Common Cold Prevention

Some of the most common ways of preventing a cold include washing your hands often, avoiding people who have the common cold, using disinfectants, and living a healthy lifestyle. Other common cold prevention methods that might not initially come to mind include keeping your hands away from your face and reducing or managing stress. Research has also shown that the more social you are, the less likely you are to get sick.

Prevention of the Common Cold: An Overview

There are several ways you can reduce your chances of getting a cold. Suggestions for preventing the common cold include:

• Washing your hands regularly
• Keeping your hands away from your nose, mouth, and eyes
• Using disinfectants
• Limiting exposure to infected people
• Practicing healthy habits.

Wash Those Hands to Prevent a Cold

The common cold can be passed through coughing, sneezing, and touching surfaces such as doorknobs and telephones. Handwashing with soap and water is the simplest and one of the most effective ways to keep from getting colds or from giving them to others. During cold season, you should wash your hands often and teach your children to do the same.

According to the American Society for Microbiology, a national survey found that Americans were most likely to say they wash their hands after changing a diaper and before handling food. Most, however, said they don't wash their hands after coughing and sneezing.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) recommends regular scrubbing of your hands with warm, soapy water for about 15 seconds as a part of common cold prevention. When water isn't available, the CDC recommends using alcohol-based products made for sanitizing hands.

Keep Your Hands Down

Touching your nose, mouth, and eyes with contaminated hands makes it easy for cold and flu viruses to enter the body. Others can become ill by just coming in contact with someone who has become infected with a cold or flu virus or who has been in a contaminated area.

Keep Surfaces Clean

Rhinoviruses can live up to 3 hours on your skin. They also can survive up to 3 hours on objects such as telephones and stair railings. Cleaning environmental surfaces with a virus-killing disinfectant, available at most grocery stores, can help prevent the spread of infection. A solution of 1 part bleach mixed with 10 parts water also is effective in killing viruses.

Avoid People With Colds

Sometimes people are infected with a virus and they don't know it because they haven't experienced symptoms yet. If possible, avoid people who you know have colds.

Keep infants away from crowds for the first few months of life. This is especially important for premature babies, who may have underlying abnormalities like lung disease and heart disease.

If keeping your distance is too difficult -- as in the case of parents who can't help but hold and kiss their sick kids -- then wash your hands frequently and keep surfaces clean with a virus-killing disinfectant.

Practice Healthy Habits

Eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, and exercising can help the immune system better fight off the germs that cause illness.

Because smoking interferes with the mechanisms that keep bacteria and debris out of the lungs, those who use tobacco or who are exposed to secondhand smoke are more prone to respiratory illnesses and complications of the common cold than nonsmokers.

If you've been feeling run down, some stress management might not be a bad idea. Research scientists have found that people who experience more stress are more likely to get sick and experience worse symptoms.

Common cold research has also shown that the more social you are, the less likely you are to get sick. It could be because having more social contacts and support is less stressful than keeping to yourself.