Know what to do and what not to do when sick this season

When those facing debt counseling must deal with the flu or seasonal cold this season, there are a number of ways to keep oneself healthy while staying on the cheap.

According to Dr. William Schaffner, chairman of the Department of Preventive Medicine at Vanderbilt University, there are a number of ways for cash-strapped consumers to fight against the cold and flu this winter without breaking the bank, the New York Times reported.

Instead of spending lots of money on various medications that advertise themselves as cure-alls, Schaffner said it was more cost effective – and healthy – to simply get vaccinated against the seasonal flu and H1N1 virus. With each shot costing less than $20, it may be much cheaper than buying numerous off-the-shelf medicines that just mask symptoms for relief.

Another way to avoid falling victim to the cold is to simply make sure you get enough sleep. Because viruses are not often impacted at all by any antibiotics, keeping one’s immune system strong and ensuring its strength is often the best way to ward off any sickness.

And when it comes to taking vitamins, Echinacea, zinc, and other multivitamins such as Airborne, Dr. Shmuel Shoham, an infectious disease specialist at the Washington Hospital Center in the District of Columbia, advised that it wasn’t worth the money.

Shoham told the Times that while taking vitamins may slightly help the fight against a cold, "the beneficial effect on the common cold is minor at best for these supplements."