Pharmacist advice to boost your immunity

Posted 20th May 2020

Boosting your immunity during the cold & flu season

The common cold and flu will still be around this year, despite all our social distancing efforts for
COVID-19.

For the majority of people, even COVID-19 will only cause mild symptoms like a fever, cough or sore throat. While it is important to contact a doctor and follow their advice for testing and treatment of COVID, if symptoms are not severe then treatments are similar to that of a mild cold or flu. That could include medication like paracetamol, anti-inflammatories and lozenges; as well as time resting and drinking fluids. As always, you should check with a pharmacist which medications are appropriate for you.

Each year we brace for the cold and flu season with many of us taking some extra vitamin C, vitamin D or zinc supplements during the winter months. This may help boost our immune system to better protect us against infections. A different boost we should have each year is the annual flu shot. Vaccination is our best defense against influenza (flu) viruses. Even fit and healthy people should get the flu shot to protect themselves and help stop the spread of the virus around the community. It’s not too late this year to be vaccinated against the flu, so speak with your pharmacist or doctor to get it done!

Lastly, how many of us have learned how to properly wash our hands since COVID-19 started? Let’s not stop regularly washing our hands with soap for 20 seconds or using alcohol based hand sanitizer to help fight the spread of COVID-19 and other nasty cold and flu viruses.