Respiratory infectious diseases: Reduce your risk

On this page

• Get your recommended vaccines
• Use personal protective measures
• How respiratory infectious diseases spread
• Who is at risk
• What to do if you get sick

Get your recommended vaccines

Find a location for vaccination in your province or territory:

• Flu: Book with a clinic
• COVID-19: Book a vaccination appointment

Many respiratory infectious diseases like the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) usually increase in the fall and winter months. COVID-19 may circulate any time of year.

Vaccination is one of the best ways to protect your family, your community and yourself from:

• becoming infected with a respiratory infectious disease
• developing serious complications

Vaccines can help prevent the spread of disease, which helps protect people who can't get vaccinated, like:

• very young infants
• people who are immunocompromised

Vaccination schedules and availability can vary depending on which province or territory you live in. Talk to a health care provider or your local public health unit or office for more information about vaccines that protect against respiratory infectious diseases.

Learn more:

• Get your flu vaccine: Why it's important
• Vaccines for COVID-19: How to get vaccinated
• Seasonal flu and the flu shot for Indigenous communities

Use personal protective measures

Personal protective measures are actions you can take to reduce your risk of getting or spreading respiratory infectious diseases. They're especially important to help protect people who are at greater risk of severe complications from respiratory infections.

Personal protective measures are most effective when combined together and used alongside vaccination.

These measures help break the chain of infection to protect our communities from respiratory infectious diseases.

Learn more:

• Respiratory infectious diseases: Break the chain of infection (infographic)

Stay home when you're sick

Staying at home and limiting contact with others when you're sick is one of the best ways to prevent spreading illness in your community.

If you have to be in a shared space with others, use personal protective measures to help reduce the risk of spreading illness.

Most people who become sick with a respiratory infectious disease experience mild symptoms, such as:

• fever
• runny or stuffy nose
• cough
• sneezing
• fatigue
• muscle or body aches

Mild to moderate symptoms of some viral illnesses can be treated with rest, fluids and over-the-counter medications for pain, fever or cold and flu symptoms.

If you're worried about your symptoms or are at risk for more serious complications, consult your health care provider. They may prescribe treatments, or recommend steps or medications you can take.

Staying home when sick is important, but you should still seek medical attention if you need it. Tell the health care provider about your symptoms ahead of time and wear a well-fitting respirator or mask when you seek care if you're able to.

Learn more:

• COVID-19 treatments
• Using medications safely
• Acetaminophen and children
• Flu (seasonal influenza): Symptoms and treatment
• Medication and children younger than 6 years of age
• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV): Symptoms and treatment
• COVID-19: What to do if you or someone in your home is sick

Wear a well-fitting respirator or mask

Respirators and masks act as a barrier and can filter out respiratory particles. This can help:

• protect you from getting infected or sick by reducing the amount of infectious respiratory particles you breathe in
• prevent you from spreading infection to others by containing infectious respiratory particles you produce when you're sick, even if you don't have symptoms

Respirators and masks are most effective when:

• they fit well
• they're well constructed
• you wear them properly

You should choose the best quality and best fitting respirator or mask available to you.

Non-medical masks can help prevent the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, but respirators and medical masks provide better protection.

Learn more:

• Respiratory infectious diseases: Mask use for reducing the spread

Improve indoor ventilation

Good ventilation exchanges indoor air for outdoor air. This helps reduce the buildup of infectious respiratory particles in indoor air. Although ventilation of certain spaces isn't always in your control, there are many ways you can improve indoor ventilation in your home.

Open windows or doors regularly, even for a few minutes at a time. This creates a cross-breeze and improves natural ventilation.

If your indoor space has vents in the ceiling, walls or floor, then it probably uses a central heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system. Ensure this system has clean, well-maintained air filters to help reduce the levels of infectious respiratory particles indoors. Contact your ventilation system professional for advice on regular maintenance of your system.

Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans that vent to the outside can also help remove potentially contaminated air. Run kitchen or bathroom exhaust fans at low speed to help remove contaminated air.

Air filtration can also help by removing infectious respiratory particles, smoke, dust and pollen from the air. Use a portable air purifier with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.

Fresh, clean outdoor air allows infectious particles to disperse and not build up. Outdoor settings also give people more space to spread out. When possible, gather outdoors to help reduce the risk of transmission of respiratory infectious diseases.

