How to Best Prepare for Cold and Flu Season This Year
Decrease your risk of catching a cold or the flu with these tips.
As temperatures cool and we approach the height of cold and flu season, the importance of staying healthy and avoiding illness becomes paramount. In our attempt to best prepare for the cold and flu season and to safeguard our health, we often emphasize practices like getting vaccinated, regular hand-washing, avoiding close contact with sick individuals, and resisting the urge to touch our faces.
The common cold and the flu are caused by different viruses but share many similar symptoms, making it challenging to differentiate between the two. Complicating matters, COVID symptoms can mimic the flu or a cold.
Here are some symptoms and ways to tell them all apart.
- Can come on suddenly and severely
- More severe than a cold
- May include fever or chills
- Can include muscle or body aches
- May include feelings of fatigue
- Can include cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose
- Milder than flu or COVID symptoms
- Can include sneezing, runny or stuffy nose
- Can include a sinus headache with severe congestion
- Can include a cough or sore throat
- May include mild body aches
COVID-19 symptoms vary from person to person and change depending on which variant you have. Symptoms of COVID can include, but are not limited to:
- Sore throat
- Cough
- Congestion
- Runny nose
- Fever or chills
- Headache
- Muscle aches
- New loss of taste or smell
- Diarrhea
You can get the latest COVID-19 vaccine when you get your flu shot. While it may not prevent you from getting COVID, it can reduce the severity of your symptoms. If you think you have COVID, get tested.
All of these respiratory illnesses are not just inconvenient but, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), can also have significant health implications, especially for individuals with pre-existing conditions like asthma or COPD.
All of these viruses primarily spread through respiratory droplets released when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Additionally, contact with contaminated surfaces followed by touching the mouth, nose, or eyes can also lead to infection. To reduce your risk of getting sick, follow these guidelines:
- Get vaccinated. Flu activity peaks between December and February, but can start in October. Flu vaccines are updated every year. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends that anyone older than 6 months get vaccinated for both influenza and COVID-19.
- Get enough rest. According to the Mayo Clinic, adults need 7-8 hours of sleep to boost their immune system. Children and teens need 9-10 hours of sleep.
- Wash your hands frequently. Regularly wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with soap and water. If soap is unavailable, using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer can also be effective in killing germs.
- Avoid touching your face. Refrain from touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. These areas serve as entry points for viruses.
- Practice social distancing. Stay away from individuals who are sick to minimize the chances of close contact and transmission.
- Stock your medicine cabinet. To avoid a last-minute run to the drugstore, stock your medicine cabinet with fever-reducing medications, sore throat lozenges, etc.
- Stay home if you have the flu or COVID. Get rest, drink plenty of fluids, and stay home if you’re sick. You’ll prevent the spread of whatever bug you have, and your workplace will survive.
While these measures are critical, there's another aspect of illness prevention that tends to go unnoticed but can have a huge impact - the quality of the air we breathe indoors. Explore how better indoor air quality (IAQ) can help you during cold and flu season, helping you and your guests breathe easier, and stay healthier and safer in the months ahead.
Given that we spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, the quality of the air we breathe within our homes plays a significant role in our overall health and susceptibility to respiratory illnesses.
Here's how you can improve your indoor air quality to bolster your defenses against colds and the flu:
What is humidity? It’s the level of moisture in the air and it can affect how you feel. Achieving the ideal indoor humidity in the winter months doesn’t have to be hard. Humidity levels naturally drop when the temperature drops.
To help avoid (or soothe) sore throats and congestion, take steps to achieve the best humidity level for your home in winter. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the optimal indoor humidity is between 30-50%.
The best humidity level for the home in winter to help prevent dry skin, scratchy throats, and damage to your wood floors is between 30% and 40%. Never let the indoor humidity rise above 60% - this level promotes mold and mildew growth, an increase in dust mites, and breathing difficulties in some people.
