By Jaime Osnato, LIVESTRONG
With flu season in full swing and the spread of the novel coronavirus to worry about, a lot of us are focused on how to stay healthy. From slurping up soup to bathing in hand sanitizer, you've probably read about a million different ways to avoid getting sick. But which prevention strategies actually work?
There is an appropriate time to wear a face mask, but it's probably not when you think.
If you've already stocked up on face masks and surgical gloves, you might be disappointed to learn that these methods won't reduce your chances of catching the common cold, flu or coronavirus.
Below, medical experts separate fact from fiction to help set straight some of the most common germ myths.
With flu season in full swing and the spread of the novel coronavirus to worry about, a lot of us are focused on how to stay healthy. From slurping up soup to bathing in hand sanitizer, you've probably read about a million different ways to avoid getting sick. But which prevention strategies actually work?
There is an appropriate time to wear a face mask, but it's probably not when you think.
If you've already stocked up on face masks and surgical gloves, you might be disappointed to learn that these methods won't reduce your chances of catching the common cold, flu or coronavirus.
Below, medical experts separate fact from fiction to help set straight some of the most common germ myths.
1. Myth
Face Masks Are a Good Defense Against Catching the Flu (or Any Airborne Illness)
"Despite much research, the effectiveness of face masks in preventing infection against influenza and other airborne infections (like the novel coronavirus) is still under debate," says Pauline Jose, MD, a clinical instructor at UCLA and family medicine specialist at pH Labs, a national nonprofit health information organization."There is no conclusive evidence that the use of face masks protects healthy people in their day-to-day life," she says.
Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that people in good health wear a face mask to prevent contracting respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.
That's in part because germs are teensy and can easily sneak past a mask, especially if it's loose-fitting or not worn correctly. "Keep in mind how small a virus actually is," says Denise Pate, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician at Medical Offices of Manhattan. "The typical length of a virus ranges from 200 to 1,000 nanometers (for reference, a red blood cell is about 10,000 nanometers), and many of the masks on the market — which are commonly used improperly — can't prevent something so small from entering our bodies."
So, is there ever an appropriate time to wear a face mask? According to a March 2020 paper in JAMA, outside of being a health care worker, the average person should only use a face mask if they're experiencing symptoms of respiratory infection (such as coughing, sneezing, or, in some cases, fever) or if they're caring for (or are in close contact with) someone who has a respiratory infection. And that's really to prevent you from spreading any potentially harmful germs to others.
"The best defensive strategy is proper hand-washing, mindful covering of your mouth upon coughing and sneezing and not touching your eyes, nose and mouth," Dr. Pate says.
Wearing gloves isn't the best way to stay safe from germs.
2. Myth
Wearing Gloves Can Prevent You From Picking Up Germs
Hate to break it to you, but wearing gloves — whether winter gloves or the surgical kind — isn't the best way to avoid germs.Gloves are like a second skin — they pick up the same pathogens your bare hands do. Subsequently, they can also transmit — and infect you with — harmful bugs if you touch an unclean surface and then touch your face, according to Flushing Hospital Medical Center.
In other words, for gloves to serve any protective function at all, you would have to wash (or change) them as regularly as you would your ungloved hands — which pretty much defeats the purpose of wearing them.
However, if you're caring for someone with an illness like COVID-19, the CDC recommends you don disposable gloves when coming into contact with the person's blood, stool or body fluids (including saliva, sputum, nasal mucus, vomit, and urine). This also goes for when you clean "high-touch" surfaces, such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones and keyboards, and when handling soiled clothing and bedding for laundry.
In these cases, always avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with gloved hands. Then dispose of them immediately (only use them once!) and wash your hands straight away with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, per the CDC.
3. Myth
Vitamin C Helps You Get Better Faster
When you're under the weather, you might reach for a tall glass of orange juice. But does a little vitamin C do the trick when you're sick?"Vitamin C is important for immune defense, and we need a good immune function for healing," Dr. Jose says. That said, research has found that taking daily vitamin C supplements only modestly reduces a cold's duration, by about 8 percent, per the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Vitamin C's ability to slightly shorten the length of a cold (and reduce the severity of your symptoms) may be in part because "it compensates for the increased inflammatory response and metabolic demand," explains Dr. Jose.
But if you just start popping vitamin C once you're already sick, it won't do much to speed your recovery, says the NIH.
At the end of the day, "the best remedy is good old-fashioned sleep," Dr. Pate says. The more your body rests, the speedier your recovery.
If you're young and healthy, you should still get the flu vaccine to help prevent others from getting sick.
4. Myth
The Flu Is the Same as Having a Bad Cold
Though you may experience typical cold symptoms like sore throat, runny nose, sneezing, hoarseness and cough, the flu can be more dangerous than your run-of-the-mill common cold. "In the United States alone, 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 are hospitalized each year because of the flu," Dr. Pate says.And certain populations are at greater risk, including infants, the elderly, pregnant women and people with compromised immune systems, per the CDC. What's more, if you suffer from a medical condition, such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes, the flu can lead to more serious complications.
For this reason, Dr. Pate encourages people to get vaccinated. "Even if the shot doesn't prevent you from getting the flu, it can decrease the chance of developing severe symptoms," she says.
5. Myth
Healthy People Don't Need the Flu Vaccine
As mentioned above, certain groups have a higher risk for encountering flu-related complications, but "anyone is susceptible to contracting the flu, including healthy people," says Dr. Pate, adding that once infected, individuals can become contagious and spread the virus to others. That's why the CDC recommends that everyone (starting at 6 months of age) get vaccinated every flu season.
And getting the flu shot every year is key. "The influenza virus mutates, so getting vaccinated each year is important to make sure you have immunity to the strains most likely to cause an outbreak," Dr. Pate says.
Staying hydrated is key when recovering from a cold or flu.
And getting the flu shot every year is key. "The influenza virus mutates, so getting vaccinated each year is important to make sure you have immunity to the strains most likely to cause an outbreak," Dr. Pate says.
Staying hydrated is key when recovering from a cold or flu.
6. Myth
You Need Antibiotics for the Flu
"False, false, and false," Dr. Pate says about this belief. Antibiotics are specifically made to kill bacteria, not viruses like the flu or the novel coronavirus, which are completely different organisms."Supportive therapy, antiviral medications (not all viruses have medications) and preventative vaccines are the proper approach for treating viruses," she says.
However, "sometimes a patient's immune function gets so challenged during a viral infection that they develop a superimposed bacterial infection like pneumonia," Dr. Jose says. In these cases, taking an antibiotic may be beneficial.
7. Myth
You Should 'Starve' a Fever
This is fiction. Though eating may be the last thing on your mind when you're under the weather, forgoing food may not be your best bet for a speedy healing process, Dr. Jose says.Whether it's the cold or flu, "your immune system needs nutrients and energy to do its job, so eating and getting enough fluids is essential," Dr. Pate says.
Hydration is key for recovery. So if you can't choke down solids, try sipping on water, tea, and broth.
8. Myth
The Flu Vaccine Causes the Flu
If you've ever gotten hit with the flu soon after receiving the flu shot, you might've assumed that the vaccine itself made you ill. But this simply isn't true. "The flu shot is made from an inactivated virus that can't transmit infection," Dr. Pate says.In fact, it takes a week or two for the vaccine's protection to kick in, so people who become symptomatic immediately after getting a flu shot were already on their way to getting sick before they got vaccinated, Dr. Pate explains.
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