Keeping family healthy when one person is sick?

[ElsieLC]

DD started preschool this year and she is catching pretty much everything. Sometimes DH and I get it, too. I met with our naturopath to make sure I'm giving DD the supplements she needs to keep her immune system strong, but I'm wondering what people do around the house when someone has a cold.

Do you use lots of hand sanitizer? Or wash clothes separately? Spray all the doorknobs with Lysol?

The IL's were here when I was sick and they caught it right before they had to fly back home :(. I wondered if I could have done more around the house to prevent the spread of my illness to them.

[tanyalynn]

We don't do anything.  In a general sense, I work on our overall health so that we're less likely to show symptoms of illness when we're exposed to it, but at a gut level, I don't believe that I can actually stop germs from spreading through the household so I don't try.  If we had a gastrointestinal bug, I'd be more vigilant about washing hands and whatever surfaces were contaminated, but for anything else, I don't do anything. 

ETA: And specifically for the chemicals you mentioned, I don't want to have those in the house every time we're sick just for the possibility of not becoming ill.  I mean--the chemical exposure would definitely happen, but it may or may not help.  And with my son, I saw that him getting sick was all about him, it wasn't about the exposure to germs, so really my focus is on us and giving our bodies what they need to deal with viruses and bacteria in an appropriate way.  I wouldn't be so laid back about nasty illnesses like hemorrhagic fevers, but I think it's reasonable for most things we're likely to encounter in the US. 

[philomom]

I have a set of "Sickhouse rules". Though crazy on labor... they do keep the germs on one person.

No sharing of cups, spoons, food from common plates, etc.

Change towels and bed linens every other day.

Have sick person take own tissues to the trash.

Sick person must bathe daily with soap.

Sick person may assist in moving dirty dishes and linens but may not handle clean ones except theirs.

Clean sick person's toothbrush with boiling water daily and issue them a new toothbrush once they are well.

Keep counters and sharing spaces immaculate so they can be wiped down with vinegar or bleach-y solution.

Good luck. These techniques were taught to me by my mom, a nurse.

[subtlycrunchy]

We also take the approach of focusing on boosting our immune systems over the winter months. So... lots of vitamin D and chicken soup for all! There are also preventative herbs you can use and even drinking tea (green, black, oolong) can help because it contains L-theanine, a natural immune booster. For more specifics, check out this article from Women to Women: 

Foods and herbs for boosting immunity and respiratory health

I like the "sickhouse rules" above, too!

[2xy]

I do spritz doorknobs and such with a bleach/water solution. Anything that is commonly touched by the whole family....doorknobs, light switches, telephone, remote controls, fridge handle, computer keyboard/mouse, etc.

I also stress hand-washing....and not touching your face (for the well people....sick people obviously have to blow their noses and stuff).