Stay Healthy This Winter!

"Button up your overcoat,
When the wind is free,
Take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!"
-- Buddy G. DeSylva

Hold on a minute there.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, approximately 36,000 people will die from the flu this year in the US alone. Add in deaths due to flu-related complications and that number jumps to 51,000. There’s now a shortage of flu vaccine in America and I don’t even want to imagine the damage that will be done by other winter illnesses like colds and pneumonia.

Whether you’re in the US or whether you are spending the next few months on the sunny lands of Australia, I worry. I want you all to stay well. Let’s face it, the adult webmaster lifestyle isn’t very healthy.

We spend far too much time indoors, stationary for hours, eating badly and sleeping irregularly. Cold weather only encourages this hibernating behavior. The seasonal increase in our business practically insures we’ll spend the majority of our winter in stuffy rooms, sucking on sodas and stifling in our own exhaust. When we do go out, we risk the chance that we’ll bring home some debilitating virus or germ. Let’s not forget there’s a big convention coming up this January. Yes Froggers, there’s lot’s of handshaking, convivial hugging and sick webmasters in our future.

This is why I worry. This is why I want to give you a few loving tips on how to help keep yourself robust this chilly season:

Clean Hands and Surfaces

Be obsessive-compulsive if you’re so inclined. Be like Monk and carry anti-bacterial wipes around with you. While it’s always wise to cover your mouth with your hand when you sneeze, keep in mind that it’s the germs on surfaces that really get you. Every checkout counter you touch has been touched by hundreds before you and I can guarantee most of them don’t wash their hands after they sneeze.

Also, keep the surfaces in your home clean. Pay particular attention to kitchen and bathrooms. Buy a nice sanitizing cleaner or mix up a solution of one part bleach to four parts water. You can catch a few bugs from the air but you collect a whole world of nasties through the tips of your fingers.

Drink Your Water and Take Your Vitamins

I know it’s cold. I know that hot chocolate tastes good. I like a bit of brandy in my coffee as well. However, the best way to keep toxins out of your body is by drinking good old H2O.

As far as vitamins are concerned, it’s really best to take a combination of all the vitamins and minerals suggested by the FDA. Take more Vitamin C if you want to but be careful not to take too much. You also need Vitamins A, D and the B’s. The fact is you simply must eat a balanced diet if you want nutritional health. That means green veggies. Deal with it.

Open a Window/Get Some Sun

We may hibernate but we’re not bears. We need fresh air and sunshine in the winter as well as the summer. Nobody’s telling you to build an igloo or trek the Arctic plains. The fact is, no matter how good your ventilation, it’s just not healthy to sit for months, breathing the backwash of your own air. You have to let the outside in or get outside, even if it’s only for a few minutes a day. The darkness of winter can also be detrimental. Sunlight isn’t just for plants. Go out and sit on your porch. Let your face absorb the rays for five minutes.

I know. I’m no doctor and these tips are rather simplistic. However -as a mom and a webmaster- I can assure you they work. I can’t promise you a flu shot or a miracle cure. I can’t guarantee you will make it through this season incident-free. All I can do is remind you to take care of yourself while you’re taking care of your bottom line.

"Eat an apple every day,
Get to bed by three,
Oh, take good care of yourself,
You belong to me!"