10 Best Products to Prevent Sickness in 2022 (Hand Sanitizer, Forehead Thermometer, and More)

The list below features a few of the commonly used products that can help you prevent falling sick or to overcome the sickness without increased risks. 

You might be eating healthy and leading a healthy lifestyle. You might be working out to keep yourself active and stay fit. But does that guarantee a sickness-free life? 

Not necessarily. No matter how safe you are at home, when you step out, you still have chances of getting exposed to illness-causing pathogens. Read on to find a few products that you need to have in possession this pandemic season. 

Good hygiene involves practices that you need to perform daily or regularly to maintain a clean and healthy lifestyle. And when the world is fighting a pandemic, you need to be very diligent about the practices and how you exercise them. 

Maintaining these good practices can keep you healthy and keep sicknesses at a minimum. 

It goes without saying you need to practice good personal hygiene to minimize the risk of infection. You should perform regular hygienic practices such as brushing and flossing, washing your hands, and bathing, but it has become imperative to practice them more frequently and diligently. 

 
Besides good toilet, shower, and dental hygiene, you need to take good care of yourself by keeping your body clean at all times.

While at home, wash your hands regularly with a bar of good hand soap to prevent germs from entering your body. Washing should involve the area in between your fingers, the back of your hands, nails, and nail beds. Rub thoroughly for up to 30 seconds and rinse with tepid or warm water. 

If you are out and about, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer would do. Ensure it has at least 60% alcohol content for maximum germ-killing.

When you are unsure of where you have placed your hands and what you have subject your nails to, it’s important to keep them clean at all times. It's also good to keep them trimmed at all times, and use a nail brush to clean underneath the nails and above them.

If you are sick, dispose of soiled tissues as soon as you are done using them. Also, use antibacterial or alcoholic wipes to clean shared surfaces and items at home. A disinfectant spray will be handy to sanitize infected surfaces.

Always cough or sneeze with your mouth and nose covered with a tissue. In the absence of a tissue, sneeze or cough onto your elbow or upper sleeve as they are less likely to come in contact with surfaces. Avoid using your hands. But if you accidentally use your hands, wash them immediately for at least 20 seconds using a good hand soap.

In short, for good hygiene, wash your hands thoroughly before and after eating, while handling foods, after you cough and sneeze, after handling garbage or touching an animal, after changing a baby’s diaper, and before and after helping someone who's sick.

Your immune system functions well when you give it the nutrients it needs and the care it deserves. When wholesome meals become a challenge, you should be ready with supplements that can save you from the misery of a weak immune system. 

Eating good foods rich in vitamins and minerals is the best and easy way to improve your immunity. Immunity-boosting foods such as berries, oysters and other seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, mushrooms, chicken, and meat products (depending on your diet) should be included in your diet to prepare your body to fight against disease.

Your meal planning cannot be perfect at all times, and that demands the use of nutritional supplements to fill the accompanying nutrient gaps. Vitamin C is one of the best-known nutrients with cold-fighting and infection-preventing capabilities.

If you have weak immunity or have a known deficiency of vitamin C, it’s good to take supplements of the antioxidant nutrient. Supplementing your body with zinc may offer protection against respiratory infections, lessen the symptoms, and reduce the length of the infection.

Multivitamins are also a good way to supplement your body with essentials nutrients. While not everyone needs a multivitamin, picky eaters, older adults, those who consume fewer calories or are on diet, or those who have undergone certain surgical procedures are good candidates.

As you know, a bout of fever or cold draws out water from your body through sweat. You lose fluids in the form of mucus and phlegm. Drinking liquids can not only help you stay hydrated, but also loosen the mucus and sputum that form inside your body. 

Drinking a lot of water is a common recommendation when you are sick. Fresh vegetable and fruit juices are also great additions. They supplement your body with the essential nutrients. Besides, fluids can loosen mucus and relieve congestion. 

 
Staying hydrated can also keep your body prepared to defend against unwanted elements and ensure a speedy recovery. If you are worried about dehydration, try oral rehydration solutions such as electrolyte powders, electrolyte-infused waters, or electrolyte tablets.  

