Despite the fun time the festivities bring this time of year, the changing of the weather and spending time with everyone in closed doors creates the perfect way germs and sickness are spread. Take extra measures to safeguard family and friends from spreading germs, and keep everyone well this season.

It’s important to keep the family warm. Although the cold weather is not directly responsible for making people ill, it allows viruses to thrive inside the body. The body’s immune system is weakened when the body is cold. Also, viruses can grow and spread when they are present in the right temperatures.

By keeping the family warm, their bodies’ immune systems will be stronger and will discourage the growth and spread of viruses. Invest in warm shoes, thick socks and warm jackets. For instance, sites like http://www.mlfurs.com/fur/jackets offer warm jackets that can help to keep the family warm.

Make sure the family starts off with a good meal in the morning. It’s not a good idea to give them cereal. Cereal is a cold food that won’t help the body to heat up for the cold weather. In addition, milk is a phlegm producer. While this doesn’t necessarily make someone sick, it creates a sticky mouth, tongue and sinuses that can cause germs to stick within these areas. Sugar on the tongue has the same effect. Serve hot food, such as oatmeal, soup or other traditional hot breakfast foods. It’ll provide the family lots of energy and it’ll help their bodies to fight off any potential viruses.

Lastly, viruses come from the outdoors in. While the family is out and about, they can pick up viruses, which can live on their skin, in their noses and other places for days at a time. This is especially true for small children who like to touch everything and then place things in their mouths. Encourage children to wash up when they come home, and thoroughly disinfect common places the family touches. For instance, disinfect door knobs, switches and counter tops. This can be done with wipes, particular cleaning solutions and disinfecting sprays. It’s a good idea to wipe surfaces down a couple times per day. Even though a virus may not make a person sick right away, they can be exposed to the same viruses that are left on surfaces and get sick that way. It’s impossible to avoid everything, but with a bit of prudence, several sick days can be avoided.