How to stay healthy this winter

Nothing ruins the holiday season quite like an unwelcome visit from a virus. Colds, the flu and gastrointestinal upsets are all caused by viruses that seem to knock us off our feet just when we should be shining up our faces for a round of Christmas meet and greet. This hardly seems fair. So Canadian Living went to a few experts to learn their secrets on how to beat back the germs and stay healthy for the duration of this holiday season -- and beyond.

Our expert panel unanimously agreed on the big secret to staying healthy during the long, cold winter when it seems everyone around you is down with sniffles, coughs and fevers.

The big secret
Since there's no real magic bullet against flu, colds and norovirus infections (the ones that cause the gastrointestinal upsets that are characterized by diarrhea), what is the secret to staying healthy over the holidays? Wash your hands! Not convinced?

We carry most cold and flu viruses on our hands. Think about what happens when you shake hands with someone who has a cold virus, or when you get on a subway or bus and grab hold of a pole (which 10 people, maybe several with colds, have already touched in the previous five minutes). Their cold virus is now likely transferred to the pole, where you pick it up. How about when you grab a door handle?

While viruses aren't all that hardy, they can survive long enough on hard surfaces to be picked up by others. Once on your hands, it's only a matter of time before they find a route to infect you: after all, you rub your eyes, touch your nose or put your fingers in your mouth, says Sandra Callery, a nurse and director of infection prevention and control at Sunnybrook and Women's College Health Sciences Centre in Toronto.

In the case of norovirus infections, food handlers who are infected contaminate the food or the surfaces on which the food is prepared.

"Before you rub your eyes or before you eat or handle food, wash your hands," says Dr. Sue Lim, an infectious disease physician and assistant director of infection control at the University Health Network in Toronto. "Washing reduces your risk of infection and the risk of passing on an infection to others."

Aye: Here's the rub
• The most important thing to remember about hand washing is that it's the mechanical action of rubbing your hands together with soap under running water that removes viruses from your hands. Just using a lot of soap without water and rubbing will not do the job.

• Don't forget your thumb and little finger -- digits that are frequently missed. And remember to wash the back of your hands as well as the palms.

• Sing yourself a little ditty as you wash (Callery suggests "Row, Row, Row Your Boat"). Or count to 10. This advice will help people wash properly, but many won't follow it. As an alternative, put out an alcohol-based hand sanitizer, found in most drugstores, for your guests to use at holiday get-togethers. Some people even put it out in the open at the head of the buffet table to encourage its use. The alcohol kills the viruses, and the emollients in the sanitizer prevent the skin from drying out.

You may also want to keep a pocket-size container of hand sanitizer with you at all times. "Because," says Callery, "if you can't remember when you last washed your hands, it's time to do it again. Proper hand hygiene is so simple people don't believe it is as effective as it is. Believe it."

For more information, read How to keep a cold to yourself.

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