WinCU Family & Friends Blog

The flu, unfortunately, hit our household a couple weeks ago. It started with the kids and eventually made its way to mom and dad. Good news for you, we learned a few things along the way.

For our family of four the flu can be a huge unplanned expense as doctor bills, prescription medicine, sick time from work and insurance deductibles.  The best way to avoid flu season from hitting your wallet is prevent your family from getting it.  Easier said than done with children as they encounter germs everywhere on a daily basis. 

Here are a some tips and a few tricks to help your family stay healthy during this flu season.

Wash Your Hands Frequently! Washing our hands will help prevent flu, cold and other germs from spreading so it is important to remind your kids to not only wash their hands, but also show them how to properly wash their hands. 

Always use warm water

• Try to use a natural soap that doesn’t have harsh chemicals
• Lather up and try to scrub for 20 seconds including the front and back of hands and in between fingers.

Sleep, Sleep, Sleep
Sleep is important for your health and when you start missing too much your immune system has a harder time fighting off colds and flu.  So make sure to get a bedtime routine together for your kids and don’t forget to get some ZZZs yourself.

Drink more water!
This is not only important for prevention but also will help prevent complications from the flu if you get it.  Many people are walking around dehydrated everyday.  Try to make sure you drink half your bodyweight in ounces of water each day.

Eat Healthy
When it comes to health and wellness eating healthy meals are very important to help our immune system fight.  Try to grab and/or make healthy snacks full of nutrients for your family.  This is where your fruits and veggies go along way!

Stock up on your Natural Immune Boosters and Vitamins
Good quality all natural Multi-Vitamin: These will help ensure you and your family are getting a healthy dose of important nutrients.  This is especially important for kids, as most of them don’t get all the nutrients they need from the food they eat, as most tend to be picky eaters.

Vitamin C, D and Zinc:  Three of the most important vitamins to help speed recovery from a nasty flu bug or cold

Elderberry:  One of my favorite herbs to help the body fight off flu and colds. Also safe for kids!

Echinacea:  Another herb that helps get over your bug faster, works best when taken at the early onset of symptoms.

To prepare financially for the flu season, should any member or all of our family come down with it, I like to pair my insurance plan with a Health Savings Account (HSA).  The HSA account will allow you to save some pre-tax money in a savings account that can specifically be used for medical expenses. I like to put $10-$20 every paycheck into our HSA account.  This extra savings account helps us pay for those unexpected health expenses.