HOW TO GET IMMUNE SYSTEM WINTER-READY
AN Irish pharmacist has shared top tips to get your immune system winter-ready this year — amid worries Ireland could be facing a ‘twindemic’.
Denis O’Driscoll, LloydsPharmacy superintendent pharmacist, explained that a “twindemic” refers to the possibility of the “flu season and an upsurge in Covid infections coming together”.
He told the Irish Daily Star: “Both of them together would put a lot more strain on the healthcare system, with regards to hospital services and our GPs and pharmacies.
“It’s the risk of both infections and the seriousness of both infections individually, never mind combined.”
Denis added that part of the concern Ireland could be facing a “twindemic” comes from seeing the health trends emerging from Australia’s winter.
He continued: “What was really interesting with Australia was that they had what they referred to as a significant flu season this year.
“It peaked earlier than normal and they had quite a number of infections, which caused some stress in the system.
“I think that, from their perspective, they felt a little bit lucky in that a Covid-19 surge didn’t happen at the same time and they didn’t have a huge surge.
“Why we’re worried here is because, if you think about it, everyone goes, ‘there was no flu last year’. There was limited flu — but remember we were in lockdown for part of last year.
Cautious
“We were wearing masks and people were a lot more cautious about hand hygiene and social distancing.
“All of that together does prevent the transmission of any kind of droplet-borne virus, which flu and Covid would be.
“I think what people are worried about here is that we could enter a perfect storm of both coming together simultaneously.
“The winter here, we’re indoors and no longer really wearing masks except in certain healthcare settings. When you’re out and about, hand washing has probably decreased to some extent and social distancing has become almost a thing of the past.”
And in terms of making sure you and your immune system are winter-ready this year, Denis noted that “it’s all about being proactive about your health rather than trying to deal with symptoms as they come forward” — and shared his top tips to help manage your health.
1. Get enough sleep
Denis said: “One of the most important things for anyone is to make sure they get plenty of sleep; and that you get the right amount of sleep, too.
2. Adopt a healthy lifestyle
“Light exercise and a healthy diet are also ideal, particularly throughout the winter months so, even though it is cold, get outsde and keep moving”, he advised.
3. Stock up on supplements and vitamins Denis said, “If people are interested in certain supplements and vitamins, the usual suspects are always good to take: vitamin C, vitamin D and a really good multi-vitamin.
“There is also evidence coming forward all the time about probiotics and how it may help with improving immunity and improving people’s health.” 4. Book your flu jab
He said, “We’d encourage people to consider getting their flu vaccination and to continue with their Covid-19 vaccinations as they are called and scheduled in.
“It’s to protect themselves, as well as others around them, by having the vaccination. It doesn’t offer 100 per cent protection, but it certainly offers a level of protection that will reduce its activity within the community. So, having both of those is really important.
“As a pharmacist, I’d say it’s always important to get the flu vaccine. We have people who say things like, ‘I never get the flu, I’m OK, I’m really good and really healthy’. That’s lovely. It is.
“But it’s not so much often to protect you, but those around you — particularly more vulnerable people that you may be mixing with, such as older parents or grandparents, sick parents or family members that have underlying medical conditions.
Impact
“By getting the flu vaccine, you’re actually protecting yourself as well as others as it does certainly reduce the the virus’ transmissibility within the population and it does have a significant impact on hospitalisation.
“Particularly with the childhood vaccines. There was a huge amount of evidence of that, particularly in the Nordic countries and the UK, where there was a huge reduction in the number of GP visits throughout the winter for minor ailments for children, once they had the flu vaccine.
“It clearly demonstrates that it does work. It’s really important and that people should consider it as part of their armoury for improving their winter health.
“It’s just a quick trip to your local LloydsPharmacy for your vaccination — and it’s no more than 15 to 20 minutes of your time to get it done.”