What if we told you it only takes a minute to avoid getting sick? There are a number of easy 60-second (or less) hygiene habits that can go a long way toward helping you dodge colds, flus, and other illnesses.
Some you probably already do regularly. But there might be a few you need a gentle nudge to remember.
1. Wash Your Hands
If you only do one thing to avoid getting sick, wash your hands. “Hand-washing is going to be the most protective habit, more than anything else,” says Amar Davé, MD, an internal medicine and lifestyle medicine physician at MedStar Health in Washington, DC.
When someone who’s ill sneezes, coughs, talks, or breathes, they expel tiny particles containing the virus into the air. These viruses can survive on our hands and the surfaces we touch for several hours or even days, depending on the bug. Our hands can also pick up disease-causing germs from raw meat, pets, and fecal matter that can cause unpleasant symptoms like diarrhea.
To get rid of any lingering germs, epidemiologist Katrine Wallace, PhD, an adjunct assistant professor in the division of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Illinois in Chicago, suggests washing your hands often, including:
Before you eat or cook
After using the bathroom
After handling meat
After throwing out the garbage or pet waste
After riding public transportation or shopping at a store
After blowing your nose, or coughing or sneezing into your hands
To wash your hands effectively, use warm water and soap, and clean for at least 20 seconds. Scrub your palms, the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your fingernails. “And make sure that you’re actually getting a lather to get the germs off,” Dr. Wallace says. Those bubbles create the pockets that trap and wash the germs away, she explains.
Not near a sink? Use hand sanitizer with at least 60 percent alcohol.
2. Wipe Down Shared Surfaces
Kitchen countertops, doorknobs, light switches, stair railings, buttons for your home’s alarm system, the TV remote — any surfaces that often get touched by multiple people in the family should get a weekly wipe down so you don’t share germs, Wallace says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommends doing this anytime you’ve had visitors.
Once a week (or whenever they’re visibly dirty), throw soft items like shared hand towels or blankets in the washing machine on the hottest setting the material can handle, using the detergent recommended in the manufacturer’s instructions.