Toil and trouble, snot and snuffle. It’s that scary time of year again, cold and flu season is upon us.

With classes back in swing for the fall, coming in contact with an entire student body worth of germs means that the chances of getting sick are higher than ever. But in these trying times, there are ways to help protect yourself from the sneezing season. The flu is bad, get the flu shot.

There are over 200 different viruses that can lead to what is called the common cold. Most of these are spread through droplet transmission, small globules of the virus pushed out of the body by coughing and sneezing. Coming in contact with these viruses grab bags, usually by touching something that is coated in these small wet virus filled droplets, is what leads to infection.

On campus the EvCC custodial staff works to keep the campus clean, as per their mission statement, making it clean and healthy and safe. “Everything gets cleaned with a germicidal” said Connie Tone, EvCC custodial director. “Everything is religiously cleaned, day and night.”
All of the buildings get cleaned every night, which takes about nine hours of work. “Our cleaning program is basically set up to prevent colds and flus.”

One area Tone did mention was that electronics can not be cleaned with the germicide. While the computers are still cleaned nightly Tone suggests hand washing after using keyboards. The number one thing to avoid getting sick is frequent hand washing, especially before eating.

If someone is already experiencing cold symptoms, it is important that they cover their mouth when coughing and sneezing, but also to not use their hands to do so. The best practice is to do your best Dracula impression and cough into your elbow.