25 Safe Natural Alternatives to the Flu Shot

25 Safe Natural Alternatives to the Flu Shot

The absolute, number one way to avoid catching the flu is through the exercise of good personal hygiene.

1. Wash your hands frequently when you are out.
2. Use a paper towel to open bathroom doors and turn on taps.
3. Although I’m normally not a big fan of hand sanitizer, use it during the height of flu season if you have to touch things that everyone else has been touching, like the handle of the shopping cart, door knobs, and debit machines.
4. Use antibacterial wipes (or at least baby wipes) to wash your hands and wipe the steering wheel when you get back into your vehicle.
5. Avoid touching your face – this welcomes germs that are on your hands into your body.
6. During the height of flu season, consider taking a quick shower and changing clothes when you return home, particularly if you have been in a germ-ridden place like a doctor’s office or pharmacy.
7. Make sure the kids change clothes and thoroughly wash their hands when they return home from school.
8. I shouldn’t really have to say this, but….wash your hands after using the bathroom and before preparing or eating food.

If your local area is being hit hard by the flu, practice avoidance to keep your family healthy.

9. Stay home as much as possible. (Obviously, if you have work and school outside the home, this become more difficult, but avoids malls, movie theaters, and sporting events for the duration of the epidemic.)
10. Stay away from sick people if you can.
11. Avoid eating at restaurants – you don’t know the health or hygiene habits of the kitchen staff.

If someone in your family is sick, try to minimize the spread of the illness.

12. If you or family members are sick, stay home from work or school to prevent passing it on to others.
13. If a family member is sick, keep them isolated away from the rest of the family.
14. Use antibacterial wipes to clean surfaces that the sick person touches – doorknobs, TV remotes, keyboards, toilet handles, and phones.
15. Immediate place dishes and flatware used by the sick person into hot, soapy dishwater with a drop of bleach in it.
16. Teach children to cough into the crook of their arm instead of covering their mouth with their hands.
17. Have the sick person wash their hands frequently with soap and water to help prevent spreading germs through physical contact. If soap and water is unavailable, have them use hand sanitizer.

What’s in a simple sneeze? Photograph: Peter Jordan/PA

Some other ways to stay healthy are to use natural strategies to maximize your immune system.

18. Drink lots of water to keep your system hydrated and efficient.
19. Take a high quality, organic multi-vitamin.
20. Take at least 3000 IUs of Vitamin D3 daily – research has shown a link between a Vitamin D deficit and susceptibility to the flu.
21. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables (preferably organic and pesticide free).
22. Get 7-9 hours of sleep per day – a tired body has a weaker immunity against viruses.
23. Don’t smoke – this weakens your resistance against respiratory illnesses and worsens the effect on your body if you do become ill.
24. Avoid or limit alcoholic beverages.
25. Avoid or limit processed foods.

Sourced: The Organic Prepper
Author Credit for List: Daisy Luther is a freelance writer and editor. Her website, The Organic Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions.  You can follow Daisy on Facebook and Twitter, and you can email her at daisy@theorganicprepper.ca