How do you keep away the winter lurgy?

I must say it has never occurred to me to do anything specific to avoid a cold. I don't get one very often, which I think has a lot to do with not having central heating and to keeping the house reasonably cool. If I do get a cold I try to spend as much time as possible outside in the air as it makes me feel so much better. Learnt this from the days of spending freezing afternoons watching football, by the time I got home cold symptoms had virtually disappeared.

I have been told that ATM cash machines, card readers and cash are the main carriers of viruses in the community. I suppose that's a reasonable assumption, as they are touched by hundreds of people daily, and I've never seen one that's been cleaned!
It's shopping wot does it, but we all have to shop, so I guess that hand washing is especially important after we've been out and about handling money and cards.
I might even give my debit card a little clean, now I come to think of it!

Handles on Supermarket trollies are covered in germs (all those hands touching them), difficult to avoid. I do use hand sanitiser when I am out as it's not always possible to wash your hands, also I am allergic to most soaps (get dreadful dermatitis on hands) so can't use them. I do wash my hands frequently at home with a pure soap (non-allergenic).

Winter colds don't really bother me as I rarely suffer, in fact winter is a respite for me as I suffer with Hay Fever starting early with Tree Pollen, then on it's months of misery.

Pens are a main source of germs - use your own if you have to fill in forms in banks, hospitals or other places that may offer you a shared pen or pencil.

Gloves. As soon as people start sneezing I shop with gloves on. Always wear gloves on the bus and at airports in winter. And I use 4711 wipes on train and plane trays. Neurotic me never. I also want to kill people with no hankies who sneeze into their hands. I watch them wipe their hands on available cloths. Their own clothes or tablecloths or table napkins in restaurants. Ugh. In Japan they said they don't do handkerchiefs as they're unhygienic but I've noticed Japanese who live here catch on to handkerchiefs very quickly.

I am a believer of good hand hygiene, having been a Nurse for years, cant beat it, I do carry a hand gel bottle with me, simply to wipe my hands if they get sticky for different reasons.
I take a Vit C and Zinc tablet daily, both of them help the immune system, and I havent had a cold for years.
A flu jag to prevent after effects of a milder flu, is a good thing too. Have healthy Winter everyone.

I carry hand sanitiser too. A friend recommended Echinacea drops to ward off colds etc, it seemed to work last year, so I must remember it now if I am in contact with infections.
My sister isn't coming tomorrow because of a sore throat....maybe I should recommend it to her!

Yes, I've been taking Echinacea tablets for years now and have been cold-free.

We've had the same family physician for almost 40 years. Last year, our good doctor pointed out that I'd been coming to him with the same 'cold' symptoms (congestion, coughing, malaise, sinus headache) in September or October, for a very long time. He then added with a smile that thirty seven years of records showed a pattern more indicative of a seasonal allergy than a cold. He suggested an Allergist/Immunologist and mentioned mold spores (from falling leaves) as one possibility. I've been remiss about the allergist since I'm fine so far and not much rain this year. Mild symptoms respond to over counter antihistamines and Ibuprofen. Dry, cold weather helps too.

People don't believe me but I haven't had a cold, sore throat or anything like that for over 30 years. DH says I am pickled in white wine

Stay away from the doctors waiting room, you are guaranteed to catch a cold.

Good point NonnaAnnie.

I've never known a GP with a cold or the flu. How do they do that???

Absolutely no good evidence that Echinacea prevents colds. Sorry.

Swear by Echinacea. Hubby and I haven't had a cold for the eight years we've been taking it.

I used to be cold free except for maybe one in the autumn and one in the spring. Now I get one after another all autumn and winter. The fact that I don't use public transport much, wash my hands a million times a day (I do messy work), and that echinacea has never figured in my diet or medication all seem to be irrelevant.

I do "deal with" the colds, rarely have them badly, never had flu, but they are a bore and a bit of a drag along with the winter darkness.

Then all summer it's midges and ticks and hay fever. Hey ho.

Just thought though... I haven't had a cleg bite this year! ✅

As I've got it in spite of sanitizer and washing the skin of my hands I wish I knew!

Please try the Boots Anti-viral hand foam. About £3.00 ish for a handbag sized one. I have a nasty form of asthma that saw me hospitalised most years, and it was suggested to me by my respiratory consultant. Not seen the inside of the hospital since. I also put a little around my nose and try never to touch my face whilst out and about. Hope you have a healthier winter this year.

Wen our local hotel had a locals membership I used to use their sauna twice a week and that seemed to stop me getting ill in winter time.

Stress lowers your immune system so look at ways to reduce your stress levels and cope better when problems arise.

Many years ago, when that doc was on the Richard and Judy show in the morning. He mentioned about taking zinc to help prevent against getting colds. As soon as I feel a nausea in my nose, I take the Seven Seas zinc with berries. I find they are great and have only had one cold since.

We don't take any special precautions juts the flu jab and if we start to feel a cold might be incipient (mild sore throat runny nose) we take high dose Vit C. Our diet is full of fruit and veg and sadly there are no small children in our lives. When I worked in London one trip on the Tube was enough to give me a cold.

The older I get, the more I see that stress plays a big part in lots of illnesses.

I dont get why there has to be good evidence for stuff, when people say anecdotally that something works. That is more than good enough for me to give something a try.

Then you are the ideal customer for all the quacks and vitamin sellers who get rich by filling the internet with webpages stuffed with recommendations from people who may not even exist.

Try reading this.
Twenty-Six Ways to Spot Quacks and Vitamin Pushers

The ideas so far are
stay away from kids
stay away from crowds
hand sanitising
Boots hand sanitising
wash your hands
gloves
fresh air
walk
scarf
stop-a-cold
launder towels
gargle with water
tee tree oil
zinc
etc
sauna

You dismiss all of them Elegran?

And are you saying that gransnet posters may or may not exist?