Preventing the Flu - FAQs:

If you have not already done so, we recommend that you contact the Home Care Licensure Division of your state health department for guidance. Here is a link to finding state health departments.

Ill healthcare workers should not be involved in patient care, especially those with compromised immune systems. Use of a mask by the healthcare worker would likely not be adequate to prevent possible transmission.

For more information about infection control in the home care setting, please visit the CDC Web site: Infection Control in Home Care

Families, students, and school staff can keep from getting sick with flu in three ways.

1.  Practicing good hand hygiene. Students and staff members should wash their hands often with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective. (See the Handwashing Video.)
   
   
2. Practicing respiratory "etiquette."  The main way that the flu spreads is from person to person in the droplets produced by coughs and sneezes, so it’s important to cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.  If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands.
   
   
3. Staying home if you’re sick. Keeping sick students and staff at home means that they keep their viruses to themselves rather than sharing them with others at school.

Everyone must take personal responsibility for helping to slow the spread of flu viruses by practicing these steps.

Schools should take the following steps to help keep students and staff from getting sick with flu. These steps should be followed ALL the time, and not only during a flu pandemic.

• Encourage respiratory etiquette by providing staff and students:
  • Remind staff and students to practice good hand hygiene and
  • provide the time and supplies for students and staff to wash their hands when needed.
     
• Send sick students and staff home. Advise students, staff, and families that sick people should stay at home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever or signs of a fever. This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medicines (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). They should stay home until at least 24 hours after they no longer have a fever even if they are using antiviral medicines.  Schools should revise their policies and incentives to avoid unknowingly penalizing students who stay home when they are sick (e.g., perfect attendance awards).
   
• Clean surfaces and items that are more likely to have frequent hand contact with cleaning agents that are usually used in these areas. Additional disinfection beyond routine cleaning is not recommended. Some states and localities have laws about specific cleaning products used in schools.  School officials should contact their state health department and department of environmental protection for additional guidance.
   
• Move students and staff who become sick at school to a separate room until they can be sent home. Limit the number of staff who take care of the sick person and provide a surgical mask for the sick person to wear if they can tolerate it.
   
• Have Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks available and ensure it is worn by school nurses and other staff caring for sick people at school.
   
• Encourage sick students and staff at higher risk of complications from flu to get a medical evaluation as soon as possible. Taking antiviral medicines early might prevent severe complications from the flu, such as hospitalization or death.

See additional information for schools at: http://www.flu.gov/plan/school/index.html.

• Consider dismissing students if a large proportion of staff are at higher risk of flu-related complications. Settings where this strategy might be appropriate are in schools for pregnant women and schools with many medically fragile children.

Students and staff with symptoms of flu should stay home for at least 24 hours after they no longer have fever or do not feel feverish, without using fever-reducing drugs.  

Sick people should stay at home, except to go to the doctor’s office, and should avoid contact with others. Keeping people with a fever at home may reduce the number of people who get infected. Because high temperatures are linked with higher amounts of virus, people with a fever may be more contagious.

If flu conditions become more severe, CDC recommends that a sick person stay home for 7 days. A person who is still sick after 7 days should stay home until 24 hours after the symptoms have gone away.  In addition, this longer period should be used in health care settings and in any place where a high number of high-risk people may be exposed, such as childcare facilities for children less than 5 years of age.

Yes, mothers who are breastfeeding and taking medicine to treat flu because they are sick should express their breast milk for bottle feedings, which can be given to your baby by someone who is not sick.  Mothers who are breastfeeding and are taking medicines to prevent the flu because they have been exposed to the virus should continue to feed their baby at the breast as long as they do not have symptoms of the flu such as fever, cough, or sore throat.

The term "mask" can have many meanings. Most respirators include some kind of face mask, but not all face masks are respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).

A "mask" can be a thin, cupped paper filter that covers the nose and mouth. Another type of mask is a surgical mask, which is a loose-fitting disposable mask. These are designed to help stop droplets from being spread by the person wearing it. However, they are not designed to protect you from breathing in very small particles. Thin paper masks and surgical face masks are often not NIOSH-approved respirators. If they are NIOSH approved, the word "NIOSH" will appear on the mask, and a NIOSH approval number will appear on the packaging or the user instructions.

NIOSH recommends that anyone who needs to wear a respirator wear a NIOSH-approved respirator. Some NIOSH-approved respirators are also commonly referred to as masks. This is because they resemble the thin, cupped paper filters that cover the nose and mouth. One example of these respirators is an N-95 filtering face piece. These are designed to fit tightly to the face so that most air is inhaled (breathed in) through the filter material. These filtering facepiece respirators can be made out of varying combinations of filter material depending on the desired level of filtration and the resistance of the filter to oil. NIOSH-certified respirators will be labeled to indicate that they are NIOSH-certified. Other types of masks that have not been certified by NIOSH should not be used as protection from airborne particulates.

Most of the time N95 respirators are used in construction and other jobs that involve dust and small particles. Some healthcare workers, such as nurses and doctors, use these types of respirators when taking care of patients with diseases that can be spread through the air.

People with heart or lung disease, or other health condition, may have trouble breathing through respirators. Talk to your doctor before using a respirator. Like surgical masks, N95 respirators should be worn only once and then thrown away in the trash.

The CDC has free print information for seasonal flu at: http://www.cdc.gov/flu/freeresources/print.htm.

All materials are free for download. They may be printed on a standard office printer, or you may use a commercial printer. Click on each image to see the different sizes and languages available. You may also search by audience or topic.

The single best way to protect yourself and others against influenza is to get a flu vaccination each year. Two kinds of flu vaccine are available in the United States:

The "flu shot" — an inactivated vaccine (containing killed virus) that is given with a needle, usually in the arm. The flu shot is approved for use in people older than 6 months, including healthy people and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease).

The nasal-spray flu vaccine — a vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that do not cause the flu (sometimes called LAIV for "live attenuated influenza vaccine"; or FluMist®). LAIV (FluMist®) is approved for use in healthy people 2-49 years of age who are not pregnant.
 

Steps to prepare for flu season and limit the spread of the flu virus include some everyday actions that you and your family can take to stay healthy.

• Get vaccinated!
   
• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. No tissue available? Cough into your sleeve or elbow, not your hands.
   
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hands cleaners are also effective. (See our Handwashing Video.)
   
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread that way.
   
• Follow the advice of your local public health department regarding school closures, avoiding crowds and other measures to reduce flu transmission.
   
• If you get sick, stay home. CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them.
   
• Practice other good health habits. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

To prevent the spread of flu viruses, it is recommended that tissues and other disposable items used by an infected person be thrown in the trash. Additionally, persons should wash their hands with soap and water after touching used tissues and similar waste.

To see a video about proper handwashing, see: http://answers.flu.gov/questions/4260.

Linens, eating utensils, and dishes belonging to those who are sick do not need to be cleaned separately, but importantly these items should not be shared without washing thoroughly first.

Linens (such as bed sheets and towels) should be washed by using household laundry soap and tumbled dry on a hot setting. Individuals should avoid “hugging” laundry prior to washing it to prevent contaminating themselves.

Individuals should wash their hands with soap and water or alcohol-based hand rub immediately after handling dirty laundry. Eating utensils should be washed either in a dishwasher or by hand with water and soap.