Healthy Habits to Help Prevent Flu

The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like the flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent flu. The tips and resources below will help you learn about steps you can take to protect yourself and others from flu and help stop the spread of germs.

1. The seasonal flu vaccine protects against the influenza viruses that research indicates will be most common during the upcoming season. There are several flu vaccine options this flu season.

Avoid close contact.

Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too.

2. Stay home when you are sick.

If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others.

3. Cover your mouth and nose.

Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Flu and other serious respiratory illnesses, like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), are spread by cough, sneezing, or unclean hands.

4. Clean your hands.

Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.

• Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives

Tips on hand washing and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers

• It’s a SNAP Toolkit: Handwashingexternal icon

Hand washing resources from the It’s A SNAP program, aimed at preventing school absenteeism by promoting clean hands. From the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention, a collaborative project of the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cleaning Institute.

5. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.

Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

6. Practice other good health habits.

Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.

Co-Parenting for Resilience    Divorce or Separation is not an easy time in a married couple’s life.  Can you imagine what minor children in the home are feeling? 

The Co-Parenting for Resilience program is a four-hour class that is based on current research.  It uses a combination of lecture, discussion, video, activities, and examples to help parents discover effective strategies that promote their children’s healthy adjustment to their parent’s separation. Co-Parenting for Resilience, meets the requirements of Oklahoma law and is based on the latest research on marriage, divorce and children.  Tara Brown will present class at 1 p.m. Tuesday, February 18, 2020; pre-registration is required.  Call Jefferson County OSU Extension Office at 580-228-2332 for registration information.

Oklahoma State University, in compliance with Title VI and VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Executive Order 11246 as amended, and Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Higher Education Act), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and other federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, genetic information, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, or status as a veteran, in any of its policies, practices or procedures.  This provision includes, but is not limited to admissions, employment, financial aid, and educational services. The Director of Equal Opportunity, 408 Whitehurst, OSU, Stillwater, OK 74078-1035; Phone 405-744-5371; email: eeo@okstate.edu has been designated to handle inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies.  Any person who believes that discriminatory practices have been engaged in based on gender may discuss his or her concerns and file informal or formal complaints of possible violations of Title IX with OSU’s Title IX Coordinator 405-744-9154. Jefferson County Oklahoma Home and Community Education (OHCE)

Jefferson County OHCE met Tuesday, January 21 at the OSU Extension office.  Tara Brown, Extension Educator, Family & Consumer Sciences/4-H Youth Development provided the program on “Simple Home Repairs”.  After the program, each member prepared their own Chicken Quesadilla for lunch.  Genevieve Hogstad provided homemade Pecan Pralines for dessert while we had an enjoyable time of fellowship.  Our next meeting will be 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, February 18, 2020 at Jefferson County OSU Extension office located at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds.  Brenda Gandy-Jones, Stephens County OSU Extension Educator will provide a lesson on “Healthy Hearts and Your Health Numbers”.  Our meetings are open to any person interested in fun educational programs.  We invite you to come join us!

Co-Parenting for Resilience Divorce or separation is not an easy or favorable decision, especially when minor children are in the home.  A class is available for divorcing or separating parents with minor children living in the home.  My next class will be 1 p.m. Tuesday May 14, 2019. Pre-registration is required. Call Jefferson County OSU Extension Office at 580-228-2332 for registration information.  This class is mandatory by law in Oklahoma and is also valuable for Grandparents and other relatives of minor children going through a divorce or separation.

Tai chi: Moving for Better Balance: Mondays 10:30 a.m. – 11:45 a.m. at Ringling Community Building, Gleason Memorial Library

Jefferson County OHCE (Oklahoma Home and Community Education) 

Jefferson County OHCE meets the 3rd Tuesdays at noon. Our next meeting will be Tuesday, April 16 with the lesson “Stay-cation or Day Trips in Oklahoma”. Come hear some ideas of fun (and even educational) trips to take within our state.

4-H:  Jefferson County Kids Cooking in the Kitchen:  Tuesday, April 23, 2019 at Jefferson County OSU Extension office from 4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m.  Our lesson will be on how to decorated cupcakes to help prepare for Cakecake Wars in May.  Please register by 3 p.m. Thursday, April 18 to help make sure we have enough supplies available.

4-H:  Tri-County 4-H Summer Camp:  Dates will be June 19-21, 2019 at Salt Creek Retreat, Ringling, Oklahoma. Must be actively enrolled in 4-H. Registration is due in our office by 3 p.m. Thursday, May 2, 2019 and a limited number of scholarships are available. Contact Tara Brown at 580-228-2332.

Healthy Homes

 Everyone needs a healthy home. However, did you know that some of the most serious health and safety problems may start at home? Did you know that your chances of getting hurt at home are much higher than they are at work or school? Very young children and older adults are the people most likely to get hurt at home. In the U.S., most people spend over 90% of their time indoors. We need to be aware of the health and safety of our indoor environments. There are steps and resources that can help us keep our homes safe. 

Fire Prevention Week (Second week of October) Download the tools to promote home fire safety: http://www.nsc.org/safety_home/SafetyObservances/Pages/FirePreventionWeek.aspx?wa& 

Steps to prevent fires:

• Have properly working smoke alarms 

• Test smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors monthly and change the batteries at least once a year

• Place smoke alarms on each floor of your home and in each bedroom 

• Plan a family escape route and practice it once a month 

• Install a home sprinkler system 

• Place fire extinguishers throughout your home and make sure everyone in the house knows how to use them

As cooler weather comes, please help make certain your homes are Safe by using the following Home-Fire-Safety Checklist. If you use natural gas to fuel your heaters, make certain you have working Carbon Monoxide Detectors and Smoke Detectors.

Co-Parenting for Resilience Divorce or Separation is not an easy time in a married couple’s life.  Can you imagine what minor children in the home are feeling?  Co-Parenting for Resilience is a class for divorcing or separating parents with minor children living in the home. It is mandatory by law in Oklahoma and is also valuable for Grandparents and other relatives of minor children going through divorce or separation.  My next class is 1 p.m. Tuesday, November 12, 2019; pre-registration is required.  Call Jefferson County OSU Extension Office at 580-228-2332 for registration information

Line Dance:   Fridays at 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds Fair Building.  It is another way to exercise as a group.  Come join us!

Check out our Facebook pages for informative topics:  www.facebook.com/JeffersonCounty Fourh and JeffersonCounty Osu Extension

Pumpkin Chill

• 1 tbsp. olive oil 

• 1 cup yellow onion chopped 

• 1 cup green bell pepper chopped 

• 1/2 cup jalapeno seeded & chopped 

• 1 tbsp. garlic minced 

• 1 lb. extra lean ground beef 

• 1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes with the liquid 

• 1 cup water 

• 1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree 

• 1 tbsp. chili powder 

• 1 tsp ground cumin 

• 1 15 oz. can kidney beans rinsed and drained 

Instructions 

1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. 

2. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapeños and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until tender. 

3. Add lean beef and cook until browned. 

4. Add tomatoes, pumpkin, water, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

5. Reduce heat to medium low and add beans. 

6. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 30 minutes more. Ladle chili into bowls and serve.