Knock on wood. You’ve luckily avoided getting sick!

Now comes the hardest part: staying healthy.

Chances are, you won’t be able to avoid contact with those who are sick. Maybe your colleague is sick, or maybe it’s the cashier, what about the hostess who sat you at your table let alone those who you share your apartment with.

Living in close quarters with someone during flu season can make things all that more difficult. Sharing roughly 1,000 Sq. Ft makes it easy for germs to spread. But before you go evicting everyone for coughing or sneezing, there are things you can do to prevent it from spreading. It starts at home.

Separation

Depending on the circumstances, separation from each other might be hard to do, but any is better than none.

Keeping the germs relatively in a few places is better than allowing free range. If possible, the person who is sick should stay in their room and use a separate bathroom. This person might eat at a different time or bring it back to their room. Encourage whoever that is sick to stay put and get some rest. Offer to run their errands for them.

No matter how hard you try to keep the germs contained, you’re still going to touch the same things. Some of those things that they touch you might just want to designate as theirs. They can have their own toothpaste, their own tissue box, their own cup, their own utensils, etc. You deserve your own things.

Sanitation

A great way to make a difference is to clean regularly. Did you know that germs can last up to 24 hours on hard surfaces!? It can last anywhere from 8-48 hours on other surfaces.

Some surfaces might be common sense to wipe and sanitize – countertops, doorknobs, phones, etc. Other surfaces may not be as obvious. For instance, your pillowcases and sheets. Think about it. When you’re sick, you’re breathing in the stuff you coughed on or wiped your nose on overnight. If these things don’t get cleaned, you’re ultimately going to bed with the same germs as before.

Whatever it is that you’re cleaning, make sure to keep yourself clean by using appropriate preventatives (gloves and breathing masks) and washing your hands thoroughly.

Try to avoid touching your mouth, eyes, and nose – doing so provides germs easy access to infecting you. Shower regularly and wash your clothes often. Do what you can to keep the germs off of you.

Prevention

Everyone, whether you’re the sick on or not, should be actively trying to keep their immune system healthy.

One good source is orange juice. Orange juice provides a variety of vitamins and nutrients. Speaking of vitamins, there are supplements to help support your immune system. Make sure to take these with water. You’ll want to stay hydrated, whether that’s by drinking orange juice or water. Virus-fighting proteins travel through our bodies by bodily fluids. Therefore, staying hydrated makes it easier for these proteins to travel.

Another source to consider it the flu vaccine. That’s because the flu changes from year to year. If you got the flu shot last year, the flu this year might be different. To fight the virus most effectively it’s recommended to get the flu vaccine, each year. Depending on where you go, it might even be free.

While nobody likes to be sick, it’s not something to necessarily panic about. Not everyone who has been exposed to the virus becomes sick. Having a sick roommate does not mean the you will get sick, too – especially if you take precautions now.

We’re all susceptible to it, but If you're adequately prepared, you'll be less likely to get sick.