One effective way to manage indoor humidity is by installing a whole-house humidifier. It’s an effective solution for every room in your home - not just the room where someone has a cold. When you pair it with a smart thermostat, you can set your preferred humidity and control it from the palm of your hand with the Trane Home App.
View humidity control solutions.
You need to change your HVAC air filters regularly to help keep allergens and pollutants out of the air you breathe. Consult our filter cleaning and maintenance guide for more information. In addition, consider upgrading your filters to a higher MERV rating or even to a whole-house air cleaner. More on the benefits of that below, in #5.
If your home is more than 10 years old and you’ve never had your ducts cleaned, then cold and flu season may be a good time to consider air duct cleaning. Over time, dust and debris can build up inside your ductwork.
This can lead to more dust in the air you breathe, aggravating any respiratory symptoms you already have. It can also create an environment for mold and mildew. If you decide to go ahead with duct cleaning, be sure to hire a reputable company. Your HVAC company may be able to recommend someone.
Adequate ventilation is essential to avoiding common cold and flu symptoms, especially in tightly sealed, energy-efficient homes. Whole-house ventilators help manage temperature and humidity levels while exhausting stale air and indoor pollutants. Energy recovery ventilators can also enhance heating and cooling efficiency.
Unlike standard HVAC filters, electronic air cleaners use electrostatic collection cells to capture particles, including viruses. One notable example is the Trane CleanEffects® whole-house air purification system. It’s certified as asthma and allergy-friendly™ by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.
Independent testing has found the air cleaner has been documented to remove more than 99% of airborne pollutants as small as 0.3 microns, including mold spores, allergens, bacteria, and some pollen1. Compared to traditional HEPA room filters, it is eight times more effective and up to 100 times more effective than a standard 1-inch filter. Furthermore, it reduces potential asthma and allergy triggers, minimizing the need for frequent dusting. Additionally, this system is easy to clean and does not require costly filter replacements.
In the context of the ongoing concern surroundingCOVID-19, air filtration alone cannot entirely eliminate the risk of transmission. However, the EPA has recognized that HVAC filters, air cleaners, and air purifiers can help reduce the potential for indoor transmission of the virus when used in conjunction with other preventive measures such as social distancing and mask-wearing.
Standard air filters and portable air cleaners are generally ineffective at capturing COVID-19 virus particles due to their small size. Trane CleanEffects® Whole Home Air Cleaner employs highly efficient electrostatic technology to remove the virus from indoor air. Independent testing found that it removes over 99% of the surrogate for the virus within 30 minutes2. Moreover, it reduces virus particles four times faster than ventilation alone.
Prepare your home for cold and flu season: Contact the HVAC experts
Taking proactive measures to prepare for the cold and flu season and avoiding illness extends beyond practicing good hygiene. Knowing how better indoor air quality can help during cold and flu season puts you in a position to help prevent illness.
If you're interested in learning more about improving the air quality in your home, consider connecting with your local Trane dealer for guidance and solutions tailored to your specific needs. By combining these efforts with established preventive measures, you can significantly reduce the risk of falling ill during the upcoming cold and flu season.
1The asthma & allergy friendly® Certification Mark is awarded only to those products that are scientifically proven to reduce exposure to asthma and allergy triggers. Since CleanEffects® filters down to .1 micron, or 700 times smaller than a human hair, it is extremely effective at removing spores, mold, pollen, pet dander, dirt and dust, reducing the total volume of particulates in the air you breathe. 65 million Americans were found to be impacted by asthma and allergies during the March 12, 2020 Asthma & Allergy Friendly® Certification Program
2The CleanEffects® Whole Home Air Cleaner, when used in accordance with the manufacturer’s directions, is proven to be effective at removing virus particles. Effective removal rate based on independent testing results using MS-2 bacteriophage, a bacteria representative of virus-sized particles like SARS-CoV-2 that causes Covid-19. Removal rate based on an area of 1,007 ft³
Related Articles