It’s natural to have and urge to enjoy warm liquids such as tea and soup when you are fighting an infection, which is good. While warm liquids keep your throat moist and your body hydrated, you can  also get relief from the symptoms.

The goodness of eating chicken soup during an infection is also well-known, so make the most of it when you are sick. Warm, caffeine-free tea with honey is also a great remedy to relieve the symptoms of nasal congestion, cough, and sore throat.

A first-aid kit is something that everyone needs inside their medicine cabinet. That does not mean you need to stock it with all varieties of medicines. Painkillers, oral rehydration salts, antihistamines, and decongestants are essentials for your medicine box. 

If you have people with serious illnesses around you, it's important to store their essential medicines as well. Also have devices like a thermometer with you. 

While medications don’t promise a complete cure for a cold or flu, there are a few that you need to consider stocking in your medicine cabinet. Over-the-counter cold medicines, decongestants, pain relievers, and cough drops are good to keep on hand. 

OTC pain relievers like ibuprofen and acetaminophen (Tylenol) help reduce fever, body aches, and headaches. Dayquil is an OTC medication taken during the day to treat the symptoms of a cold. For someone with high blood pressure issues, Nyquil is a preferred medicine. 

The pill, spray, or drops forms of nasal decongestants can also help. While sprays and drops work faster than oral medications, they shouldn’t be used for more than three days. A rebound effect can be expected and your illness can worsen. Menthol cough drops and expectorants like Mucinex are good to quiet your cough and to soothe your throat. 

The hand-to-head method to test fever isn’t reliable enough. A thermometer is what you need to detect a rise in temperature and to monitor your temperature if you are sick. Have them in your possession so you will not have to run to the nearest pharmacy while running a fever.  

Blood pressure monitoring devices and blood glucose meters are also indispensable if you or anyone at home has hypertension or blood sugar conditions.

The flu and cold season is bad but that does not stop you from running errands. Doesn't that expose you to the pathogens possibly floating around you? 

While you take all the required measures to keep diseases at bay, you will also have to reduce exposure if you are sick. This can help you and those around you, and create a healthy environment for coexistence. 

Wearing a mask is the first thing that comes to one’s mind while the world is fighting a pandemic. The country is also facing a dearth of masks, so doctors advise against everyone wearing one. But if you have a fever, cough, or infection and need to go out, you should wear a mask to prevent spreading the infection.

If you are caring for a sick person, you both need to wear masks. While most people do away with normal disposable masks, they are not capable of blocking all germs. PPE or Personal Protection Equipment such as N95 surgical masks and respirators are the best to prevent airborne particles and liquid contaminants from entering your mouth and nose.

However, N95 respirators are not easy to find, and healthcare workers are the ones mostly procuring them. They are in dire need of such essentials, due to their direct exposure to infected patients.

Gloves are one of the best barriers against your hands’ contact with bodily fluids such as mucus. A well-fitting pair of gloves can prevent cross-contamination. Wearing gloves can also prevent you from coming in direct contact with contaminated surfaces like doorknobs and handles. 

Do not wear gloves that are too loose or too tight on your hands; it could affect your dexterity and can get in the way of you performing tasks properly. However, you should maintain good personal hygiene regardless of wearing gloves. 

 
Wearing gloves for a long time without paying heed to hand hygiene is a bad idea. Your gloves become the breeding ground of germs and contamination and transmission of bacteria is highly likely.

Your body gets more tired when it’s fighting an infection. Resting and sleeping well is important for your recovery. As you know, your body demands more rest during this time. The medicines you take to bring down the symptoms of cold and flu also tend to make you drowsy. 

 
Getting extra rest is vital to bring the body back to its normal state. Sleeping and resting well can boost your immune system and get your body prepared to fight the infection in a better way. Cold and flu can dry out your airways, so use a humidifier or vaporizer to moisten the air around you. 

As we mentioned, proper behavior and nutrition are essential to keep healthy and stave off disease. If you want some ideas for products that can help, we have some recommendations for you. 

Author: Biji Ravindran

• Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for more mybest recommendations! For questions or comments, leave us feedback via a Google Form on our Contact Us page.