5 Tips for Stopping Sickness from Spreading in Your Home

Everything from the flu to colds and from stomach viruses to strep throat has been making the rounds this winter season. With the flu being extremely dangerous this year, as it has been for many years, people’s thoughts are turning more and more to ways to keep any type of sickness from spreading when it is brought into their homes. While most of the time kids bounce back pretty easily from any type of bug, that doesn’t stop the entire house from getting it when the child is better. Read on below for a few tips on how to stop sickness from spreading in your home.

How Long Does It Last?

One of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind now is how long does the flu last? The answer is normally two to three days, but with the severe cases of flu out there now, it could be longer. The duration of the flu really depends on the person and the condition of their health, to begin with. As with colds and viruses, the best way to stop the flu in its tracks is to make sure you aren’t spreading it to everyone in your home by taking precautions. If you don’t stop the spread of germs, the any cold, flu or virus is just going to keep circulating through your family until it wears itself out.

Disinfect Everything ASAP

It’s important to note that germs can live on surfaces up to 24 hours. You need to wipe down all the surfaces where germs can live as soon as possible after someone in your home gets sick with a disinfectant. This includes but is not limited to all of the following.

Telephones
Computers
Keyboards
Doorknobs
Counter surfaces
Cell phones
And more

Trash Those Tissues

It’s really easy to leave tissues laying beside you when you’re sick. However, those piled up tissues can spread cold and flu germs like crazy. Throw out those tissues, if possible tied in a separate bag to keep germs from spreading from the garbage as well.

Wash Your Hands

Washing your hands should already be almost second nature. However, when you’re sick, you need to wash them more often, especially after you sneeze or cough. You don’t need anything super special for this, just a good anti-bacterial soap will do to kill the germs.

Don’t Share

When you have someone in your home that has a cold, the flu or a virus, the last thing you want is to have it spread throughout your home. You can stop the germs from spreading from person to person by not sharing cups, plates, glasses or anything that can spread germs from one family member to the other. As a matter of fact, it’s best to run everything through the dishwasher to sterilize it and get rid of the germs until the sickness has run its course.

These are just a few of the top ways that you can stop sicknesses like the flu, a cold, or even a virus from spreading to other people in your home when one of you gets sick. From disinfecting everything to remembering not to share, these tips can have a sickness out of your home in no time at all. Stay healthy!