5 ways to take care for your mouth in flu season

Every season has its own immunity roller coaster ups and downs and as a result we are often stuck with cold and flu. You should be taking extra care for your body in times of flu, but you shouldn`t forget oral hygiene as well. Besides the usual habits like staying home when you are sick and washing your hands to stop the spread of germs, there are some extra ones to take care for your dental health when you`re not feeling so great:

Toothbrush hygiene

We are all well aware of covering our mouth when we cough and sneeze, especially in cold and flu season. According to scientists the flu virus can live on moist surfaces up to 72 hours and that puts toothbrush in source of infection category. You don`t have to replace your toothbrush after every flu unless your immune system is severely compromised. As a reminder you should be replacing your toothbrush every 3 or 4 months.

Choose sugar-free Cough drops

Before you pick up cough drops at the drug store, read the label. Fructose or similar artificial sugars are special treat for cavity. The longer you keep sugar around your teeth, the more time cavity-causing bacteria has to feast on it.

Swish and spit after vomiting

Side effect of stomach flu is, among others, vomiting, that push us to instinctively brush our teeth. But according to researches, we should wait with brushing and do the swish and spit with water instead. The main reason for this is stomach acid that can affect to hard outer shell of your teeth. For the conclusion, don`t brush your teeth right after vomiting, do the swish with mixture of water and baking soda and half an hour later do the brushing part.

Stay hydrated

When you’re sick, you need plenty of fluids for many reasons and one of them is cavity prevention.

Water is the best fluid

The safest drink for your body is water, other drinks can contain a lot of sugar. For drinks that have the power to warm you up, like tea don`t use sugar or lemon, at least try not to. Sugar can help to fuel cavity-causing bacteria, and lemon is acidic.