First, get the flu shot. It helps protect not only your family, but your neighbors and friends too. That’s because after vaccination, you’re less likely to get sick and unwittingly spread a virus.

Also, wash your hands often. If you are not near a sink, keep your hands away from your face or your children’s faces. Touching your -- or your kid’s -- nose, eyes or mouth could deliver cold and flu bugs straight into the system.

It’s also important for all family members to do their part and avoid bringing germs into the home. So when you’re out in public places, try to keep a distance of 6 feet from people who are visibly sick. Germs are most often transmitted through a cough or sneeze. (A person expels the virus through tiny specks of saliva, which you may then inhale.) Six feet is far enough to prevent the pass-off.

Finally, if anyone in your family does get sick, be sure they always cough or sneeze into their sleeve.

Your Expert

Dr. Zachary Rubin is an assistant clinical professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of California in Los Angeles. He is also a hospital epidemiologist at the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center.