Prevent Flu: Steer Clear of Sick People

You've heard them -- flu-sick sneezers and coughers at the office, daycare, shopping mall, or grocery store. Avoiding the flu is no small matter.

What can you do? One sure flu prevention tip is to avoid close contact with people who are sick. People who are at high risk -- young children and older adults -- should stay away from public places and crowds from late October to mid-March. As for the rest of us, it's proceed at your own risk.

"The honest truth is, in a large environment -- waiting rooms, airports, supermarkets -- it's very difficult to protect oneself from catching a virus," says Robert Schwartz, MD, chairman of family medicine at the University of Miami School of Medicine. "The last time I flew, the guy across from me was sneezing and coughing. I wondered if he had tuberculosis."

A good idea: Stock up on hand sanitizers, either gels or hand wipes. The alcohol helps kill flu germs.

Making It Work in a Crowd: Your Kids vs. the Grocery Cart

When someone sneezes or coughs in your midst, you can try to protect yourself. "But covering your mouth or turning away doesn't really protect from microscopic airborne droplets," Schwartz says. "They travel through the air, and people breathe them in; they also land on clothes and hands. That's the mode of transmission."

In this age of potential epidemics, "people need to understand that they are part of the world at large," Schwartz tells WebMD. "They contribute to the spread of illness not only in their own family, but also in their community. People need to become socially conscious."

But being too careful could make you and your family more vulnerable to infection. "Any time you're in close contact with people -- at home, work, day care -- you're exposed to germs," says Erica Brownfield, MD, a professor of internal medicine at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. "I'm a big believer that kids should be exposed to everything. It builds up their immunity."

Like many small kids, her daughter has a "thing" about putting her mouth on the grocery cart handle. "Who knows why?" Brownfield tells WebMD. "If you're worried about germs on the grocery cart, most grocery stores have wipes. Frequent hand washing is really the best thing you can do, especially when you've been in a public place."

At the gym, those sanitizing sprays will kill bacteria -- but they won't kill a virus, she adds. "It doesn't hurt to use that, but I don't know how effective they are at killing flu germs. The biggest thing is washing your hands."