6 SELF- CARE TIPS
FOR NURSES DURING COLD & FLU SEASON
ow can nurses pro- tect themselves and their immune systems during the upcoming cold and flu season? Here are some helpful cold and flu season tips to try. Activate your muscles through exercise You can frequently see the effects that body systems have on each other when you care for sick pa- tients. During cold and flu season, sinus and respiratory symptoms can lead to muscle aches and pains, fatigue, headaches, and other symptoms that aren’t just limited to the sinuses. Cold and flu symptoms can affect the entire body. When you are sick, your immune system produces extra white blood cells and other organisms to fight that disease or infection. Activating that immune system reaction helps your body heal and get better. However, you can activate your im- mune system before you even get sick. The immune system is linked to other bodily systems, like your nervous system and your endocrine system. By getting the hormones flowing in your endocrine system or the spine moving in your nervous system, you can force your immune system to activate and release these disease-fighting cells. This immune release helps prevent you from H
getting sick in the first place. So how can you start? Exercise is one way to activate your body to prevent illness. You can stretch, run, or walk to get the muscles moving. Chiro- practic adjustments may also help make sure your body is in optimal stretching form and adds another immune boost. As nurses, being active can be dif- ficult because of the long hours on your feet during shifts, but even lower-stress exercises can help give you the immune boost to fight off the cold or flu. Be sure that you are keeping your mus- cles active. Try stretching before or after work and change posi- tions frequently. These meth- ods should keep your immune system active and help the other systems of your body stay strong when caring for patients.
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ELITE LEARNING
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