The responsibility to practice healthy habits regarding to the encroaching winter season falls on everyone. You could be exposed to cold, flu and possibly COVID-19 germs as you are at work or studying for classes at the library. There are many ways you can protect yourself from these potentially harmful health hazards. 

The most essential knowledge when dealing with these hazards is to wash your hands with soap and water. This is the classic, most recommended precaution you can take when around people in public spaces or near a potentially sick person. This action should be done with warm water, soap and deep scrubbing for at least 20 seconds as often as possible. 

When following these practices, it is imperative you keep from touching anywhere around your face when out and about. Dianne Abdullah, a nurse at Grossmont College, offered these tip and  further insight into more preventative measures.

“Wash your hands, consume plenty of vitamin C, take time to do exercise and make sure you make time to rest,” she said. “Really the biggest deterrent against flu season would be to make sure you get your flu shot.”

Being on top of the cleaning inside your vehicle, your living space and where you’re working can also help mitigate exposure to germs that may get you sick. Carrying sanitizing wipes and gel so you can clean high-touch areas like doorknobs, car door handles, hands and cell phones is a good place to start. 

Brandon Mata, a Grossmont student and hotel staff worker, shared his run-in with COVID during the pandemic.

“I caught COVID twice when working the hotel front desk over the pandemic, causing me to lose my taste for months until it finally came back,” he said.”It really made me start taking extra precautions in my healthy habits moving forward and not touching anything without gloves on.” 

There are more tools now than ever that can be applied to our daily lives to mitigate the risk of catching a potentially harmful illness. Hopefully, you will find yourself healthy and active this holiday season.