With flu season amping up and people in close contact during events with friends and family, it’s easier than ever to pick up a bug that can knock you on your heels and keep you on the sidelines, missing the holiday action. At AFC Urgent Care , we want to make sure you get to sample Grandma’s eggnog without sneezing your way through the party. The best way to do that? Protect yourself from germs!

During the holiday season, you may be welcoming people into your home, visiting friends and relatives at their homes and accepting invitation after invitation. Take care to ensure germs don’t make this year’s guest list, and know where these home invaders hide.

Kitchen: If you’re cooking a big holiday feast with family, watch to make sure everyone washes their hands before helping prepare the family meal in the kitchen. You’d be surprised how many people don’t wash their hands before cooking or baking. If you touch raw meat, wash your hands with soap before touching any other food. Also, if you use a utensil to flip or stir raw meat, don’t use that same utensil again.

Bathroom: Even germaphobes may not realize they’re harboring germs in damp hand towels in their own bathrooms. To keep germs from spreading during get togethers, replace those restroom hand towels with paper towels! They may not be as pretty, but paper towels can help get rid of germs and bacteria that live in damp towels.

Entry ways: Doorknobsare a common place for germs to thrive and easily pass between family members. Instead of grabbing a knob or handle with your hands, use the bottom of your shirt or your coat, providing a germ barrier. Sanitize door handles regularly, and clean thoroughly before and after having guests in your home.

Living Room: While the party’s in full swing, it’s easy to swap germs through greetings; handshakes and hugs can transfer germs from one person to the next. Sharing fun holiday cocktails is also not a good idea. Don’t sip from your neighbor’s glass; get your own! Don’t allow guests to place their purses on your dining room tables the bottoms of purses are known to carry more bacteria than a toilet seat. If people do put purses on your table, make sure to sanitize the area before eating.

Doorstep: It’s fun to receive those holiday packages, but think about how many people have handled that package before it arrived at your home. After you’re done opening the package, be sure to wash your hands.

One last thing: Sanitize your cell phone! People are constantly touching their cell phones, and other people may grab your cell to flip through your pictures. It’s a good habit to wipe your phone with a disinfecting wipe after others touch it or about once a week.

We want your holiday to stay merry and bright, and not full of sickness and misery. Knowing how to keep germs at bay and recognizing where they could hide can help keep you and your home germ-free during the holiday season.

How do you keep your home germ-free? Share your germ-busting tips with us!