The holidays are here, and we all know what that signifies: rest, rejuvenation, lots of food, drinks, laughter, and family all around. While we welcome guests and food, there are always some unwelcome guests - germs.

We are not here to sound like a kill-joy. In fact, our mission remains simple: to keep helping people become Health Champions who are actively preventing illnesses - even on holidays. Why? Because infectious diseases never take a break.

So we present to you a holiday guide sharing 5 tips to keep in mind as you enjoy the end of one year and the beginning of another!

Good ventilation and deep cleaning

Growing up, African homes typically observed the tradition of deep cleaning, especially as festive holidays approach. While we advise deep cleaning of your home throughout the year, deep cleaning during holidays is even more critical due to the increased number of guests in your space. Good ventilation goes beyond having three windows in your living room; ask yourself, what is the quality of air that circulates in the environment?

Germs like Mycobacterium tuberculosis (which causes tuberculosis) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (which causes pneumonia and meningitis), as well as mould, viruses, and fungi, thrive in poorly ventilated environments with stale stagnant air. Deep cleaning your environment by cleaning out couch and fabric areas, wardrobes, and other places that are left untouched during routine cleaning is important to purify the air within your home this holiday.

Airplane and public transport hygiene

While going about your various missions this holiday, remember that there are some habits you should not lock away, such as hygiene. Infectious diseases do not care if you’re flying by airplane, driving, or inside a cab or danfo, so what you should care about is how you are protecting yourself from picking up germs from your environment. 

It’s important that while travelling this holiday, you take note of these high touch areas in buses and aircrafts. They include: seat belts, armrests, tray tables, overhead bins, touchscreens, TV screens, window blinds, door handles, bus railings, headrests, seat backs, and payment machines. These areas rarely get cleaned up between trips and can attract germ buildup over time. 

Germs that cause respiratory infections like common cold and flu are common in high-touch areas and spread easily, especially when droplets from an infected person are inhaled. Stomach infections like those that cause norovirus and cholera are also common, especially when unsafe food and water are consumed while travelling so take note of what you put into your body. Also, take care not to contract skin infections like ringworm from an infected person, fabric, or surface.

To protect yourself this holiday, ensure to adhere to the following:

• Clean your phone and phone pouch/cover 
• Change out of your travel clothes as soon as you get to your destination
• Shower on arrival, especially if the journey was very crowded
• Choose window seats if available
• Wear a nose mask, especially in crowded spaces
• Always have a pocket hand sanitizer handy and sanitize especially after touching high-touch surfaces.

Food Hygiene and Safety

If there’s one thing that almost everyone looks forward to during the holiday period, it’s food, because what is a holiday without good food? From the sweet-smelling aroma of smoky jollof rice to the aroma of fried chicken, holiday meals register their arrival with our senses.

However, we should understand that a sumptuous meal does not translate to a healthy one. And while we prepare these meals, we should ensure to keep certain safety practices in mind to keep infectious diseases like cholera and norovirus far away. For example, kitchen utensils should be washed and stored properly to prevent contamination, and it is important to note that cooked and raw food should be separated when storing in the fridge/freezer, and any utensils used to prepare raw food should be washed thoroughly before being used for cooked meals.

When preparing home-cooked meals this holiday, please keep these tips in mind:

• Cook food thoroughly at high temperatures to kill any germs
• Do not eat directly from your serving spoon while tasting. Instead, serve the portion to taste with a serving spoon and a small plate, and eat using an eating spoon.
• Keep raw meat separate from vegetables when storing
• Do not leave cooked food out for more than 2 hours
• Reheat leftover food until steaming hot
• Wash fruits thoroughly before slicing and eating them

As much as we know that almost all homes will be steaming hot with food this season, we also understand that buffets at parties will not be left out. Therefore, when handling the buffet, please take note of the following:

• Use the serving spoon to serve your food, not your personal spoon
• Return with a clean plate to get more food, not the same plate used before
• Select foods that are properly covered and steaming hot

Please note that it is best to consume food and drinks that you are familiar with to prevent stomach bugs this season. Play it safe so you can enjoy the festivities!.

Vaccines

When you travel, whether by air, road, or across borders, you’re exposed to new environments, new people, and sometimes new germs. Vaccines help your immune system stay ready, especially during holiday travel when diseases spread faster due to the high volume of people.

To protect yourself from these disease-causing germs, it is important to stay up to date with your travel vaccines like polio, measles, COVID-19 virus, Yellow fever, hepatitis A and B, and others as cited by the United States Centers for Disease Control (US CDC).

Children, pregnant women, elderly people, and people with terminal/chronic illnesses are vulnerable groups who should be particularly careful. You might wonder what the need for a vaccine is, but vaccines help to protect a person from:

• Diseases circulating in airports, land borders, and crowded buses and flights
• Outbreaks prevalent in destination countries
• Medical emergencies away from home
• Getting stuck at country borders due to missing required vaccines

Personal and environmental hygiene

Once you’re back from a holiday event, whether it was a house party, church program, shopping trip, or family gathering, it’s important to reset and protect your home environment. You’ve touched multiple surfaces, been in crowded spaces, and interacted with many people. Simple post-outing habits can significantly reduce the risk of bringing germs into your home.

First, you must wash your hands thoroughly with running water and soap before touching anything when you get home. Also, ensure that you clean your phone and phone pouch/cover as soon as you get home. This is because your phone has been passed around to take pictures, touched after eating, placed on different surfaces, and also exposed to droplets. You can clean your phone with alcohol wipes or by using hand sanitizer and a small piece of clean cloth. If you want to go further, you can also wipe down your purse, handbags, glasses, and any frequently touched items.

Before you lie down to sleep, ensure to change out of your outing wear so you do not introduce germs to your bed. Your clothes could have picked up germs from the environment, so dust, smoke, and sitting areas change into new clothes.

The holidays should be a period filled with love, laughter, family moments, good food, and unforgettable memories, not unexpected infections. By adhering to these tips and being just a little more mindful, you can keep your celebrations warm, safe, and healthy.