2024 Health & Wellbeing Update
Let’s get healthy! From illness to fitness, here are some facts, figures and tips to stay your best and healthiest during the autumn and winter months
1. Drinking at least five glasses of water a day can reduce your chances of suffering from a heart attack by 40%
2. Repeatedly using a plastic water bottle can release chemicals into your water. Why not try a reusable bottle instead? It’s good for you and the planet
3. Brushing teeth too soon after eating or drinking can soften the tooth enamel, especially if you’ve just been eating or drinking acidic foods
4. Breathing deeply in moments of stress, or anytime during the day, brings many benefits such as better circulation, decreased anxiety and reduced blood pressure
5. On average, there are more bacteria per square inch in a kitchen sink than the bathroom
6. 39% of adults in the world are overweight
7. Swearing can make you feel better when you’re in pain
8. Gardening can be an effective way to build strength throughout your body
9. 86 million adults in the US use a health or fitness app
10. Men and women store fat very differently
11. The average person burns 50 calories every hour while they sleep!
12. During workouts, women tend to burn more fat, but post-workout men burn more fat
13. According to a study from Harvard University, people who are always running late tend to be happier and live longer!
14. Between 2000 and 2015, the average global life expectancy increased by five years
15. The US spends almost three times more on healthcare than any other country in the world, but ranks last in life expectancy among the 12 wealthiest industrialized countries
16. During an allergic reaction your immune system is responding to a false alarm that it perceives as a threat
17. Maintaining good relationships with your friends and family, reduces harmful levels of stress and boosts your immune system
18. The microbe that causes anthrax can numb multiple types of pain in mice
19. Men who live alone for several years are prone to higher levels of inflammation
20. Scientists have discovered 14 genes that cause obesity and three that prevent weight gain
The Flu – What you need to know
Influenza, also known as the flu, occurs every year, usually in the winter.
It is a highly infectious viral illness with symptoms that develop quickly and last a couple of days. The most common symptoms are fever, chills, headache, joint and muscle pains, and extreme tiredness.
One way to protect against flu is through a flu vaccine. Vaccines contains small amount of the viruses that have been weakened. They stimulate the body’s immune system to produce antibodies (substances produced by the body to fight disease) without actually infecting us. These antibodies provide “active immunity” so that when you do come into contact with the disease itself, your immune system will recognise it and immediately produce the antibodies they need to fight it.
Young people who have certain conditions, such as asthma, diabetes, heart or lung disease, etc. are “at risk” of catching flu and tend to suffer more as a result of flu and its associated complications and because of this they are offered the flu vaccination every year at their GP surgery. This is done in the autumn as flu is more common during the autumn and winter seasons, but you can catch flu at any time of the year.
The flu virus is continually changing and to match this, the flu vaccine is changed each year, which is why you need to get vaccinated every year against flu.
Some young people, including healthy ones, may remember having the flu vaccination in school as a nasal spray. In the future, potentially all children between the ages of two and 16 could be offered the flu vaccination to protect them against the flu using the nasal spray.
Cold vs Flu – which is it?
- Flu is caused by different types of influenza viruses and colds are caused by many different viruses
- Flu can last longer than a cold
- People feel much more unwell with flu than with a cold – often feeling unable to get out of bed
7 Bits of Information about Flu
- What is flu?
Flu is an illness that usually starts quite suddenly, about 1 to 3 days after a person is in contact with someone who has the infection. - Is it infectious?
Yup, it’s usually infectious from about 1 day before becoming unwell, to 3-5 days after the symptoms start - How do you get infected?
The flu virus is contained in the millions of tiny droplets that come out of the nose and mouth when someone who is infected coughs or sneezes. These droplets typically spread about one metre and hang suspended in the air for a while before landing on surfaces, where the virus can survive for up to 24 hours. Anyone who breathes in the droplets or touches the surfaces can carry the virus by hand to the mouth or nose … - How do you feel when you have flu?
In a word – rubbish! People who have the flu often feel very unwell, and develop a fever, headache, body aches and lose their appetite. They can have a runny nose, cough and chills and they feel cold and shivery even though their temperature is high. The severe illness may last for 2 or 3 days, then often the person will still be unwell, tired and lacking energy for many more days, sometimes more than a week - It’s ever changing.
The viruses causing flu often change, so that people who have had flu before may not be protected by their immune system, and can get flu again - How common is flu?
In most years there are outbreaks of flu in winter which can affect 5% to 10% of the population - Recovery.
Most people recover fully from the flu without the need for special treatment, but some need treatment for complications such as pneumonia, and a small percentage die (usually elderly people or those who already have health problems)
