It's that time again...Cold/Flu season!!

[cheles2kids]

The pillow thread got me thinking...what are some of the things that you do around your home to prevent sickness and if someone comes down with something, what you do during/after?

A couple things that I like to do:

Soak toothbrushes in listerine mouthwash
Wash all bedding (pillows included) in HOT water
Wipe down all door knobs & light switches with a disinfectant (which I do on a weekly basis already)
Clean bathrooms more often than just once a week
Vacuum more often (don't ask, I think this is just a mental thing for me...haha)


Am I missing anything here? What are some things that you feel like you need to do when someone at your home comes down with an illness?

[heartofmine]

I do all of those too. I also keep Lysol handy as well as a spray bottle with water and bleach mixture to clean the toilet flush handles, faucets etc. Wash my dishes and utensils in the dishwasher in hot water.

Sadly we've still been sick a lot this year. My kids both in college and dh working with the public. Its being brought home no matter how careful I am here. I'm afraid I'm coming down with something again and I'm still on medication from the last time. My throat is so sore. Just started this afternoon.

[Keildra]

My cousin says she puts an onion under her pillow but I think that's and old wives tale

[Contrary Housewife]

Wash your hands. Keep them off your face.

DH hasn't been sick since I don't know when. But when he was, he was confined to his room and had a box of tissues and a trash bag for them. I don't let sick people wander the house touching and sneezing on things.

[shoiji]

When I come home after taking off my coat I head straight to the sink and wash my hands. I carry around a small bottle of hand sanitizer and use it whenever I feel that I should. Then I wipe my still wet hands off on a tissue. When pressing elevator keys I use my knuckle. Also do this at the ATM. Should start doing it at the stores also. I do not use antibacterial soap. Figure I should try to build up some resistance. But the lysol wipes do come in handy to wipe down door knobs, phones, keyboards, and remotes when I am sick. I also like to put a capful of clorox in the dishwater when I do the dishes. Realize I am sounding a little nutsy but lets face it, being sick just stinks!

Over the summer and into fall I ended up with really bad colds. I realized I had stopped washing my hands when I come into the house. Getting back to the routine seems to have helped. I also think using the neti pot on a daily basis has also helped.

Whenever I start to feel run down I make myself some ginger tea. Seems to really help.

[Rhayne]

It's just me and my boyfriend here and I stay at home so most of the germs are ones he brings home from work. SO usually he gets sick and i get sick the next day so we're sick together. When we're sick at the same time I try to stay away from him and limit contact (no kissing, etc) til we get better. When one of us is sick and one isn't I try to make sure we get plenty of fluids, i lysol/disinfect everything daily, clean the bathroom and kitchen more, make sure we take meds if needed and keep us resting and warm.

[ktsmama]

I do pretty much the same thing as everyone else, but I also spray down my couch, pillows and recliner with lysol spray.

Another thing to remember is to wipe down your cell phone and home phone with alcohol to kill the germs we leave on them.