Protect Your Health and Safety This New Year

By LaTINA EMERSON, Health & Fitness

As we kick off the New Year, it’s important to prioritize our health and safety, particularly during the winter months. Colder weather ushers in cold and flu season, and people of all ages need to guard themselves against respiratory illnesses, such as the common cold, flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Each year, respiratory viruses cause millions of illnesses, resulting in thousands of hospitalizations and deaths in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In early January, the CDC reported the state of Georgia had very high respiratory illness levels. In Coweta, Heard and Meriwether counties, 7.8 percent of emergency department visits were associated with influenza, 1.3 percent of visits were associated with RSV and 0.6 percent of visits were associated with COVID-19 during the week ending on Dec. 28, 2024. The CDC predicts that COVID-19 and influenza activity levels will increase across the nation.

As we spend more time indoors during chilly weather, it’s also important to safeguard our physical environment from dangers such as smoke inhalation and carbon monoxide poisoning. Use the tips below to protect your health and safety this new year.

Here are the CDC’s recommendations to protect yourself against respiratory viruses:

Stay up-to-date with vaccines.

Immunizations help prepare our body to defend itself from viruses and severe illness.

• Everyone six months and older should get the current flu and COVID-19 vaccines.
• To prevent severe RSV disease in infants, the CDC recommends that either the pregnant mother receive an RSV vaccine, or the infant gets an immunization with an RSV monoclonal antibody. Most infants won’t need both.
• Adults ages 60-74 who are at increased risk of severe RSV disease should get an RSV vaccine. Also, adults ages 75 and older should get an RSV vaccine.
• Consider getting more than one vaccine at once. Flu, COVID-19 and RSV vaccines can be given at the same visit. Or, for those who prefer to get recommended vaccines at different times, the CDC notes that people don’t need to wait a certain amount of time after getting the previous vaccine.
• Ask a healthcare provider about other vaccines that are recommended for you. For instance, you might need to receive vaccines for pneumococcal disease, shingles or whooping cough.

Practice good hygiene to lower risk from respiratory viruses.

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough and sneeze to limit the spread of germs to others and throw used tissues in the trash. If a tissue isn’t available, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands.
• Wash your hands thoroughly with soap to remove germs from your hands and lower the chance of germs infecting your respiratory system. If soap and water aren’t available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Clean regularly used surfaces, such as countertops, handrails and doorknobs, on a frequent basis. Use household cleaners that contain soap or detergent to remove germs and dirt on surfaces.

Take steps to improve air quality.

• Some germs spread in the air. Since this happens more easily in indoor, crowded spaces with poor airflow, it’s important to reduce the risk of exposure.
• Open doors and windows and/or use exhaust fans to bring fresh air into your home.
• If your home has a central heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system, set the fan to the “on” position instead of “auto” when you have visitors and use pleated filters. Also, change the filter every three months or according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Use a portable high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) cleaner.
• When possible, move activities outdoors where airflow is much better.

Prevent spread of respiratory viruses when someone is sick.

• If you have respiratory virus symptoms, including fever, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose and headache, stay home and away from others, including people who live with you.
• Resume normal activities when both are true for at least 24 hours: 1) symptoms are improving overall and 2) you haven’t had a fever and aren’t using fever-reducing medication. However, if you start to feel worse or develop a fever after resuming normal activities, stay away from others again until the above are true for at least 24 hours.
• When you return to normal activities, take precautions over the next five days, such as improving air quality, practicing good hygiene, wearing masks, physical distancing and getting tested.
• Even if you’re feeling better, be mindful that you might still be able to spread the virus, though you may be less contagious.

Get testing and treatment.

• To protect yourself and others from respiratory viruses, it’s important to seek testing and/or treatment if you think you may have a respiratory virus or the risk factors for severe illness. The CDC recommends seeking treatment within a few days of when symptoms begin. Treatment for some illnesses, such as flu and COVID-19, can help to make symptoms less severe and shorten the time you’re sick.

Here’s some advice from the United States Fire Administration on how to keep your home safe:

Make sure home safety devices are working properly.

Home safety devices such as smoke and carbon monoxide alarms can save lives. These devices trigger warnings when there’s a buildup of smoke, typically from a fire, or alert you when carbon monoxide, a colorless, odorless and poisonous gas, reaches dangerous levels in your home. Carbon monoxide poisoning can occur when a fuel-burning appliance or machine, such as a furnace, heater or generator, isn’t working or vented properly, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

The U.S. Fire Administration recommends installing smoke alarms in every bedroom, outside each separate sleeping area, and on every level of the home, including the basement. Carbon monoxide alarms should be installed in a central location outside each separate sleeping area and on every level of the home. To avoid high levels of carbon monoxide, use portable generators outdoors in well-ventilated areas away from all doors, vents and windows, and make sure that vents for the dryer, furnace, stove and fireplace are clear of debris.

The experts suggest that all smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be tested at least once a month, and batteries should be replaced in wireless detectors once every one to two years. Also, smoke and carbon monoxide alarms should be replaced every 10 years.

There are two types of smoke alarms – ionization and photoelectric – which detect different types of fires. Or, consumers can purchase dual-sensor smoke alarms, which contain both ionization and photoelectric smoke sensors. There are also alarms for individuals with hearing loss, which have strobe lights that flash or vibrate to alert people who are unable to hear standard smoke alarms, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.