Winter bugs are, quite literally, a pain. With lack of energy, a weakened immune system, coughs and other lousy side effects, it’ll be in your best interest to avoid illness this winter. Although we are currently in Autumn, this is the perfect time to start thinking about implementing cold and flu preventatives within your business to stop the risk of sick days and keep staff and visitors’ wellness up for a strong start to next year.
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Common Illnesses in Autumn & Winter
From colds, to stomach flus, to bronchitis and now the coronavirus, many diseases thrive during the colder winter months and can have an effect on thousands of people. Drastic weather fluctuations in autumn and winter make it hard for the body to adapt to changes which result in us falling sick during the season transition. Some immune systems are stronger than others and can fight off infections more easily however others may struggle. No matter what, during this period we have to ensure we are practising impeccable hygiene and adhere to preventative measures in order to avoid crossing paths with harmful winter illnesses.
How to Prevent Colds & Flus
Learn how to prevent catching the cold and flu this winter with these easy, yet effective, steps and precautions.
Get a Flu Vaccination
The obvious solution to prevent cold & flus is to get a flu shot, which is strongly advisable in the run up to the winter months. It’s the biggest weapon in the fight against flu but it’s no use waiting until someone in your office gets ill until you decide to take vaccination action. Check whether your employer offers a flu vaccination program.
If you are not eligible for the free NHS flu vaccination, such as those aged over 65 and pregnant women, it is worth considering paying for one at your local pharmacist. You can protect yourself for a whole year for approximately £10. Remember to get a new vaccination each year as strains of flu continuously evolve so your protection from last year’s jab is not reliable. Find out more about flu vaccinations. For companies, find out more about how to get your business winter ready with our flu-busting guide.
Practice Good Hand Hygiene
It’s no secret as to how colds and flu viruses are spread. If someone who poorly sneezes into their hands and then immediately picks up the phone or touches the keyboard or grabs a door handle before you, you can still contract these germs hours later by touching these surfaces. Wash your hands as often as you can and if soap sanitising facilities aren’t available use an anti-bacterial hand sanitiser to kill germs on the go. This is especially important if you are about to eat with your fingers making it easy for germs to enter your mouth.
Don’t Cover Coughs & Sneezes with Your Hands
Make an effort to keep your germs away from your family and friends to avoid contraction to others. Viruses cling to bare hands, so avoid using them to muffle your coughs and sneezes. Where possible, when you feel one coming on, use a tissue and discard afterwards, if you don’t have one on you then it’s safer to sneeze into the inside of your elbow. Immediately after, use hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and water to get rid of unwanted germs.
Wear a Facemask
The events of COVID-19 has resulted in facemasks now being an essential part to everyday life and a lawful requirement in most public facilities. Facemasks can significantly help slow the spread of bacteria along with other preventative measures listed so ensure you’re protecting yourself and others around you from the spread of diseases.
Don’t Touch Your Face
Cold and flu viruses enter the body through the eyes, nose and mouth so by avoiding touching your face after coming into contact with commonly touched services you can prevent the risk of allowing bacteria and germs from entering your body in the first place.
Eat Foods Containing Phytochemicals
“Phyto” relates to plants, the natural chemicals in them give the vitamins in food a supercharged boost. In addition to taking vitamin supplements, eating dark green, red and yellow veggies and fruits will help your bodies immunity which will allow you to fight off any colds and flus that enter your body.
Stop the Smoking
Cut the smoking to avoid getting ill this winter. Heavy smokers are more prone to contracting severe and frequent colds, even being around smokers harms your immune system. This is because smoking draws out the passages in your nose, which affects your cilia – the delicate hairs that line your nose and lungs to help sweep away cold and flu viruses. It is thought that just one cigarette can stop them from working for as long as 30-40 minutes.
Cut Down on Alcohol Consumption
Consuming large quantities of alcohol can compromise your immune system. It can make you more prone to getting infections as well as complications in addition to dehydrating your body.
Relax & Destress
Your germ defence system will thank you for it. There is evidence to suggest that your immune system revs up when you destress so relax this winter and avoid the chances of catching a cold.
How to Keep Your Workplace Healthy – Advice for Businesses
In order to keep staff well and business rolling put workplace hygiene at the forefront of all you do. With many people working from home and occasionally coming into the office, or some employees working from business premises full time, it’s important to keep your workplace healthy and hygienic to advocate control over the spread of harmful bacteria.
Soap & Sanitising Solutions
A simple yet vital requirement of your workplace is soap and sanitising solutions to keep employees mindful of hand hygiene at all times. By placing dispensers around your facilities, your staff are subconsciously prompted to keep their hands clean, especially around communal spaces.
Antibacterial Washroom Soap Dispensers
Auto foam soap dispensers should be your main solution to healthy hand hygiene encouraging users to actively wash their hands after using the washroom. The touch free automation aspect is a game changer, especially in the workplace, as it reduces human contact and eliminates cross contamination amongst staff and visitors.
Hand Sanitisers
Auto hand sanitisers provide an ultra-hygienic hand sanitising solution utilising user-friendly, efficient technology to kill germs and bacteria. Place these around your facilities, outside washrooms, along corridors and within offices, where soap and water hand washing stations aren’t available as a next best alternative.
Antibacterial Office Desk & Equipment Wipes
New search reveals the average desk contains 400 times more germs than a toilet seat. Think about how many employees touch keyboards, their computer mouse and other desk equipment throughout the day without cleaning their space. Antibacterial desk and equipment wipes are a simple, effective and hygienic solution to killing 99.99% of bacteria found on surfaces that employees will come into contact with during the working day.
Air Care Solutions
Essential neutralising air care solutions for the workplace have proven to be extremely effective in eliminating unwanted bacteria and reduce background bacteria levels by 85%. The latest air care technology exploits ecological solutions to both killing bacteria and neutralising bad odours within the workplace which can be the difference between a healthy winter run or a damaging period for the business as a whole.
Mats & Floorcare for Winter
The damp, cold and wet weather changes result in 80% of dirt being carried into buildings on the soles of shoes, resulting in higher cleaning costs and more importantly, dirty floors. Commercial mats and floorcare can help protect your floors throughout your premises by actively trapping dirt and moisture that is brought in to the workplace.
Find out if your business is winter ready with the right mat and floorcare solutions.
Guidance Posters for Prompt Good Hygiene
Display hygiene guidance posters around your facilities to encourage good hygiene practices and educate staff and visitors on the importance of maintaining reputable hygiene standards.
• Catch it, Bin it, Kill it Poster
• How to Wash your Hands with Soap & Water Poster
• Hand Cleaning Technique Using Sanitiser Poster
Citron’s complete hygiene poster pack includes all the signage and posters your business needs to ensure good hygiene is practiced throughout your facilities to avoid any risk of transmission and infection.
Get in Touch with Citron Hygiene
At Citron Hygiene we want to help business kill bacteria this winter and get a head start on what’s to come. If you’re interested in outsourcing professional hygiene help for a healthier, safer environment you’re in the right place.
Get in contact with the hygiene experts today and learn how your business can implement effective winter hygiene strategies to avoid unwanted germs and bacteria from holding your business back.
