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How to prevent communicable diseases on an individual level

Prevent communicable diseases tips

Given the entirety of 2020, it’s no surprise that people are thinking much more about how to prevent communicable diseases. The focus on hygiene has never before been such a widespread issue. With a lot of people looking at returning to work and public life, you want to make sure that you feel safe as you’re out and about. Here are a few tips on how you can do just that.

Always be washing

First of all, it’s important to know that most of the risk doesn’t come from people sneezing or coughing directly on you. Rather, it comes from your bare hands touching surfaces that others have also touched, picking up whatever microscopic substances they have left behind, and then transmitting it to yourself.

As such, you shouldn’t touch your face with your hands until you have washed your hands, and always keep strong hand sanitizer within reach when you’re outside the home.

Avoid touching

While washing your hands is always recommended, you can offer yourself some additional security if you don’t touch your surroundings, to begin with. Disposable latex gloves are a good step.

Going a step further is even more helpful. Tools like a germ free vita key can allow you to access all manner of things like doorknobs, elevator buttons, and touchpads while still keeping a distance. If you can remove physical contact from the equation, you can keep yourself extra safe.

Keep your distance to help prevent communicable diseases

Being in close proximity to other people is what is going to bring about most of the risk. As such, practicing social distancing rules is, for now, practically a must-follow.

Avoid crowds where possible and try to keep your personal hygiene bubble as small as you reasonably can. Large gatherings, events, public eating, and non-essential travel should all be as limited as possible.

Related read: Preventing chronic diseases, including addiction

Do masks really protect you?

There are some out there saying that masks don’t really protect you from catching illnesses. However, while they are not a form of complete protection, they do 100% stop you from breathing in a lot of airborne viruses.

More importantly, when we all wear high-quality reusable masks, we are protecting one another. These masks are even better at catching and stopping the germs that we expel by breathing, coughing, or sneezing than they are at stopping what we might breathe in.

Enhance your immune system

Prevention really is the best cure, and we should do what we can to avoid being exposed to other people’s sicknesses in the first place. We should also make sure our body is better prepared to deal with any bacteria and viruses it might have to fend off.

As such, there are plenty of ways to improve your immune system. But staying active and eating a balanced diet are two of the most important.

Doing your best to prevent communicable diseases

The above tips can legitimately help you ensure that you significantly lower your risk of catching any bug, including COVID-19. However, your best bet still remains as avoiding unnecessary contact with others as best as possible, so continue to do that.

8 thoughts on “How to prevent communicable diseases on an individual level”

  1. Thank you for posting this article, again reminding everyone ways to prevent communicable disease from spreading. It’s unfortunate that in the US we’ve politicized the health crisis. These are simple steps that everyone can take to protect each other. Stay safe and healthy.

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