Rockin Mama™

Motherhood, Giveaways and Product Reviews

Random Acts of Wellness *Giveaway*

Posted by 152 Comments

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winners are Rob, Lauralee H., Heather, Jessie C., and Carol G. Congrats!

No sooner did the school year start and both of my children have been sick!  It’s cold and flu season and I am anxious to receive my free flu vaccine at the hospital where I work.  According to the CDC, 5% to 20% of U.S. residents get the flu, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications each year.  Those at risk include children, pregnant women and the elderly.  As a nurse, I’ve received a flu vaccine every year, including last year when I was pregnant with my daughter.

While it may seem early to get your flu shot, it’s actually the perfect time, as it will protect you through the season.  And this year, you’ll only need one vaccine which will protect you from both seasonal influenza and the H1N1 virus.  The CDC recommends that everyone over the age of 6 months of age receive a flu vaccine.

I’m excited to share with you a new project I’m working on with The Motherhood.  I am going to be gifting 5 families in my community with gift cards to receive flu vaccines.  We live in a community filled with families and children and I’d love to surprise them with the gift of health this year.  So, over the weekend, I’ll be knocking on their doors, spreading the gift of wellness.  You may remember I participated in a random acts of kindness project earlier this summer with The Motherhood and it felt incredible to see children light up with joy at receiving unexpected cards and small gifts.  Stay tuned later this week when I share with you how my wellness mission unfolded.

Apart from getting vaccinated, there are several things we do as a family to stay well during this season.

Scrub a Dub Dub: I become militant about handwashing and antibacterial hand gels during this time of year

Get a Boost: Despite the fact that I’m a nurse, I typically opt for natural, herbal, and alternative medicine.  As soon as the sniffles and sneezes emerge, I pull out the Sinupret (my son and I both take it).  We’ve also started giving our son Dr Sears’ Immune Fruit Chews and GoodBelly Kids Probiotic Drinks

Stress Less: You’ve probably heard that stress can suppress your immune system.  Whether it’s reading a book, taking a bath, yoga, or deep breathing, find a way to decompress.

Get Your Beauty Sleep: Consistent, sufficient sleep is vital to a properly functioning immune system.  So, how much sleep do you really need?  WebMD suggests 7-8 hours.

Get a Breath of Fresh Air: It’s not a coincidence that cold and flu season hits in the fall and winter.  The changing of the seasons means that we all spend more time indoors where germs congregate.  Try to get outside this season if the weather cooperates.

Get in Shape: According to WebMD, aerobic exercise helps to increase the body’s natural virus-killing cells.

How do you stay well during cold and flu season? Be sure to visit your local Walgreens to get your flu shot this year!

Win It! Five of you will win a Walgreens gift card to get a flu vaccine.  Simply leave me a comment with your best tip for staying well this season.  Comments will close on October 11, 2010 at 11:59 PM PST.  Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.Want an extra entry? Do any or all of the following and receive an extra entry for each one.Be sure to leave me a separate comment for each additional entry.

Post your tip to the Walgreens Facebook Page

Follow me on Twitter AND tweet about the contest.

Subscribe to my feed via email or reader.

Blog about this giveaway. It doesn’t have to be a separate post. Just include a blurb about it when you blog about other giveaways.

Click on one of the very cute buttons below and digg, stumble, fav, etc. Just let me know what you did in the comments!

This is part of a compensated campaign with Walgreens and The Motherhood.  Gift cards for giveaway were supplied by Walgreens.

Caryn Bailey
Latest posts by Caryn Bailey (see all)

Sharing this!

152 Responses to Random Acts of Wellness *Giveaway*

  11. I feel that good handwashing is atleast 75% of staying healthier and not spreading germs during the flu season, and covering your face when you cough,sneeze is so important. Plus I keep lysol wipes everywhere & use them alot to wipe down as I go to keep germs lessoned, and as silly as it may look it does not hurt to wear a mouth and nose mask when your sick and still have to go out and about to keep your germs your own from others, thanks
    sewitupjulie at gmail dot com

    Reply

  13. Well, my best tip for staying well is deligiently washing door handles/knobs, toliet handles and sink handles. Yet, this year in an August Woman’s Day magazine I read that a few drops of Eucalyptus oil (hope I spelled that right) put in boiling water until it steams is good too. You inhale this steam for about five minutes a few times a day for a few days if you’re sick with anything upper respiratory in nature. Eucalyptus oil is suppose to be a natural antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal. It is suppose to be really great for people with chronic sinusitis and in 95% of cases I think is suppose to cure the condition if you use the treatments daily for a week or two. Isn’t that how long most people end up being put on antibiotics anyways for sinusitis? Think so.
    lfhpueblo at msn dot com

    Reply

  15. I posted my tip to the Walgreen’s Facebook Fan Page and it says it will appear in their others filter.
    lfhpueblo at msn dot com

    Reply

  28. Technorati Favorite@tcarolinep

    Thank you for your Favorites Submission
    Thank you for using Technorati Favorites! Technorati is collecting Favorites information as usual, however not currently displaying them in the site. Your submission was just saved. We are working on an upgraded Favorites system we think you’ll like much better than the previous system. When we roll it out in the near future, all your previous favorite submissions will again be available to you. Thank you for your patience!

