Common Cold Prevention

If you've had it with cold misery, then you need to learn some common cold prevention. Common cold prevention is not difficult. You just need to learn some new behaviors and lifestyle habits and use these new behaviors and habits every day -- year round. When you do, you can avoid coming in contact with the contagious cold virus. Here is what you need to know for common cold prevention.

Wash your hands frequently for common cold prevention

Your best protection from the common cold and flu is frequent hand washing. Amazingly, about 80% of contagious diseases are transmitted by touch. But the simple friction that occurs when you rub skin against skin while using warm water and soap and then follow that with thorough rinsing and drying gets rid of potentially harmful germs.

While germs are often transferred to others through household objects -- telephones, doorknobs, toothbrushes, and faucet handles -- the biggest transportation center for germs is your hands. That's why frequent hand washing gets rid of the illness-causing germs and helps to prevent the spread of some diseases -- especially if a family member, friend, or classmate has a cold or flu virus.

The CDC estimates that 36,000 people die from the flu or flu-like illness each year. The CDC also says the simple act of hand washing is the single most important means of preventing the spread of viral and bacterial infections. Yet some studies reveal that many Americans using public restrooms don't wash their hands before leaving. People also forget to wash their hands before preparing meals, and they grab snacks without thinking of hand washing as well. If you want to prevent colds, just stop -- and wash your hands.

For more in-depth information, see WebMD's Common Cold Prevention: Hand Washing 101.

Also, see WebMD's Video: The Dirty Truth About Proper Hand Washing.

Natural tips for common cold prevention

You can't cure a common cold. The best thing you can do is prevent catching the virus that causes the common cold.

For in-depth information, see WebMD's 12 Natural Ways to Prevent a Cold.

Common cold prevention at school

Kids lose about 22 million school days collectively because of the cold virus. If you're a parent, you know how a cold can run through a family, making everyone ill at ease and miserable. But there are some excellent tips to stop germs at school. You'll have to do a little homework to learn these tips and teach them to your kids, but in the long run, they can help you have a much more enjoyable school year.

For in-depth information, see WebMD's Kids and Colds: Germs in the School Room.

Echinacea for common cold prevention

While the jury is still out on using the herb echinacea for cold prevention, NIH's National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is continuing to support the study of echinacea for the treatment of upper respiratory infections. Learn more about this popular herbal supplement and see if echinacea might work for you.

For in-depth information, see WebMD's Echinacea and Colds.