Keeping families safe – ways that can help to reduce the risk of influenza (flu) for families:
- Vaccination against flu is safe and will help to protect your family, go to your local health service such as AMS or GP
- Cough and sneeze into tissues and throw them out – Catch ‘em, Bin ‘em, Kill ‘em.
- If you don’t have tissues, cough or sneeze into your arm, this keeps your hands safer and protects the people around you
- Washing hands with soap and water often will reduce the spread of flu and other germs
- Hand gels are great at getting rid of germs from hands
- Keeping healthy helps to avoid the flu: eat plenty of fruit and veggies, and get some exercise
If you get a fever and a cough or think that you have the flu:
- don’t hesitate, don’t wait, phone the doctor for advice
- stay away from work and school until you feel better
- drink plenty of water, its good for healing.
If you are sick with the flu and have to go to an important family or community gathering, here are some things you can do to protect others:
- Stand back if you can, keep a couple of steps away from others, let elders know you are sick so that if you are standing back it is not seen as disrespectful
- If you cough or sneeze use a tissue or cough into your arm
- Where possible talk with people out in the open, on the verandah or in the fresh air
- Take plenty of tissues and some hand gel with you and use them often
- Less kissing, less hugs, less flu bugs can spread
