Last Friday, I celebrated 26 years in the pharmaceutical industry and have learned a thing or two about staying healthy. As we age, we all live with looming threats. Nevertheless, it is possible to fall into good health with annual screenings, check-ups, and vaccines.
When I started this blog over ten years ago, I committed to using my voice to speak to women of a certain age about their health. Even though I didn’t do my annual Breast Cancer Awareness post, today I have an essential reminder about your well-being: the yearly flu shot.
It’s cough and cold season, also known as flu season. Years ago, I was against getting an annual flu vaccine. Then, I saw the effects of another highly contagious flu, COVID-19. I started paying attention to the risk factors. Seasoned people like myself are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms from any viral infection, especially if you have any comorbidities (underlying medical conditions) like hypertension, diabetes, respiratory illnesses like asthma, or COPD, to name a few.
The benefit of the flu shot is that it helps your body’s natural defenses build resistance to specific infections and strengthen your immune system.
As mentioned above, Flu can be more severe for certain people, so know the difference between cold and Flu. Any medical provider can swab your nose to detect Flu. Some patients opt for the new antivirals to treat flu illness to lessen the severity and shorten their sick time.
I plan to get my annual flu vaccine later this month. How about you?
As always, thank you for visiting the Age of Grace.
