What steps can I do to stay healthy and keep from spreading the flu?

Here are four important ways people can stay healthy and keep from getting sick with flu or spreading the flu:

• Practice good hand hygiene. Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Practice respiratory etiquette. The main way flu spreads is from person to person in droplets produced by coughs and sneezes, so it’s important to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not your hands.
• Stay home if you are sick. Stay home or in your place of residence for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).
• Talk to your health care providers about whether you should be vaccinated. Get vaccinated for seasonal flu. People who are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes).

For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.flu.gov

Everyone should take personal responsibility to help slow the spread of the flu virus.

Who is at higher risk for complications from flu?

Anyone can get the flu (even healthy people) and anyone can have serious problems from the flu. Talk with your health care provider to determine if you are at higher risk for flu complications, especially if you have been in close contact with others who are sick with flu or flu-like illness.

Some groups are at higher risk for complications from the flu. These include children younger than 5, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic health conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease) and people 65 and older.

What actions should pregnant women take to protect themselves from the flu?

Pregnant women should follow the same guidance as the general public related to staying home when sick, hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette, and routine cleaning.

Pregnant women are at higher risk of complications from flu and like all people at higher risk, should speak with their health care provider as soon as possible if they develop flu-like symptoms. Early treatment with antiviral flu medicines is recommended for pregnant women who have the flu; these medicines are most effective when started within the first 48 hours of feeling sick.

Pregnant women are part of the first priority group to receive the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine when it becomes available. Seasonal flu vaccine is also recommended for pregnant women and can be given at any time during pregnancy.

What is self-isolation?

Self-isolation is when sick people stay home and away from other people until they no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). During the period of self-isolation, sick people should limit contact with others and try to maintain a distance of at least 6 feet from people. If close contact cannot be avoided, sick people should wear a surgical mask when they are around other people, if they can tolerate it.

What should students or faculty/staff members living on campus do if they get the flu?

CDC recommends that people with flu-like illness remain at home and away from other people until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen).

How long should a person sick with the flu stay at home or in their residence?

Under current flu conditions, faculty, students, and staff with flu-like symptoms should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). The sick person may decide to stop taking fever-reducing medicines as he or she begins to feel better. This person should continue to monitor his or her temperature until it has been normal for 24 hours.

If flu conditions become more severe, the sick person should stay home or in their residence for 7 days. A person who is still sick after 7 days should stay home until 24 hours after the symptoms have gone away. In addition, this longer period should be used in healthcare settings and may be considered anywhere a high number of people at higher risk for complications from flu may be exposed, such as childcare facilities.

Sick people should stay at home or in their residence, except to go to the health care provider’s office, and they should avoid contact with others. Keeping people with a fever at home may reduce the number of people who get infected with the flu virus. Because high body temperatures are linked with higher amounts of virus, people with a fever may be more contagious.

Who should receive a flu vaccination?

Vaccines will be available this year to protect against seasonal flu. Children 6 months through 18 years of age, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes), and everyone age 50 and older should be vaccinated against seasonal flu as early as possible.

The 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine should be available in the fall of 2009. Certain groups at higher risk for complications from this flu are recommended to get the 2009 H1N1 flu vaccine when it first becomes available. These groups include:

• pregnant women,
• people who live with and care for children younger than 6 months of age,
• healthcare and emergency medical services personnel,
• people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years (this includes most students attending institutions of higher education), and
• people ages 25–64 years of age who have chronic health conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes) or compromised immune systems.

[Centers for Disease Control. 2009. Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Institutions of Higher Education]

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