It’s pretty much a sure bet that if you haven’t had the (completely awful) flu this season, you know someone who has, or does right now.

Those in the know are saying it’s the worst one we’ve seen in five years and that certainly seems to be the case with our Gold Coast pals, many of whom have spent weeks in bed with it.

In honour of spring, and because surely its time for the flu to leave now, we’ve listed the top five ways to avoid the nasty bug. You’re welcome.

1.    Wash your hands at every opportunity, especially before eating. This absolutely necessary process take 8.7 seconds of your life but it’s often something that’s forgotten in the haste of, you know, doing other stuff. Quite obviously the more you wash your hands, the less germs there are and the less likelihood of illness. Be one of those people and buy yourself a hand sanitizer to carry about too.

2.    Encourage people (we want to say kids but some adults also need to be told) to sneeze into their elbows if there are no tissues (or hankies, right Dad!) around. You don’t even realise how many things you touch throughout a day that others also have to touch. This is how germs spread guys, sneeze securely.

3.    If you are sick, for the love of God, stay home. If you can’t get to the Doctor call our good mates Dial A Home Doctor and they’ll come to you – best. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in an office with no windows and an air conditioner that’s happy to disperse illness to anyone who can breathe (that’s everyone). Arrange to work from home if possible and if it’s not, stay home anyway, work can wait. Tell ‘em we said so.

4.    If everyone around you is sick, or even if they aren’t, load up your meals with veggies, garlic, ginger, turmeric, all of the immune boosting things. You should do this regardless of the season and potential bugs in the air because a healthy immune system is the key to a healthy life and that’s a fact yo.

So there you have it, together we can eradicate this terrible flu and get outside and enjoy the spring sunshine we all very much deserve.

POST SPONSORED BY Dial A Home Doctor.

Words by Kirra Smith.

Quite obviously, contracting the flu is not ideal. Sure, you get to lie in bed watching Netflix for hours but you also feel rubbish for days on end, all you manage to eat is soup, which means no UberEATS, and you look fairly average too.

Not to mention, the flu is quite easy to pass on so you won’t be popular at work if you go around sneezing on everybody.

The best solution we’ve found to combat all of the above is getting in early and treating yourself to a flu shot and, as of right now, you can do exactly that at selected Chempro Chemists. It’s all about prevention, so it certainly pays to get in early this month. Get a flu shot before the flu gets you.

It’s the quick, easy and affordable way to keep the flu at bay (a poem, how good) and you don’t need a script so there’s really no reason not to.

Of course, there are a myriad of ways to beat the big guy should you feel any symptoms coming on and, in the interest of your health, and the health of Gold Coasters everywhere, here’s a little list of them.

Eye drops
There are more varieties of eye drops than you can poke a stick at. Got sore eyes? Covered. Dry eyes? No worries. Red eyes? There’s an eye drop for that. Clear that sick, tired look from your eyeballs quick smart with any or all of the above, it’ll perk you right up.

Nasal spray
Can personally vouch for the effectiveness of this one.Just a few quick squirts up the nose and you’re good to go. Strange sensation sure but you know what else is a strange sensation? Not being able to breathe through your nose.Sosquirting it is.

Hot drinks
No, not coffee sadly. Hot drinks of the honey, ginger and lemon variety guaranteed to soothe a sore throat and eliminate that sandpaper feeling the flu seems to conjure up in your mouth. They’ll also just generally make you feel warm and comforted, which is helpful.

Lozenges
The bane of a kid’s life but also one very effective thing to soothe said scratchy sore throat. There are lots of fun flavours these days including lime and lemon, orange and strawberry so your inner child need not be concerned.

So there you have it, a few simple little ways to both avoid the flu nobody wants and to also soothe it should you need to do so.

All of the things above are available now at Chempro Chemists and the team there are more than willing to help out with any questions you might have.

We highly recommend the flu shot though, one little jab and you’re good to go for the season.

Go forth and get healthy.

Words by Kirra Smith.

STORY SPONSORED BY CHEMPRO CHEMISTS

No matter how you’re feeling right now or what you’re current situation is, there’s no doubt we can all use a little bit more health and happiness in our lives. So we’ve collected the five top tips to ensure your week is that little bit healthier from now on in. Take care of yourselves Gold Coasters.

Get up an hour earlier
It doesn’t seem like much but you’d be surprised how much you can fit into an hour. There’s nothing worse for your brain than waking up, going to work, going home, watching TV and going back to bed – where’s the relaxation? Instead of reaching straight for your phone the minute you wake up, roll straight out of bed and into some sort of exercise or stretching routine, play with the dog, cook yourself a healthy breakfast and ease into your day. You’ll soon see that starting your morning in a slower, more relaxed way sets the tone for the rest of your day.

Plan your meals
It sounds a little bit like something your Nanna would do but trust us, planning your meals will make life a million times simpler and healthier. Everyone knows what happens when you go to the supermarket after work, usually on an empty stomach and with very little willpower – you end up with an entrée of cheese and biccies followed by garlic bread and a big old bowl of spaghetti bolognaise. Delicious sure, but not so much on the healthy side. Planning allows you to choose healthy options, buy everything you need at once and not be tempted by the lure of excessive carbs.

Sleep enough
Ahh the ever elusive shut eye. It’s highly likely you aren’t getting enough of it what with work, exercising, eating and those all-important Netflix binges taking up so much of your time. Something’s gotta give though and usually that thing is your health, or your sanity. They say you need at least eight hours but in truth, you need as much as you need. If you’re tired, sleep more, it’s imperative to both your mental and physical health (and the people who have to put up with you). If you need a nap through the day, go for it, this is your permission slip.

Take time out
You’ve been hearing people bang on about the miraculous benefits of meditation for awhile now and those people aren’t lying. It is one of the best ways to calm your mind, find out the answers to life’s big questions and generally just take time out from the chaos of day to day life. Seems overwhelming though right? Sitting down in silence and trying not to think. It can be simple though, start with five minutes of deep breathing and don’t be discouraged if your mind wanders, just stay there and enjoy the serenity, before you know it you’ll crave that time out.

Move your body
Although it’s easier said than done to get up off the couch when it’s cold out, the benefits are about three million fold. Even if you just go for a short walk around the block or do some easy stretching, your body will absolutely thank you. There are plenty of online workouts and yoga classes to choose from too so you don’t need to spend money on exercising to see the benefits. Morning is probably the best time of day to move, it’ll make you feel good all day but anytime will do. You’ll be happy you did.

Words by Kirra Smith