The Secret of Protecting Your Family Against Colds, Flus and Other Contagious Sicknesses

As fall fades into winter, well being traditionally blossoms into crouping, coughing, sneezing, headaches and fevers in many families.

In my relatively long life, I've seen families who seem to be continually plagued with recurring contagious diseases. Some, it seems, are constantly barking and sneezing. Their lives appear to be a vicious circle of colds, flues and other repetitive maladies. On the other hand, I've seen plenty of families who never seem to catch a cold, or, if they do, it leaves them rather quickly and doesn't seem to return. What seems to be the difference between these two types of families?

Since I'm not a medical practitioner, I won't attempt to diagnose nor offer medical analysis.

As a layperson, however, here are my top two issues that, in my opinion, differentiates a basically well family from one that seems to be constantly sick:

1) Poor Hygiene;
2) Poor choices concerning when to stay home and heal and when it's safe to go to work, etc;

What does this mean?

Poor hygiene practices with adults, unfortunately, go beyond them, trapping children who cannot protect themselves.

Door-knobs/latches, particularly in public places and restrooms, from my research, are probably one of the most dangerous areas for picking up the viruses that cause colds, flues, and other communicable diseases. Sometimes when we're at the mall, shopping center, or sports arena we reach a point where we're busting to go to the washroom. We've all been there at one time or another. We rush off to the restroom.

Next to us in the lavatory is someone who is coughing or sneezing. In a rush to get out of there, we don't wash our hands and we retouch the door-knob/latch when leaving. We sigh thankfully as the door closes behind us, relieved to be rid of the flu/cold polluter still in the washroom. However, along with us as we hasten away, comes a collection of the cold/flu virus that was left on the door-knob/latch by the person still in the washroom.

The next stop, if you're like me, is the food court for a sandwich, or a doughnut and coffee. After finishing the doughnut or sandwich, your hunger is satisfied and, with the shopping finished, you return home - along with the virus, now within you, and incubating. A few days later, you're feeling a bit miserable, but not enough to complain. That evening, after giving your wife a peck on the lips, you roll over and go to sleep. (The virus is now transferred to your wife). By morning, you're feeling lousy and sweating a bit. You can't stay home, however, since there's an important meeting at the office at 9:00 am with out-of-town clients.

At the meeting, you forge through your presentation, suppress a sneeze in you hand with you back turned away from the table, (only once), then shake hands with everyone before joining them for coffee and sticky-buns. The clients who don't go to the washroom and wash their hands and who have just finished their snacks, have now passed the virus into their system. Off they go to other parts of the country.

This is the chain that too frequently occurs.

What about the kids? Well, kids are innocent. They don't have the capacity at early ages to know proper hygiene. You have to protect them from the viruses as much as you would protect them from a child abuser. They are completely at your mercy and totally dependant on you. Imagine the parent who has the flu/cold virus churning around in his/her system. Imagine that mother/father feeding an infant in a high chair and testing whether or not the food for the baby is too hot by touching his/her tongue onto the spoonful of food. The next thing, if the food is cool enough, is to put the spoon into the baby's mouth.

What if the same infected parent or friend takes a bite from an ice-cream cone and then passes it back to a child for him/her to eat?

The above scenarios portray, what I consider to be, the most common practices for spreading viruses back and forth amongst friends, family members and those we come in contact with in our work/play areas. I have committed these sins myself over the years but have learned some time ago the importance of good hygienic practices in protecting my loved ones against these microscopic predators.

In a nutshell, this is my advice:

1) Wash, wash, wash your hands and those of your children after touching door knobs/handles in both public places and in your home settings;
2) Never touch food that is going directly from your hand into your mouth or your child's mouth without having thoroughly washed your hands;
3) Never put food into your child's mouth by using your eating utensil;
4) Never taste your child's food and then put it into his/her mouth;
5) If you cough or sneeze, always use a tissue or handkerchief and turn away from others. Then wash your hands before touching food or shaking someone's hand; and
6) When you're sick or your child is sick, stay home or keep them home until you or they are better.

Although I'm not a medical practitioner, it is my opinion that these methods work and, if practiced, will minimize the likelihood of contagious type of illnesses plaguing your household.


Gary