Nurse Anna’s Suggestions for Staying Healthy This Ski Season
By:  Anna Geiger-Whitlock   (2009/12/09)

 Staying healthy takes a bit of time and common sense. As an athlete it is important to stay healthy throughout the ski season. I have a few simple suggestions for how to do this…

Wash your hands. This small step can have a huge impact. These days, many stores have hand sanitizer stations all around them; use them or use your own. If you are buying your own, get the ones with a bit of moisturizer added. If you are washing your hands in the sink, use lots of friction, soap, sing a chorus of "let it snow" and please use a clean hand towel afterwards!

Get the Shot. H1N1 clinics are now open to the public. Get the both the H1N1 and the flu shot. It’s free and it offers protection from a bad flu…why not? Clinics around the Ottawa area can be found at: http://ottawa.ca/residents/health/conditions/swine_influenza/h1n1_clinics_en.html

Sanitize frequently touched objects. Grab a disinfectant and disinfect door handles, light switches, taps, heat guns, wax scrapers…You get the picture.

Recover well and take time to de-stress. After a hard workout or race your body is at its weakest state and is therefore more susceptible to getting sick. So make sure you do all the correct things to recover. Many articles have been written on recovering well. Just search "recovery" on our website!

Wash your water bottle and yes, snotty gloves. Not much explanation here other than to say some skier’s water bottles, occasionally including my own, are gross!

Tell yourself "I am going to be healthy." No other option. I have come to believe that your mind has a huge influence over whether you get sick or not. People say "I hope I’m not going to get sick" or "I think I’m going to get sick." I think that people who obsess over getting sick seem to be the ones who get sick. So tell yourself that you are going to be in excellent health.

Hope everyone has a fun healthy winter!