by Hannah Mooney

The flu season and other bugs are starting to make their rounds in Willow Springs School. It is important to continue cleaning the school desks, hand-sanitizing regularly, and most importantly, washing your hands during flu season to prevent becoming sick.

Influenza has been present in Howell County for over six weeks, and there are many places for you or your family members to obtain flu shots. They cost about $20.00 at the health department, and the good news is about 80% of the people who take a flu shot will not suffer from the flu.

Some symptoms that the nurses are seeing include the following: fever, cough, body aches, fatigue, sore throat, and headaches and sometimes, head congestion.

The germs enter our bodies through our nose and mouth. Rinsing out the system at the end of the day is a good way to lower your chance of sickness. For the mouth and throat, simply gargle salt water. For the nose, dip a cotton swab in salt water and swab out your nose. This decreases the number of germs in your system, and the fewer the number of germs the less likely they are to make you sick.

Follow these tips and hopefully you will have a healthier winter!