Healthy Habits to Avoid the Flu

Seasonal Flu Prevention That Actually Works: Vaccines, Daily Habits, and What to Do if You Get Sick

Seasonal influenza is more than “a bad cold.” It is a contagious respiratory illness that can lead to serious complications, hospitalization, and sometimes death. The good news is that the most effective prevention strategies are straightforward: get vaccinated each year and layer in everyday habits that reduce how easily viruses spread.

Below is an expanded, practical guide you can use at home, at work, and in public spaces.

1) Start with the annual flu vaccine

The single best step to reduce your risk of seasonal flu and its potentially serious complications is getting a flu vaccine every year. The CDC recommends flu vaccination for everyone ages 6 months and older, with rare exceptions.

When to get vaccinated

For most people who need one dose each season, September and October are generally good times, and the CDC notes that ideally people should be vaccinated by the end of October. It also takes about two weeks after vaccination for protective antibodies to develop, so earlier in the season helps you build protection before cases rise.

Choosing a vaccine type

Flu vaccines include multiple options, including standard injectable flu shots, a recombinant option, and a nasal spray option for many people ages 2 through 49. Some vaccines are preferentially recommended for adults 65 and older. Your clinician or pharmacy can match the best available option to your age and health status.

Special situations people ask about

• Egg allergy: The CDC states people with egg allergy may receive any flu vaccine that is otherwise appropriate for their age and health status.

• Pregnancy: The CDC indicates pregnant people should get a flu shot, and the nasal spray vaccine is not recommended during pregnancy.

• Under 6 months: Infants younger than 6 months are too young to be vaccinated, which is one reason vaccination of caregivers and household contacts matters.

2) Understand how flu spreads so your habits target the real risks

Flu spreads mainly through respiratory droplets produced when infected people cough, sneeze, or talk. It can also spread when germs get on hands and then reach the eyes, nose, or mouth, and through contact with contaminated surfaces followed by face touching.

That means prevention is about reducing:

• close-range exposure to other people’s breath, coughs, and sneezes

• face touching after contact with shared surfaces

• the build-up of virus in indoor air

3) Avoid close contact when someone is sick

If someone in your home, workplace, or friend group has flu-like symptoms, create a little space:

• Keep visits brief when possible

• Choose outdoor meetups when feasible

• Skip shared food, drinks, and utensils

• If you must be close, add a layer like a well-fitted mask (especially to protect high-risk people)

If you are the one who is sick, distance protects the people around you, including those who may be at higher risk of complications.

4) Stay home when you are sick, and return thoughtfully

Staying home is one of the most effective ways to stop a chain of transmission. Current CDC respiratory virus guidance suggests you can return to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, both are true:

• your symptoms are getting better overall, and

• you have not had a fever without using fever-reducing medicine

After you return, the CDC recommends added precautions for the next 5 days (examples include improving air quality, hygiene, masking, and distancing), because you may still be able to spread the virus even as you feel better.

One more nuance: not everyone with flu develops a fever. The CDC notes that people with suspected or confirmed flu who do not have a fever should still stay home for a period after symptom onset.

5) Cover coughs and sneezes the right way

This one is simple but high-impact:

• Use a tissue and throw it away immediately

• If you do not have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow, not your hands

Covering coughs and sneezes limits how far respiratory droplets travel and reduces exposure for people nearby.

6) Clean your hands, and do it often enough to matter

Hand hygiene helps because it breaks the “surface to hand to face” route of infection.

Practical guidelines that align with CDC recommendations:

• Wash with soap and water when available

• If not, use hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol

Key moments to wash or sanitize:

• After coughing, sneezing, or blowing your nose

• After caring for someone who is sick

• After touching high-traffic surfaces (door handles, railings, shared devices)

• Before eating or touching your face

The WHO also emphasizes that hand hygiene is a core infection-prevention measure. World Health Organization

7) Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth

People usually do not notice how often they touch their face. Because hand-to-face contact is a common pathway for germs to enter the respiratory system, reducing face touching is a quiet but powerful prevention step. CDC

Two easy tactics:

• Keep tissues nearby so you do not rub your nose with your hands

• Use a “clean hand” rule for food and contact lenses

8) Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces

If someone is ill at home, increase cleaning frequency for high-touch areas:

• doorknobs, light switches, countertops

• faucet handles, toilet flushers

• phones, remotes, keyboards, shared equipment

CDC guidance for respiratory virus hygiene notes that household cleaners containing soap or detergent help remove germs and dirt from surfaces.

9) Improve indoor air quality (often overlooked, very effective)

Respiratory viruses can spread through the air, especially indoors and in crowded spaces. Improving ventilation and filtration lowers the concentration of virus in the air and reduces exposure risk.

CDC practical steps for cleaner air include:

• Open doors and windows when weather and safety allow

• Use exhaust fans

• If you have central HVAC, set the fan to “on” during visits and use pleated filters, changing them about every three months or per manufacturer instructions

• Use a portable HEPA air cleaner

• Move gatherings outdoors when possible

10) If you get sick: what to do, and when treatment matters

Most people recover at home, but it helps to know when to escalate.

Stay home and limit contact

CDC guidance emphasizes staying home when ill and avoiding contact with others except to get medical care.

Know when to call a clinician

If you are at increased risk for complications, are very sick, or are worried about your illness, contact a healthcare provider promptly.

Antivirals can help, especially early

Prescription antiviral drugs can make you better faster and may reduce complications. The CDC notes they work best when started within about 2 days of symptom onset, though they can still be helpful later for people at higher risk or those who are very sick.

Quick flu-prevention checklist

• Get a flu vaccine every season (ideally by end of October)

• Keep distance from sick people, and stay home when you are sick

• Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow

• Wash hands often or use sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol

• Avoid face touching

• Clean high-touch surfaces regularly

• Improve indoor air (ventilation, filtration, HEPA)

• If high-risk or worsening quickly, contact a clinician early and ask about antivirals