JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ohio (WTOV) — With dropping temperatures and more time spent indoors for the holidays, flu season is starting and illness is spreading in the air.

Medical professionals are warning you to be proactive to stay healthy.

Cough, congestion, nausea, we have seen a lot of those symptoms here in the community,” said Jefferson County Health Commissioner Andrew Henry.

It’s nothing too out of the norm for this time of year.

COVID-19 numbers are seeing a slight uptick, which Henry said is to be expected, and the flu doesn’t typically amp up till mid-winter.

Denise Lucas at Ohio Valley Health Center said any number of factors is bringing more patients in this time of year.

“Number one, people are inside more often,” she said. “You see a rise in those viral illnesses, sometimes bacterial, but mostly viral, that are spread by either touch, or you pick up something that was contaminated, or you become exposed to the droplets when somebody coughs or sneezes.”

Another thing that brings us together is the cold weather. Lucas said even in these months of celebration, it’s okay to be sick.

It’s best to treat symptoms with the proper over-the-counter medicines like Mucinex, Tylenol and Benadryl, but make sure they’re targeting the specific symptoms.

“Don’t discount the value of allowing yourself to stay home and be sick, hydrating, soup, a cool mist humidifier, all things like that,” Lucas said.

“This is definitely the joyful time of year with it being the time of season, but it’s also respiratory virus season so you want to be mindful of that,” Henry said. “If the little ones are sick, or the elderly, keep them home and reschedule that gathering.”

Medical professionals say it’s best to continue to wash hands with soap and water and opt for an alcohol-based hand sanitizer to keep everyone safe during this sick season.