January 5, 2018

My Southern Health: Got the flu? Here’s why you need to stay home

Survey results suggest 75 percent of parents leave the house with the flu—and they’re spreading it to others.

Along with the cold weather, the flu season is a upon us in Middle Tennessee. Yet those who are coughing and plagued with aches and chills aren’t staying home. Instead, they’re often out putting the rest of us at risk. A recent survey, released by CityMD, shows that parents and millennials are the biggest offenders with 75 percent of parents and 76 percent of millennials surveyed saying they left the house with the flu. They’re heading everywhere from the gym to the ATM, but about 40 percent go to work, 43 percent invade the grocery store, and nearly 70 percent make a trip to the pharmacy.

We asked Dr. William Schaffner, professor of preventive medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to weigh in on the importance of staying home while sick and what we can all do to protect ourselves.