Heading off colds and flu.

• Position: Respiratory Diseases - Guidelines - Brief Article

"Despite what your grandmother told you, you can't catch a cold from cold weather," maintains Catharine Shaner, a pediatrician with the American Safety and Health Institute. "Rather, the cold weather keeps most of us indoors, allowing us to spread more germs to each other via close contact."

The low humidity of fall and winter permits more viruses to thrive, while nasal passages dry out, promoting a friendly environment for them. "Eighty percent of infectious disease is spread through direct contact, such as shaking hands, or indirect contact, such as touching an object, like an ATM machine, after someone who is sick. So, whether you suffer from a cold or flu this season largely depends on what or whom you touch."

Americans contract more than 1,000,000,000 colds each year, so those who don't take precautions are sure to suffer during the cold and flu season, usually December through March, but for children, it can start as soon as school is in session. Kids experience the most colds, almost eight each year, while adults contract two to four per year--more if they have offspring who carry germs home from school. Moreover, almost 100,000,000 Americans suffer from the flu each year. Experts say that as many as 40,000 people will die during a typical flu season, and more than 200,000 wind up being hospitalized because of complications from the flu.

Since it is easier to prevent an illness than to treat one, Shaner offers these tips to stay healthy:

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