5 unconscious habits that make us catch colds

Modern science knows everything about colds and flu. However, every year almost all of us get infected with various viruses.

Recently, Russian scientists discovered five unconscious habits of most of us, which are why most of us catch a cold during the cold season.

Excessive Courtesy

Scientists from the Wake Forest Institute of Medicine, USA, have determined how far pathogenic microorganisms that cause acute respiratory diseases in humans can spread through the air.

Researchers collected air samples from the hospital rooms of people hospitalized with a diagnosis of influenza.

As a result, scientists have found that flu viruses can spread up to 2 meters away when a sick person coughs, sneezes or simply talks.

From this it follows that precisely such a distance is considered safe and a person, if he does not want to be infected by his sick friend or colleague, should keep such a distance from him. p>

Touching the face very often

Scientists from the University of California, USA, conducted the following experiment – ​​they asked participants to sit at their desks for 3 hours and do their usual office work.

All the while, the scientists noted how often the volunteers touched their faces. As a result, scientists found that on average office workers touch their face 16 times in 1 hour.

Exactly half of those touches fell on their lips. About 5 times per hour, office workers poked a finger in one of their nostrils and rubbed their eyes 2 times.

Pathogens such as the flu virus penetrate through mucous membranes and most often due to extremely frequent touching of the face.

Putting your hand over your mouth when you cough and sneeze

If you already have a cold and don’t want to infect others, covering your mouth when you cough and sneeze is a bad idea.

Bacteria and viruses that get on the hands afterwards are easily transferred to doorknobs, railings, telephones and computer keyboards.

In this way, the risk of infecting others increases. That’s why doctors recommend coughing or sneezing in your sleeve – it may not be very aesthetic, but it’s safer from a practical and sanitary point of view.

Overconfidence

Many of us think that after getting the flu, we can forget about getting vaccinated because we have already acquired immunity. This perception is incorrect.

Usually, several varieties /strains/ of influenza viruses circulate among the population. And if a person gets sick and recovers from the flu, he will acquire immunity to only one strain of the flu viruses. It remains vulnerable to the other varieties of the virus.

Vaccines usually, but not always, provide protection against all viruses that are “running around” during the relevant season.

In addition, it should be noted that it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between a cold and the flu, which is why it is possible for a person to be mistaken if he has ever had the flu.

Excessive laziness

In a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, a team of scientists tried to find out how long flu viruses survive on different surfaces.

On non-porous hard surfaces, such as stainless steel and plastic, the influenza virus has been found to remain alive for 48 hours.

On soft and porous surfaces, this type of infectious organism remains alive for 8 to 12 hours. This is why regular wet cleaning is so important during flu season.

If a person touches a ‘germ’ surface such as steel railings or a work chair, the virus will survive on their hand for 15 minutes. This is absolutely enough time for a person to touch any of their mucous membranes.

In summary, the more a person likes the frequency, the better his chances are of getting through the winter months without a cough, runny nose or fever.