Resources about ventilation

Guidance:

• COVID-19: Improving indoor ventilation

Infographics:

• Protecting your indoor air
• Maintain and improve indoor air quality
• Using a portable air cleaner to improve indoor air
• Ventilation helps protect against the spread of COVID-19

Videos:

• COVID-19: Improve ventilation by opening windows
• COVID-19: Improve ventilation by running exhaust fans
• COVID-19: Ways to improve ventilation and air filtration in your home

Practise hand hygiene

Hand hygiene means:

• washing your hands regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or
• using a hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol for 20 seconds or until dry

This removes or kills infectious particles that may be on your hands.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unclean hands to prevent germs from entering your body.

Clean your hands to help reduce the spread of infectious diseases

Learn more:

• Reduce the spread of infectious diseases: How to properly wash your hands (video)
• Reduce the spread of infectious diseases: How to properly wash your hands (infographic)

Cover your coughs and sneezes

You can help reduce the spread of respiratory particles when you cough or sneeze by following these steps.

1. Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, not your hand.
2. Throw any used tissues into a lined waste container as soon as possible.
3. Clean your hands immediately afterwards.

Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces and objects

High-touch surfaces and objects are those that people touch often, so they're more likely to be contaminated by infectious particles. These include:

• toys
• toilets
• door handles
• light switches
• electronics like:
  • tablets
  • phones
  • computers
• tables and countertops

Cleaning and disinfecting high-touch surfaces and objects can remove and kill infectious particles. This reduces the risk of respiratory infectious diseases spreading to others through contact with a contaminated surface or object.

Cleaning

Cleaning with soap (or detergent) and water reduces the amount of germs by physically removing them.

Follow these steps after cleaning.

1. Put used disposable cleaning items, such as cloths and wipes, in a lined waste container before throwing them out.
2. Wash reusable cleaning items with soap (or detergent) and hot water after use.
3. Remove your gloves (if used) and:
   • wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or
   • use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer containing at least 60% alcohol for 20 seconds or until dry 

Disinfecting

You can kill infectious germs by using the right disinfectants for different surfaces. Always use disinfectants according to their product label directions. Ideally, you should always clean surfaces first with soap or detergent, and then disinfect them.

Check the label for a drug identification number (DIN) confirming that Health Canada has approved the product for sale in Canada.

If an approved disinfectant isn't available, use a diluted bleach solution. Make sure to handle bleach safely, as it can irritate or burn your skin, eyes or lungs. It can also produce toxic gas if you mix it with other cleaning products.

Some of the following resources outline household chemical safety and how to properly handle, use and dilute bleach.

• Use household chemicals safely
• Bleach: Household chlorine (Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)

How respiratory infectious diseases spread

Respiratory infectious diseases can spread in different ways, including from:

• person to person
• contact with contaminated surfaces or objects

Many respiratory infectious diseases spread through a combination of both, so it's best to use more than one personal protective measure at a time.

Person-to-person spread

When someone is infected, they can produce respiratory particles and secretions like saliva and mucus that can pass on the infection. Respiratory particles are released in a range of sizes into the air. This can happen when the person:

• breathes
• talks
• coughs
• sneezes
• sings
• shouts

You may become infected with a respiratory infectious disease if:

• you breathe infectious particles in
• infectious particles or secretions come into direct contact with your eyes, nose or mouth
  • for example, if someone who is infected coughs or sneezes on you
• you touch someone who has infectious particles or secretions on them, then touch your eyes, nose or mouth before you clean your hands
  • for example, when shaking someone's hand

Spread through contact with contaminated surfaces or objects

Surfaces and objects may become contaminated with infectious particles or secretions after being touched, or coughed or sneezed on by a person who is infected. High-touch surfaces and objects are more likely to be contaminated, including:

• phones
• door handles
• light switches
• elevator buttons

You can become infected if you touch a contaminated surface or object, and then touch your eyes, nose or mouth before you clean your hands.

Who is at risk

Some people are at a greater risk of serious complications from respiratory infectious diseases than others, including:

• people who are pregnant
• people who aren't vaccinated
• older persons, especially over 65 years of age
• young children, especially those who are under 5 years of age
• infants, especially those who are premature or under 6 months of age
• people with chronic medical conditions, including those who are immunocompromised or those living with lung disease

Depending on the virus, there may be other groups who are at greater risk of serious complications from respiratory infections.

Learn more:

• Risks of getting RSV
• Flu: Who is most at risk
• COVID-19 and Indigenous communities
• People who are at risk of more severe disease or outcomes from COVID-19

What to do if you get sick

When you're sick, it's important to stay home and use personal protective measures to help reduce the risk of spreading illness to others. Follow our guidance for when you're sick and at home.

Stay home when you're sick.

Related links

• Flu: Prevention and risks
• RSV: Prevention and risks
• COVID-19: Prevention and risks
• Help reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases (poster)