Simple steps to keep the flu away

Medications, personal hygiene, and infection control practices like wearing masks and maintaining distance from infected persons helps to prevent the spread of viral infections such as flu.

Italian researchers reviewed the results of 59 studies that looked at the effectiveness of strategies to reduce the spread of viruses that cause respiratory diseases such as the flu and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS).  The studies compared a number of strategies (quarantine / isolation, distancing sick people from healthy people through other methods, better hygiene) with other interventions, or doing nothing.

The review found that wearing gloves, gowns and masks is effective, and so is frequent hand washing, more than 10 times a day. The strategies are even more effective when people use more than one of them. The highest quality studies reported that the spread of diseases could be lowered through personal hygiene in households and among young children. The researchers found only limited evidence for N95 facial masks, which are uncomfortable and expensive. It was unclear whether people need to add antiseptics to normal soap and water.

The above findings highlight the importance of hand washing and wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) like gloves, gowns, masks and isolation of certain patients to prevent the spread of respiratory diseases.