Quantcast Skip to Main Navigation Skip to Sub Navigation Skip to Search Form

Stay Well Tips



While Vicks® always will be there to take care of your family, we also want to help you stay healthy. So we've done our homework and written the following stay well tips to help you remain proactively healthy throughout the year.



Choose a Category


Cold and Flu Prevention

  • Cold or Allergies?
    Here's one way to know the difference. Allergies almost never cause aches, pains, or fever. Conversely, cold and flu symptoms rarely include itchy eyes or frequent sneezing.3

  • Get a Flu Shot
    Experts agree that a yearly flu vaccination is highly effective in preventing virulent strains of the flu in 70 to 90 percent of healthy adults.5

  • What's the Stomach "Flu"?
    The stomach "flu" is actually gastroenteritis. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, gastroenteritis can include severe nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting. The single best treatment is slow and deliberate rehydration. Think lots of fluids—ice chips, water, and sports drinks.

  • My Child Is Still Coughing
    Parents sometimes have unrealistic expectations when it comes to how long their child's cough should last. Be prepared for a cough to linger anywhere from two to four weeks, especially in children. If a cough lingers longer than that, contact your doctor.

  • Flu Shots Work
    A flu shot won't give you the flu.7 In some rare cases, the injection of the shot causes fever or muscle aches, but these minor symptoms typically clear up in a day or two.

  • When It's Pneumonia
    Fifty percent of all pneumonias are caused by the influenza virus. Two telltale signs of pneumonia are chest pain that gets more severe as you breathe and high fever that causes excessive chills or sweating.11

  • Treat Your Allergies to Prevent a Cold
    In 2006, a French study12 showed that seasonal allergies greatly disrupted sleep patterns and sleep quality, even if the patients didn't wake up. A lack of quality sleep can make you more susceptible to cold or flu viruses. If you seem to get colds more often than other people, consider getting an allergy test to determine if this is at the root of the problem.

  • Humidity Levels
    Cold viruses thrive in dry air which is one of the reasons why they are more prevalent in the winter months. Keeping your indoor humidity levels between 40 and 60 percent is recommended to help slow the spread and growth of these viruses and also helps maintain a more comfortable environment.

3 Stanford University Medical Center
5 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration
7 The American Lung Association®
11The American Lung Association
12 Archives of Internal Medicine. 18;166 (16):1744-8. Sep 2006.


Clean and Healthy

  • Clean Counts
    Get into the habit of cleaning stuff you share with others, such as computer keyboards, phones, remote controls, countertops, etc. And remember—germs love money as much as we do, so wash your hands after those ATM pit stops.

  • Clean Your Humidifier
    During the winter months you should clean your humidifier every three days and change the water every day.8

  • Know When to Wash Your Hands
    To prevent the spread of cold and flu germs, wash your hands at the following times: after petting an animal or using any gym equipment, as well as before and after eating, treating a cut, removing your contacts, and touching doors in high-traffic areas.9

  • Good Old Soap
    Antibacterial soaps are convenient and certainly have their place, but they're no more effective than regular soap at killing germs.10 So feel free to use good old-fashioned soap and water in addition to hand sanitizer.

  • Hand-Washing 101
    Hand washing is so important that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made official guidelines! They advise people to use soap and warm water while scrubbing vigorously for at least 20 seconds.

8 The National Institutes of Health
9 The Mayo Clinic
10 The Mayo Clinic


Staying Healthy

  • Sleep It Off
    Not getting enough sleep decreases your immune system's ability to fight off a cold.1 So try to get a consistent six to eight hours of sleep every night.

  • Winter Doesn't Make You Sick
    Cold weather doesn't give you a cold.2 What really causes more sickness in the winter months is the increased amount of time we spend breathing germ-infested air indoors.

  • Use Antibiotics Sparingly
    Unless you're diagnosed with an infection, avoid using antibiotics for cold or flu symptoms. For one, too-liberal use of antibiotics can give rise to antibiotic-resistant germs. And there's always the risk of unpleasant side effects.

  • Fight Off Airplane Germs
    Keep germs at bay by washing your hands often (here's where a bottle of hand sanitizer can come in real handy). And be sure to drink lots of water to combat the super-dry pressurized air.

1 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
2 National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases


Healthy Expectations

  • We Get Well Gradually
    Generally speaking, a normal cold or flu lasts around five to seven days.4 If you don't start to feel better after a week, experts recommend you seek medical attention. Otherwise, over-the-counter medications should work just fine.

  • Know Your Sick Days
    It's not fair, but women average six bed-sick days a year. Men average four.6 Regardless, we're not alone in our misery. Every year, Americans report 1 billion colds and miss more than 50 million workdays and 60 million schooldays as a result.

  • Get to Know Your Fever
    The University of Michigan Health System rates any fever from 100° F to 104° F as beneficial. Fevers ranging from 105° F to 107° F also are considered beneficial, but should be monitored due to higher risks of bacterial infections. Any fever greater than 107° F should be treated by a medical professional.

4 U.S. Food and Drug Administration
6 The 2006 National Center for Health Statistics Survey for U.S. Adults
* Does not contain juice or fruit-based ingredients. Use according to Drug Facts label for cold/flu symptom relief.