Web Working Without Winter Worries

The first few months of any New Year are prime cold and flu season. For web workers the consequences of falling ill are much more dire than our cubical brethren; if we aren’t working, we aren’t getting paid. Further, the frequent use of public spaces makes the web worker a target. Our exposure primes us for anything from a sniffle to Ebola’s little sister. The best way to avoid getting sick is to have as little stress, workload, and waking hours as possible. However, for most people (let alone the web worker) this isn’t possible. With the stakes high and likelihood higher what’s a digital doer to do?

Practical simple solutions include:

1. Washing your hands. Web workers congregate in public places and things like handrails, corner tables, and restrooms are prime germs stopovers. Simply giving your hands a good wash after visiting the communal office promotes good health. Hand sanitizers are ok in a pinch but are questionably effective. Good ol’ running water will wash away many microbes you might have picked up.

2. Minimizing contact with mouth and eyes. The idea of little germs scuttling on your skin may make you squeamish. But it’s only when they get inside and begin doing the Texas Two Step (itself a pox on our people) that a cold can take root. Once they get inside your body you’re on a fast track to a snotty nose and pleas for deadline extensions. Avoid contact until tip 1, washing your hands, is possible.

3. Exercising. What general health list wouldn’t be complete without exercise? Much more than perennial resolution, aerobic exercise increases blood flow and oxygen circulation. This movement strengthens the body’s natural processes. It also has the pleasant side effect of (paradoxically) extra energy.

4. Drinking lots of liquids. Keeping the barista busy with non-caffeinated drinks is never a bad idea. Not only will they be more tolerant of your “good table” monopolization but those liquids help flush germ cells. They also improve the function of white blood cells, the little med workers of the web worker.

For every common sense item there are just as many things to avoid. While liquids are great don’t binge on the fruit juices. These drinks contain high concentrations of sugars like fructose and/or sucrose. Both slow down the immune system. Further, a shot of whiskey may help finish a troublesome assignment, but it won’t help you stay healthy. Alcohol, like caffeine, dehydrates the body at the time it needs to be hydrated most. Finally, Vitamin C, long advertised as the ultimate sickness deterrent, is surprisingly ineffective. Recent studies suggest that while it may reduce the duration and severity of a cold it does nothing toward lessening the frequency.

Getting sick this winter doesn’t have to be inevitable. With a few common sense approaches you’ll stay as healthy as or better than those workhorses stuck in the cube farm. What are your tricks for avoiding the season’s ailments?

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