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How to Protect Yourself from Cold and Flu in the New Year
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Live Science is bringing our readers a monthly series on personal health goals. We'll give you tips and tricks for reaching those goals, based on the advice we've gathered from the countless health experts we've interviewed. Each month, we'll focus on a different goal, and the goal for September is "avoiding colds and flu." Follow us on Facebook and Twitter to connect with other readers who are working toward these goals.

Jump to: January — Lose Weight | February — Eat Healthy | March — Start Exercising | April — Cope with Allergies | May — Protect Yourself from Sun and Heat | June — Stay in Shape Outdoors | July — Get Gutsy About Gut Health | August — Sleep Better

When the weather starts to cool down and you feel a nip in the air, it means that cold and flu season are just around the corner. Although there is no sure-fire way to avoid catching a cold or the flu, there are a number of things you can do to reduce your risk of these illnesses this fall and winter. On this page, we've rounded up the most important information from Live Science on how to help prevent cold and flu, and what to do if you get sick.

Cold & flu basics

Cold and flu infections both cause similar symptoms, and they are both more common in the winter months compared to other times of the year. But these illnesses have important differences. For example:

Only influenza viruses cause the flu, while many different viruses can cause colds.
There is a vaccine to prevent the flu, while there is no vaccine to prevent the common cold.
Adults have an average of two to three colds a year, but only get the flu about twice a decade. Kids get colds and the flu more frequently.
Still, when you come down with the winter sniffles, you may be wondering — is this the flu, or a really bad cold? It may be hard to tell the difference based on symptoms alone, but there are some clues. Here are some ways you may be able to tell if you have a cold or the flu:

It's not easy to tell the difference between a cold and the flu.![]
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