Keeping Your Family Safe From Colds This Winter

Winter is the season for hot chocolate and snowmen and family gatherings. It's also the time for coughing, sneezing, fevers and chills. The bad news is that everything from the common cold to influenza will be out to get you and your family this winter.

The good news is that there are lots of things you can do to help keep you and your family safe from colds this winter. Here are a few tips to keep the sniffles at bay all winter long.

There's an old wives' tale that going out in cold weather, especially with wet hair, can make you sick. The idea that getting physically chilled can cause a cold has no basis in science. That said, there may be some truth to the story in that cold, dry air may be better for viruses to travel in.

Additionally, the exhaustion that comes with keeping yourself warm can have a detrimental effect on your immune system. Either way, it isn't the temperature itself that will make you sick, other factors have a much more significant effect.

Namely, your overall health will have a much bigger impact on whether you get sick or not this flu season. If you're well fed and well hydrated and well-rested, you're less likely to get sick. Make sure that you're getting all the vitamins you need — especially vitamin D and vitamin C.

Consider adding vitamins and a probiotic supplement if you need, in order to keep yourself and your family as healthy as possible. Good health is the first line of defense against the viruses and bacteria that cause the common cold.

Part of keeping yourself healthy is making sure that you are immunized. Everyone who can get flu shots should, so as to better protect those who can't: the very young, the very old and the immunocompromised. The more people who have been immunized, the harder it is for a virus to spread, that's how herd immunity works.

This is why flu shots are offered in so many places and are usually free of charge. They're not just got for you, they're good for everyone around you. Getting a flu shot really is a no brainer: if you can, you absolutely should.

Especially if you have children, hygiene is extremely important for keeping colds at bay. Washing hands, covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze and being careful about what you touch is just the start. Anti-bacterial hand sanitizer is another potentially useful habit to have.

Children can be serious vectors for sickness, bringing colds home with them from school. If you teach your children early and often to have good hygiene habits, it will help keep them and you healthy all winter long.

Last but certainly not least, it is important to stay in contact with your doctor. Go to the doctor at the first sign of a cold to help prevent it from spreading to the rest of your household. Make sure that you follow their instructions carefully, particularly when it comes to the use of antibiotics.

Misusing antibiotics can contribute to the development of antibiotic resistant strains, and that is dangerous for everyone. You can also ask your doctor for more detailed recommendations for how to keep your family safe from colds this winter.

Remember that if you do get sick, and it's very likely that you will, it's not the end of the world. There are countless strains of viruses and bacteria that can give you cold and flu-like symptoms, and most of them aren't dangerous. Do your best, and don't panic if your family does get sick.

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't do everything you can to keep your family safe: remember that not everyone has the luxury of good health. Everything you do to help stop the spread of cold and flu germs protects not just your family, but your whole community.