My hints for avoiding catching the flu bug

Hi Everybody!

Thought I would pass along a few "common sense" tips that may have kept me from getting the flu from my hubby this past week.
First and foremost, be very aware of not contaminating yourself! The flu is spread by germs entering your mouth or nose either in the form of droplets in the air (from sick person sneezing) or by handling germ laden items and then touching your mouth or nose and transferring the germs.
So, here are some simple ideas that worked for me. First of all, if you can, have the sick person use separate bathroom and bedroom if possible. When ever you go into and handle items in said rooms or other communal rooms such as the kitchen, ALWAYS wash your hand just before leaving the room and dry your hands with paper towels. This way you basically decontaminate yourself and also not spread the germs into the next room. Make sure the sick person has their own box of kleenex, uses their own dishes, etc. I even had my hubby remove his own dishes and load them directly into the dishwasher so that I didn't handle them. When you remove their laundry, bed sheets, etc. place them in a laundry basket and carry the basket away from your body. Never gather the items in your arms and carry them bundled up against you. Use the hottest water setting to wash in. When the sick person is well, through away their toothbrush or brush head (electric toothbrush) and replace with a new one. Reusing the old brush runs the risk of reinfecting them. Don't forget to wipe commonly share items like the TV remote! Sanitizing towels will work for this.
Another hint is to carry alcohol based waterless hand cleaner in your car or purse. When you are done shopping, sanitized your hands as soon as you get into the car. Leave those germs behind!