{"id":2251,"date":"2025-01-16T07:55:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T12:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/?p=2251"},"modified":"2024-12-05T16:01:45","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T21:01:45","slug":"health-and-hygiene-during-cold-and-flu-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/health-and-hygiene-during-cold-and-flu-season\/","title":{"rendered":"Health and Hygiene During Cold and Flu Season"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re like most Americans we surveyed, you aren\u2019t fully confident the people around you are taking appropriate measures to reduce germs during cold and flu season. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure you\u2019re doing your part and helping keep yourself and your loved ones safe from those whose habits have more to be desired.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>The \u201cDroplet Spread\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The major culprit in spreading cold and flu germs is an unappetizing syndrome called \u201cdroplet spread.\u201d Tiny particles from the cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and are deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby. These droplets can also land on a desk, countertop, doorknob, or other common surface. If you touch that surface, then touch your eyes, mouth, or nose before washing your hands, those germs can invade your body! To make matters worse, some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on many surfaces.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Take Cover\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When a cough or sneeze shows up, keep those droplets under control. Cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw it away. If there\u2019s no tissue in reach, \u201cgive your cough the shoulder.\u201d Lift your shoulder and arm and cough into your upper\/arm shoulder. The idea is that people are less likely to touch each other\u2019s shoulders than each other\u2019s hands. Or, cover your mouth or nose with your hands. But no matter what, promptly wash your hands.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Clean Up\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As a major deterrent to the spread of germs, use soap! When paired with the proper handwashing technique, it\u2019s one of the best ways to protect yourself from cold and flu germs. Here\u2019s how to do it:&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Wet with warm water and apply soap.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rub hands together vigorously for the amount of time it takes to sing the \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d song twice.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Rinse hands well under warm, running water.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Dry hands with a paper towel or air dryer.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If there\u2019s no soap and water nearby, use an alcohol-based, disposable hand wipe or hand sanitizer.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Exercise Good Habits\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>During cold and flu season, time-honored ways to stay healthy apply! Get plenty of sleep, exercise regularly, drink plenty of water, and eat a balanced diet. These activities can help your immune system better resist the germs that cause illness.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If you\u2019re like most Americans we surveyed, you aren\u2019t fully confident the people around you are taking appropriate measures to reduce germs during cold and flu season. Fortunately, there are things you can do to make sure you\u2019re doing your part and helping keep yourself and your loved ones safe from those whose habits have more to be desired.&nbsp; The \u201cDroplet Spread\u201d\u00a0 The major culprit in spreading cold and flu germs is an unappetizing syndrome called \u201cdroplet spread.\u201d Tiny particles from the cough or sneeze of an infected person move through the air and are deposited on the mouth or nose of people nearby. These droplets can also land on a desk, countertop, doorknob, or other common surface. If you touch that surface, then touch your eyes, mouth, or nose before washing your hands, those germs can invade your body! To make matters worse, some viruses and bacteria can live two hours or longer on many surfaces.&nbsp; Take Cover\u00a0 When a cough or sneeze shows up, keep those droplets under control. Cough or sneeze into a tissue, then throw it away. If there\u2019s no tissue in reach, \u201cgive your cough the shoulder.\u201d Lift your shoulder and arm and cough into your upper\/arm shoulder. The idea is that people are less likely to touch each other\u2019s shoulders than each other\u2019s hands. Or, cover your mouth or nose with your hands. But no matter what, promptly wash your hands.&nbsp; Clean Up\u00a0 As a major deterrent to the spread of germs, use soap! [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[834],"class_list":["post-2251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","tag-cold-and-flu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2253,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2251\/revisions\/2253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cleaningiscaring.org\/wpd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}