BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) \u2014 Thanksgiving is right around the corner \u2014 and Christmas isn’t far behind. If you’re planning to gather with family this holiday season, now’s a good time to think about how to keep everyone healthy.<\/p>\n
“The end of October, beginning of November is definitely when cold and cough season is officially here,” said Dr. Kian Azimian.<\/p>\n
Dr. Kian Azimian, an emergency room physician at Bakersfield Memorial Hospital, says this time of year the E.R. often sees a sharp rise in patients with the flu. Nationwide, up to 41 million Americans catch the virus each year, and as many as 51,000 die from it.<\/p>\n
“With the flu, you’re definitely looking at higher fevers, you know, the cough, the sore throat, muscle aches, and feeling really wiped out,” Azimian said.<\/p>\n
To decrease your risk of catching the cold or the flu, Azimian highly recommends washing your hands often and wearing a mask, especially if you’re flying to visit loved ones.<\/p>\n
“If you see the guy sitting next to you is hacking up a lung, it’s probably time to get the mask back on and protect yourself,” he said.<\/p>\n
Azimian also says we all play a role in preventing the spread. If you come down with something, don’t go to work and try to avoid close contact with others. If you become ill before seeing family, Azimian says you will be risking getting them sick.<\/p>\n
“If you absolutely want to get to see everybody, put a mask on yourself, and that way you’re decreasing the chance that you’re going to spread the illness to your loved ones,” he said.<\/p>\n
The best way to avoid getting sick this holiday season is getting flu and COVID vaccines, Azimian encourages.<\/p>\n
“Either those vaccines will help you not contract the illness altogether, or they will help protect you in the sense that you’ll hopefully have a much more mild case of the illness,” Azimian said.<\/p>\n
Azimian says if your symptoms become too much to handle, you’re having trouble getting out of bed, or the illness is persistent, you should go see your doctor for treatment.<\/p>\n
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.<\/p>\n
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