Most infections are preventable with a handful of consistent habits. The basics, like washing your hands, cooking food thoroughly, and staying current on vaccines, block the vast majority of common bacterial, viral, and parasitic threats you encounter in everyday life. Here’s a practical breakdown of what actually works and why.
Hand Hygiene Is the Single Best Defense
Your hands pick up pathogens from surfaces, other people, and your environment dozens of times a day, then deliver them straight to your eyes, nose, and mouth. Washing with soap and water for 20 seconds removes significantly more germs than shorter washes. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails, not just your palms.
Alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) works well when soap isn’t available, but it doesn’t remove all types of germs. It’s less effective against norovirus and certain parasites, so soap and water is the better choice when you have access to a sink. The moments that matter most: before eating or preparing food, after using the bathroom, after blowing your nose or coughing, after touching shared surfaces like door handles or shopping carts, and after contact with someone who’s sick.
Cook and Store Food at the Right Temperatures
Foodborne illness sends millions of people to the doctor every year, and most cases trace back to undercooking or improper storage. A food thermometer is the only reliable way to know your food has reached a safe internal temperature. Visual cues like color and texture are not accurate enough.
The key temperatures to remember:
- Poultry (chicken, turkey, ground poultry): 165°F / 74°C
- Ground beef and sausage: 160°F / 71°C
- Fish (salmon, tuna, cod, and similar): 145°F / 63°C, or until the flesh is opaque and flakes easily
- Shrimp, lobster, crab, and scallops: cook until the flesh turns white and opaque
- Clams, oysters, and mussels: cook until the shells open on their own
Beyond cooking, keep cold foods below 40°F and don’t leave perishable items at room temperature for more than two hours. Separate raw meat from ready-to-eat foods on cutting boards and in your refrigerator. These steps cut off the most common routes for salmonella, E. coli, and other foodborne bacteria.
Make Your Water Safe
If you’re camping, traveling internationally, or under a boil-water advisory, bringing water to a full rolling boil for one minute kills or inactivates the organisms that cause illness in humans. That includes parasites like Giardia and Cryptosporidium, bacteria like salmonella and cholera, and viruses like hepatitis A and rotavirus. At higher altitudes (above 6,500 feet), boil for three minutes because water boils at a lower temperature.
Portable water filters rated for protozoa and bacteria work well for hiking and travel, but most don’t remove viruses. If viruses are a concern, combine filtration with chemical treatment or UV purification.
Stay Current on Vaccines
Vaccines prevent infections before they start, and the adult schedule includes more than most people realize. The CDC’s 2025 recommendations for adults include annual flu shots, updated COVID-19 vaccines (one dose for adults under 65, two for those 65 and older), a tetanus booster every 10 years, and shingles vaccination with two doses for older adults. RSV vaccines are now recommended for adults 50 and older and during pregnancy.
If you were born in 1957 or later, you may need one or two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine depending on your history. HPV vaccination is available through age 45. Hepatitis A and B vaccines are recommended for many adults based on risk factors. Keeping up with these isn’t just about protecting yourself. It reduces the chance you’ll carry an infection to someone more vulnerable, like a newborn or an immunocompromised family member.
Reduce Respiratory Infections
Cold and flu viruses, COVID-19, and other respiratory pathogens spread primarily through airborne droplets and aerosols. In crowded indoor spaces during outbreak seasons, a well-fitting mask makes a meaningful difference. N95 respirators filter roughly 95% of airborne particles at the size that matters most for viruses, while loose-fitting surgical masks let significantly more through around the edges.
Beyond masks, simple habits help: avoid touching your face in public, keep distance from people who are visibly sick, and improve ventilation when you can by opening windows or using air purifiers with HEPA filters. If you’re the one who’s sick, staying home is the most effective thing you can do for everyone around you.
Use Barrier Protection During Sex
Condoms remain the most effective non-vaccine tool for preventing sexually transmitted infections. In studies of couples where one partner was HIV-positive, consistent condom use reduced HIV transmission to about 1.1 per 100 person-years, compared with 9.7 among inconsistent users. In one study, zero out of 123 partners who used condoms consistently became infected, versus 10% of those who used them inconsistently.
Condoms also reduce transmission of gonorrhea, chlamydia, and syphilis, though they’re less protective against infections spread by skin contact in areas the condom doesn’t cover, like herpes and HPV. For HPV specifically, vaccination is far more effective than barrier methods alone. Getting tested regularly and discussing status with partners adds another layer of protection.
Keep Surfaces Clean the Right Way
Disinfecting a surface isn’t the same as wiping it down. Most household disinfectants need to stay visibly wet on a surface for a specific amount of time, called contact time, to actually kill viruses and bacteria. This information is printed on the product label. If you spray and immediately wipe, you’re cleaning but not disinfecting.
Focus your effort on high-touch surfaces: light switches, doorknobs, phone screens, remote controls, faucet handles, and countertops. During illness in your household, clean these surfaces at least once daily. For everyday life outside of active illness, regular cleaning with soap or a standard household cleaner is sufficient for most surfaces.
Protect Yourself From Insect-Borne Infections
Mosquitoes and ticks carry serious infections including Lyme disease, West Nile virus, Zika, and malaria. Insect repellent is your first line of defense outdoors. DEET has been the most widely used and effective repellent for over 60 years. Picaridin is an equally effective alternative: a 20% concentration protects against mosquitoes and ticks for 8 to 14 hours, while a 10% concentration lasts 3.5 to 8 hours.
When you’re in wooded or grassy areas, wear long sleeves and pants, tuck pants into socks, and do a full-body tick check when you come inside. Shower within two hours of being outdoors to wash off unattached ticks. Check pets too, since they can carry ticks into your home.
Avoid Infections During Healthcare Visits
Hospitals and clinics are, by nature, places where infections concentrate. Healthcare-associated infections affect a significant number of patients each year, but you can reduce your risk with a few specific actions.
Ask every healthcare worker to clean their hands before touching you. This is your right, and most providers appreciate the reminder. If you have an IV line or urinary catheter, ask your care team when it can be removed, since infection risk increases the longer these devices stay in place. Don’t touch IV lines yourself. After surgery, watch the incision site for redness, increasing pain, or drainage, but avoid touching it directly.
If antibiotics aren’t prescribed, don’t push for them. Unnecessary antibiotics cause side effects without benefit and contribute to antibiotic resistance, which makes future infections harder to treat. When antibiotics are prescribed, take them exactly as directed and finish the full course.