Germs and Hygiene: MedlinePlus [NEW TOPIC PAGE]

Germs and Hygiene: MedlinePlus

Germs and Hygiene

URL of this page: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/germsandhygiene.html

When you cough or sneeze, you send tiny germ-filled droplets into the air. Colds and flu usually spread that way. You can help stop the spread of germs by

• Covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough
• Cleaning your hands often - always before you eat or prepare food, and after you use the bathroom or change a diaper
• Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth

Hand washing is one of the most effective and most overlooked ways to stop disease. Soap and water work well to kill germs. Wash for at least 15 seconds. Disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers also work well.

Related Topics

• Common Cold
• Flu
• Infection Control
• Infections
• Skin, Hair and Nails

Languages

• ASL (American Sign Language)
• Arabic (العربية)
• Chinese - Simplified (简体中文)
• Chinese - Traditional (繁體中文)
• French (français)
• Haitian Creole (Kreyol)
• Hindi (हिन्दी)
• Hmong (Hmoob)
• Japanese (日本語)
• Khmer (Khmer)
• Korean (한국어)
• Portuguese (português)
• Russian (Русский)
• Somali (af Soomaali)
• Spanish (español)
• Tagalog (Tagalog)
• Ukrainian (Українська)
• Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)