I know that everyone says the same thing about how to stop getting the flu or cold. I found a few extra things that may help too.

Wash your hands and your kids hands a lot. As soon as you walk in the door, wash them. Before you eat, wash them. When you go to a restaurant wash them but the right way to do it is to take a paper towel before you wash your hands to turn the water on and also use it to put soap on (those two places are two of the five worst places for germs to grow) and scrub for about 10 seconds, 26 seconds for kids. After you dry your hands, use that same paper towel to open the door. Unfortunately some people aren't as health conscious as you are and your hands can become re-infected just by touching the door handle, you could even become more sick after touching it. Or you can just use the wet ones if the bathroom is too scary.

I have found that if I use a nasal non medicated spray a few times a day in our noses that we get less sick. If we do get sick it doesn't last as long. If you are at a park (and I hate this when this happens) a mom says, "Yeah, sorry about the dripping snot but little Joey has the cold." Thanks a lot for bringing your sick kid out to get me and my family sick. I have had this happen so much that as soon as she opens her mouth I get the kids ready to leave and I wipe their hands down.

If you start the kids on a cleaning regimen at a young age, they will most likely keep to it for the most part whether you're with them or not.

I'm not a clean freak or afraid of germs but if I can minimize them and not make my kids nearly as sick as they could be, then so be it. I just take a little extra precautions during the cold and flu season.

There was an article released today by the New England Journal of Medicine that it's now been proven that the nasal spray FluMist was found to better at preventing the flu better than the shot. FluMist HAS NOT BEEN FDA APPROVED YET!!! But are seeking approval in time for the flu season this year. In the study, it was proven that the children who used FluMist were less likely to suffer from ear infections. You still have to take the kids into the doctor to have them administer it like the shot BUT there won't be anymore screaming since there maybe one less needle in their future.

It is being treated like the flu shot, children under 6 months are not allowed to have anything like that. Medimmune, the manufacturer of FluMist, is seeking FDA approval for ages 6 months and older and without a history of asthma or wheezing.

Here are some other helpful sites about FluMist:

Center For Disease Control (CDC)

Food And Drug Administration (FDA)

The New York Times

MedImmune