How to limit the spread of Covid-19, cold and flu at home in winter

Winter can be a contagious time of year for everything from Covid-19 to the common cold.

Once someone in your household feels the first ominous tickle at the back of their throat, everyone else can feel doomed to follow.

"It's always a challenge within households because we know households are the place where viruses like respiratory viruses spread really efficiently," says Catherine Bennett, Deakin University's chair of epidemiology.

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There are ways to limit the risk of illnesses spreading from one family member or housemate to another, Bennett says.

Prof Bennett says if someone within your household becomes sick, it is possible you have already been exposed before they had any symptoms.

However, if the sick person can isolate from the rest of the household, it's still worth it, she says. Ideally, this would look like using a separate bedroom and bathroom to others.

She says this degree of isolation is not possible or realistic for many households.

Isolation can also look like someone sleeping on the couch to "reduce their risk of inhaling the virus" from their unwell partner overnight, she says.

Medical director for Australian government-funded online public health information service Healthdirect Darran Foo says if possible, the symptomatic person should remain isolated from the rest of the household until they no longer have active symptoms.

For example, "no more ongoing fevers, no more coughing up lots of phlegm".

If someone in the household is symptomatic, and isolating completely is not possible, Prof Bennett says a mask can help protect the rest of the household.

"Wearing a mask if you're unwell can reduce your risk of passing it on to other people."

Dr Foo also advises wearing a mask if it's possible and practical, particularly if you live in a smaller home like an apartment.

Dr Foo recommends throwing used tissues away immediately and avoiding sharing cups, plates and cutlery in the household when someone is unwell, whether from a cold or Covid-19.

"The biggest thing really is to maintain good hygiene, especially good hand hygiene," Dr Foo says.

"Lots of hand washing and using sanitisers as much as possible."

Prof Benett also says you should "wash your own hands more often in between touching things, even around the home" when you or someone else is sick.

She recommends wiping down commonly used surfaces — such as the bathroom — more often. Any surfaces where someone has coughed may have droplets over them, she says.

Prof Bennett says, "bugs do so well [in winter because] we can't air our houses out".

Poor ventilation will make it easier for viruses to spread, but she says increasing air turnover and introducing outdoor air can help.

Open doors and windows when you can, "so it's not the same air pushing right through the household that's around the person who's unwell."

Dr Foo also says the more ventilation you can get at home, the better, while of course avoiding hypothermia.

Dr Foo says, "the general advice all remains the same" if someone in the household is potentially more vulnerable.

However, he says people more at risk of becoming seriously unwell may want to consult their regular healthcare professional who knows their medical history.

"It really depends on that person's risk, their comorbidities and what ongoing conditions they have — and also to identify whether it's appropriate to use antiviral medication at that point in time."

Prof Bennett says being diligent with mask wearing, hand washing, and sanitising surfaces is particularly worth doing if someone in the house is vulnerable.

Prof Bennett says being up to date with Covid-19 and influenza vaccinations will offer another layer of protection.

"If you can't avoid infection in the household — and that's the hardest place to do it — then actually having some protection from severe illness is really important in influenza."

In larger shared households, there are more people to bring viruses home, and that extra protection from vaccination is even more important, "particularly from severe illness in the vulnerable people in our households", Prof Bennett says.

Dr Foo also encourages people to stay up to date with their vaccinations, "especially their annual flu vaccination and their Covid booster shots".