    Read more: http://technorati.com/favorites-thanks/#ixzz10k4kWqdX

    Reply

  30. Something that has really helped me stay well the last two years, is taking L-Lysine daily. I started out giving this to my daughters because they suffer with cold sores and if they take this daily it helps keep them from getting cold sores. I came across some other information that L-Lysine helps your immune system, so I started taking it morning and night and since I started two years ago, I have not been sick once. I get it at WalMart and it’s only like $2.99 a bottle. Very cheap way to stay well.
    Thank you for the giveaway.

    koinonia572001@yahoo.com

    Reply

  33. This might be excessive, but when my daughter gets home from preschool, she gets her bath and I change her clothes. This was recommended by her doctor and for the most part, we have been pretty lucky with not bringing home the flu. (although, I hope this does not jinx me!)

    gigglesandlollipops at gmail dot com

    Reply

  40. My best tip for staying well is to make sure and take C everyday! I use one supplement that mixes in water. Very effective. Thanks!

    romapup at gmail dot com

    Reply

  41. We wash our hands all the time. One interesting note, because people washed their hands so much last year, gastro illnesses took a sharp drop in being reported. Unfortunately, they are on the rise again, because people aren’t washing their hands as much.
    We also take extra Vitamin D, it has been proven to help fight the flu.
    twoofakind12@yahoo.com

    Reply

  43. I think my best tip would be to get that flu shot! I’m going to try to win it first, but if I don’t, I’ll go to Walgreen’s and buy one.

    Reply

  70. I try to stay well by wiping down carts at stores with a santizing wipe,ive noticed im not nearly as ill with colds as I was before doing this

    vlbelk(at)hotmail.com

    Reply

  83. I don’t have any big tips that you didn’t already share. I have people leave their shoes at the door. Shoes can be pretty laden with bacteria. I also wipe down doorknobs and phones.
    jtmagmom73(at)gmail(dot)com

    Reply

  86. my son got sick as soon as school started too…we will be doing more hand washing as soon as we come in from anywhere outside the house
    nannypanpan at sbcglobal.net

    Reply

  92. I take vitamins daily and always wash my hands (when I’m not near water I use antibacterial liquid)

    Reply

  100. We wash hands frequently; use hand sanitizer; avoid touching our hands to eyes or nose; eat well; try to get plenty of rest; take vitamins; and cough into the inside of our elbow (instead of our hand) to prevent spreading germs.
    blondie_31971(at)yahoo(dot)com

    Reply

  106. I am scrupulous about handwashing and using alcohol gels, year round, not just flu season. I use antibacterial wipes on grocery cart handles too because they just reek with germs.

    Reply

  112. My tip is getting lots of Vitamin C! We love oranges, OJ, and I carry around chewable C’s at all times! I do notice a difference when cold and flu season hits!

    Reply

  121. We do several things to stay healthy during the flu season. We take vitamins, wash our hands diligently, eat right, get plenty of rest, and I put a cap of bleach in my dish water to kill germs. 🙂 Thank you.

    Reply

  122. Practice good hygiene and eating healthy are two of the most important things for staying healthy. I also carry anti-bacterial wipes in my purse.

    Reply

  126. My best tip is to get enough rest. People tend to stay up too late and get up too early, expecially if they are working people. We all really need to sleep more so our bodies function right and can fight off illness

    Reply

  134. Try to stay away from sick/infected individuals and if around them (when possible) wear a mask. In fact wear a mask into any and all stores that would help tremendously I would think

    Reply

  136. We stay healthy by eating a vegetarian diet at our house. We could still use a flu shot, however!
    Thanks for the contest.

    Reply

  141. My best tip for staying well is to drink plenty of water, wash my hands often and carry hand sanitizer in my purse at all times, try to avoid crowds (like going grocery shopping in the “off hours”.) I also try to eat healthier..lots of fruits and veggies, etc.

    Reply

Leave a Reply to JacobCancel reply