As the days grow colder, we’re faced with the clear realization that we’re entering the time of year when illness becomes more common. The cold and flu are already popping up in various areas of our lives as people around us fight them back. It is only going to get worse though. Winter is the time for it and there is no getting around that fact. This isn’t the most comforting thought though because no one likes to be sick. You can avoid people all you want, but without a few basic steps you’re probably going to get sick at some point. Speed eating vitamin C tablets won’t help you either. Fortunately, the steps you can take are easy enough to do and should help minimize your chances of illness through the remainder of fall and the start of winter. You don’t necessarily need to follows all of them, but the more you do the better your chances get.

Get Vaccinated
Flu shots have likely already started turning up all around you whether you realize it or not. Start looking for them. You’ve got a lot of options for ensuring that you get the yearly flu vaccine. Most doctors will have the option available to you so that you can get vaccinated by a familiar face in a relaxing environment. You don’t need to make an appointment with your doctor though if you don’t feel like it. Various pharmacies and similar institutions also tend to vaccination during flu season. There are typically signs to alert you to this fact that provide you with instructions on how to get vaccinated at that location. All else failing you can be sure that the local health department is likely to be offering the vaccine providing you’re willing to wait around to be seen for the injection. All of these options mean you should get vaccinated if you can.

Keep Your Spaces Clean
People are inevitably going to come into our spaces when they’re sick. It almost seems like there are invisible magnets sometimes. This isn’t particularly helpful to us and often leads to realistic worries that we too will get sick. You can work to counter any risk of exposure after the initial burst of someone’s presence. The most effective strategy is remembering to sanitize the area where the sick person was soon after they’ve left rather than letting it sit. A spray disinfectant can go a long way towards helping keep your spaces clean, but you’ll also want to invest in wipes. This is particularly true for homes and offices with doors. Keep your door handles clean and wiped a few times a day. Avoid touching the handles and then your face if you don’t have access to wipes. Keeping your hands and spaces clean will help reduce your overall risk of getting sick.

Stay Positive
Try to keep a positive attitude despite the threat of illness. This isn’t an appeal to being indifferent to becoming ill, but is instead a reminder that your mental health does affect your physical health. Worrying about getting sick all the time will stress you out. Getting stressed actually weakens your immune system and in turn boosts the likelihood that you’ll get sick in the first place. That’s why you’re best served by trying to keep a positive outlook despite the illness going around. It isn’t always easy to do though. A good way to help you try to stay on top of things and remain happy and healthy is to set time aside each day for you. Making sure you have an hour or two that are just for you to decompress in can go a long way towards providing you with the stress management you need to stay healthy.

We can do a lot to help prevent ourselves from getting sick too easily. That doesn’t mean we will assuredly avoiding getting sick though. Illness has a way of catching up to us regardless of our preparations. The steps we’ve provided will help give you a head start in that particular race, but remember to keep your medicine cabinet stocked just in case the worst happens. After all, it is best to be prepared even if you’re doing your best to never have to be prepared in the first place.