20 Tips To Prevent, Treat Colds and Flu

Get Your Flu shot.

When you get a flu vaccination, your body releases antibodies that can protect you from the most common virus strains in any given season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)."You might still get other strains of the flu despite vaccination, although it's less likely to be severe, and you're less likely to develop pneumonia, be put on a ventilator, visit the intensive-care unit, or die from the flu after you've been vaccinated," he says. Although it's best to get your shot by the end of October, before flu season peaks between November and March, according to the CDC, it's not too late to get one now — the virus can continue to spread until May.