Workplace winter wellness tips

Employees can have a major impact on limiting the spread of respiratory illness in the workplace. Here are some tips from Thomas Quinn, MD, of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore:

• If possible, stay home from work for at least the first two days of illness, while symptoms such as coughing or sneezing are at their worst. If you are running a fever, you should definitely not be at work.

• Wash your hands often, using hot water and soap, particularly after blowing your nose. Wash especially before and after using shared items, such as copiers. If you have a respiratory illness, use a barrier such as a tissue instead of touching surfaces directly, or use a disinfectant afterward if possible to reduce germ concentration.

• Avoid touching your nose, mouth, or eyes, especially after touching shared office items such as copiers or shaking hands with clients or co-workers.

• Keep objects other people have touched, such as pens or pencils, out of your mouth.

• Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, even if no one is nearby. Airborne viruses and bacteria can travel some distance.

• Do not share towels or eating utensils.

• Avoid answering other people’s phones, sitting at their workstations, or handling their office equipment.

• Ask your doctor for therapy options that are taken less frequently. For example, if your doctor prescribes an antibiotic for a respiratory infection, he or she may prescribe an antibiotic taken only once a day.

• Keep your overall state of health as high as possible during respiratory illness season to increase your resistance to infections: Avoid excessive alcohol, do not smoke, get plenty of exercise and sleep, and eat healthy vitamin-rich foods.