It’s important to do what you can to prevent eye infection and other illnesses this holiday season. Staying healthy will allow you to keep up your festive spirit and enjoy this special time of year.
Although we can’t avoid being around people this time of year, even though we’re the ones spreading viruses, we can avoid catching what others have if we just take a few precautions.
- When touching your eyes, it’s easy to also touch the nose and mouth. But this is how we most often get an eye infection or catch a cold or other things that are going around. Washing your hands often will help stop the spread of anything you don’t want to catch. Carrying hand sanitizer to use when you shake people’s hands or after opening doors or turning on lights can also help reduce your getting sick.
- It’s way too easy to get run down when we’re running errands during the holiday season. So it’s important to make sure you’re getting enough sleep. A tired immune system loves to invite infections in for prolonged visits. And they aren’t nearly as fun as when your family stays.
- Running all those errands or going to multiple parties, at work, at friend’s houses, with our families, means we might not be eating right either. Taking the time to actually prepare healthful meals and snacks will prevent us from eating too much of the wrong things when we’re partying. Or from stopping for fast food while we’re shopping.
- Something you might not be thinking about, especially if you’re new to Arizona, is how much dry air can affect your health. Using a humidifier in your house helps keep your mucous membranes healthy, which leads to fewer colds or other respiratory problems.
- Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. We usually remember this during our scorching hot summers, but might not think about it as much once it starts cooling off. Staying hydrated is good for your body, but it also helps if you plan on drinking alcohol during your celebrations. Alcohol is dehydrating, so it won’t take long to feel under the weather if you’re not drinking enough water.
Stay healthy this season with a sensible approach to proper hygiene, eating, sleeping, water consumption, and how you plan on entertaining or being entertained. You’ll look and feel better, plus be able to fully enjoy the season without suffering from any eye infection. And your tissue budget will thank you for it, too!
Happy, healthy holidays from Val Vista Vision!