Common-Sense Tips on Common Cold

During the height of cold and flu season, Victoria Turley figures she is face to face with more than 50 sniffling, feverish, tissue-toting tots every day.

As a nurse at the Thousand Oaks office of pediatrician Kenneth Saul, she’s often the first to see the ailing little patients in the examining room. Yet, she can’t recall the last time she was sick.

How do Turley and other germ-dodging nurses at the front lines manage to stay well?

An informal poll suggests that staying healthy may come down to basic preventive measures. Most often mentioned were these common-sense habits:

* Good hygiene. Hand washing tops the list. “I never eat anything without washing my hands first,” Turley says. “And I never, ever put my hands in my mouth.” Another nurse, Margaret Zaleska, who works for a Long Beach pediatrician, does the same. “I pay particular attention to hand washing,” she says. “I do it on a very regular basis throughout the day--after specimen collections or any contact with patients.”

* Preventive measures. “I always get a flu shot,” Zaleska says. Another nurse swears by daily vitamins, including plenty of Vitamin C.

* Taking care of yourself. “I rest as much as I can,” says Kim Saunders, a nurse at the Children’s Specialty Center at Long Beach Memorial Hospital. “I try to get eight or nine hours sleep a night. I also take ‘down’ time. I take a day off here and there. At lunch, I walk two times a week--that seems to help keep me healthy.” Says Zaleska: “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I exercise regularly.” And, she adds, she hasn’t had a cold in more than two years.