Tips for Preventing the Spread of Colds at Home

Another season, another cold? Perhaps not this year

By News Canada

In Canada, the prime cold season lasts from autumn through spring and takes its toll at home, work and school. It probably can,t be entirely avoided, but taking careful, regular preventive steps will help you and your family to reduce the number of illnesses that result from cold viruses. According to Joe Rubino, microbiologist with the LYSOL(R) Brand, "Colds bring sick days. This means days off not only for children, but for parents and care-givers who in turn bring the cold virus to their jobs and back home."

The result? Loss of productivity at work, school and home. While there are more than 200 strains of the common cold, Rhinovirus is the leading cause. The average adult gets two to three colds a year, with infants and young children in nursery schools showing the highest infection rates at about 10 to 12 colds each year. Cold-causing germs like Rhinovirus are spread principally through contact with contaminated hands of a person with a cold, or contact with surfaces and objects touched by these people. The virus is unsuspectingly picked up on the hands and then introduced to the eyes or nose. Rubino recommends the following tips for families to help avoid transmitting the common cold:

• Help prevent the spread or colds by reminding children to cover their mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing and use disposable tissues.
• Another way to help prevent colds is by keeping the nasal and mucous passages moist. If your child has a cold or fever, make sure she gets plenty of liquids since both colds and fever can cause dryness and dehydration.
• Wash hands frequently and thoroughly with soap, and water. Family members should wash hands regularly, when at work or school, as well as before eating and after using the bathroom.
• Disinfect with Lysol disinfectant spray throughout the home and workplace, especially on commonly touched surfaces like telephone handles, toys, and doorknobs. Rhinovirus can live on some surfaces for up to 24 hours. Disinfecting these and other surfaces can help to kill illness-causing germs.
• Avoid the communal bathroom cup; use disposable paper cups instead.

- NC

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