicines; see your doctor
  Treatment	Only temporary relief of symptoms	Antiviral medicines: see your doctor

What can I do if I get the flu?

• If you develop the flu, it is advisable to get plenty of rest, drink a lot of liquids, and avoid using alcohol and tobacco. You can take medications to relieve the symptoms of flu (but never give aspirin to children or teenagers who have flu-like symptoms, particularly fever, without first speaking to your doctor.)

  If your flu symptoms are unusually severe (for example, if you are having trouble breathing), you should consult your health-care provider right away.

  If you are at special risk from complications of flu, you should consult your health-care provider when your flu symptoms begin. This includes people 65 years or older, people with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women, or children. Your doctor may choose to use certain antiviral drugs to treat the flu.

• The same medications that can be used to prevent flu infections can also help decrease the length of a flu episode by about one day. Contact your physician at the early onset of flu symptoms to see if you are an appropriate candidate to receive this treatment. For those in generally good health, plenty of bed rest and fluids can be highly beneficial to a speedy recovery.

Flu Facts

• Influenza is a disease of the lungs only. Its main symptoms are fever, headache, extreme tiredness, coughing, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose and muscle aches, but usually not stomach nausea. "Stomach flu" is not related to influenza, and is not affected by the flu vaccine.

• Not every runny nose is the flu. The flu has many symptoms that the common cold does. It's not likely that you have the flu unless the symptoms are more severe than the usual cold or runny nose.

• This year's vaccine offers the best protection. The current year's vaccine is carefully matched to the currently active form of the influenza virus. The vaccine is effective for only a few months, so vaccinations from past years will not help protect you from illness this flu season.

• You can be vaccinated against pneumococcal virus at the same time you get your flu vaccination. This extra shot can protect you for five years or more from serious respiratory diseases caused by varieties of pneumococcal virus. Check with your doctor or local health department to see if this vaccination is right for you.