Winter Hygiene 101

Winter is here, which means that cold and flu season is here as well! In order to stay safe and healthy, our surgeons and staff recommend following a few simple tips and tricks to make your winter a healthy and enjoyable one.

Wash your hands. While this one may seem obvious, it’s something to keep in mind and do more frequently than usual. A good rule of thumb is to always wash your hands or sanitize when returning home from a store, after using the bathroom, and before you eat.

Avoid touching your face. When you are out and about shopping or socializing this winter season, avoid touching your face when your hands aren’t clean. Although it may be hard at times, just keeping this in mind will help you keep germs at bay.

Consider masking up. Although mask mandates aren’t mandatory in every city currently, it’s a good idea to mask up when you are in close proximity to others where germs can spread. Masks help prevent the spread of COVID-19, the flu, colds, and other communicable diseases. Make sure your mask fits snugly around your face, and consider masks with layers to stop respiratory droplets from getting inside your mask, or escaping from your mask if you are sick.

Wash your hats, gloves and scarves regularly. Many people go all season long without washing their hats, scarves, gloves, and jackets. But as a best practice, it’s a good idea to wash these items regularly. Germs can hang on the fabric of these winter garments and can potentially travel back onto your head or body.

Cover your mouth while coughing or sneezing. When you cough or sneeze, do so into a tissue or inside your elbow if you do not have a tissue. This will help prevent the spread of germs to other people.

Get vaccinated and get a flu shot. Consider getting vaccinated for COVID-19 if you haven’t already and be sure to get your seasonal flu shot. Flu vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against flu and potential complications from it. Flu vaccination can prevent you from getting sick with the flu and can reduce the severity of illness in people. COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, including severe illness and death.

Resources:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/prevent/vaccine-benefits.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/respiratory-viruses/prevention/masks.html