Respiratory infectious diseases: How to reduce the spread with personal protective measures
On this page
- Why personal protective measures are important
- How respiratory infectious diseases spread
- Who is at risk
- Why getting vaccinated is important
- What personal protective measures to use
- What to do if you become sick
Why personal protective measures are important
Personal protective measures are actions you can take to reduce your risk of getting or spreading respiratory infectious diseases, such as:
- the flu
- COVID-19
- respiratory syncytial virus (RSV)
These actions are also known as public health measures that can be used by individuals.
Personal protective measures work by breaking the chain of infection. This means stopping viruses and bacteria from spreading to an uninfected person through:
- contaminated objects
- a person who is infected
These measures have always been an important part of preventing illness. They will continue to be important to help prevent the spread of respiratory infectious diseases, and can be used beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.
Learn more about:
How respiratory infectious diseases spread
Respiratory infectious diseases can spread in different ways, including from:
- person to person (direct transmission)
- contact with contaminated surfaces or objects (indirect transmission)
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
Respiratory infectious diseases can spread through respiratory particles when a person who is infected releases them into the air. This can happen in many ways, including when someone:
- breathes
- talks
- coughs
- sneezes
- sings
- shouts
You may become infected with viruses or bacteria if:
- you breathe infectious particles in
- infectious particles come into contact with your eyes, nose or mouth
Spread through contaminated surfaces or objects
You can also become infected if you touch a contaminated surface or object (like a door handle), 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
- people living with lung disease
- 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
Depending on the disease, there may be other groups who are at greater risk of serious complications from respiratory infections.
Learn more about:
- Risks of getting RSV
- Flu: Who is most at risk
- People who are at risk of more severe disease or outcomes from COVID-19
- COVID-19 and Indigenous communities
Why getting vaccinated is important
Vaccination is one of the most important ways to protect you and your loved ones from becoming infected or 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
Some vaccines offer life-long protection, while others require annual vaccination or booster doses to continue providing protection throughout your life.
Vaccination schedules can vary, depending on which province or territory you live in. Talk to a health care provider or your local public health unit for more information about vaccines.
Learn more about:
- Get your flu shot
- Vaccines and immunization
- Vaccination scheduling tool
- COVID-19: Book a vaccination appointment
- Seasonal flu and the flu shot for Indigenous communities
What personal protective measures to use
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. This helps protect people who are at greater risk of severe complications from respiratory infections.
If you share spaces with others, even while at home, you can reduce the risk of spreading respiratory illnesses by combining different personal protective measures.
Staying home when sick is important, but you should still seek medical attention if you need it. Tell your health care provider about your symptoms ahead of time and wear a mask when you seek care if you're able to.
Learn more about:
- COVID-19: What to do if you or someone in your home is sick
- Respiratory infectious diseases: What to do if you become sick
Wear a well-fitting respirator or mask
Masks are an effective measure that help provide protection against respiratory infectious diseases.
Respirators and masks are most effective when:
- they fit well
- they're well constructed
- you wear them properly
They act as a barrier and can filter out respiratory particles. This can help limit the spread of disease by reducing the amount of infectious respiratory particles you breathe in. This helps protect you from getting infected or sick.
Masks also work by containing infectious respiratory particles you produce if you're sick, even if you don't have symptoms. This helps prevent you from spreading infection to others.
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 about:
- COVID-19 mask use: Advice for community settings
- COVID-19 mask use: Types of masks and respirators
- COVID-19 mask use: How to make your mask fit properly
- COVID-19 mask use: How to choose, use and care for a mask
- COVID-19: Wear a well-constructed, well-fitting and properly worn mask or respirator (video)
When to wear a mask
Wear a mask anytime to help protect yourself and others from getting and spreading infectious respiratory diseases. This contributes to a community effort to help keep everyone safe.
The following situations are times when it's especially important to wear a mask.
If you're sick
You should wear a mask if you need to be around other people and have even mild respiratory symptoms, like a cough or sore throat. When possible, you should also stay at home until you no longer have symptoms.
If you must enter a public setting, wear a mask to help protect those around you and your community from getting sick. We can all help contribute to routine masking in Canada.
Seasonally
In Canada, respiratory infectious diseases usually increase in fall and winter. Choosing to wear a mask in public indoor settings can reduce your risk of getting or spreading a respiratory illness in these months.
Your local public health unit may also recommend masking during certain seasons depending on the circulation of viruses in your community.
Setting and event characteristics
The risk of respiratory infectious disease transmission may depend on setting characteristics, such as:
- size
- layout
- ventilation
- how crowded it is
- the length of time spent in the setting
These factors may influence your decision to wear a mask.
Settings where the risk of transmission is increased include those that:
- are small
- are crowded
- have poor ventilation
- have people visiting for longer periods of time
The risk of transmission is even greater when a setting has many of these characteristics.
Events or activities that bring together a large number of people, including those who have travelled from different areas, may also increase the risk of transmission. This could include transportation settings like:
- trains
- buses
- subways
- airplanes
- airports or train stations
It also includes large indoor events like:
- concerts
- conferences
- indoor sporting events
There are certain settings where there's a higher risk of a respiratory infectious disease outbreak. For example, in group living settings, such as:
- shelters
- group homes
- retirement homes
- student residences
- correctional facilities
In many of these settings, people may also be at higher risk of serious complications from respiratory infections.
Personal risk factors
Some people are at greater risk of severe disease or serious complications from respiratory infectious diseases. This may include:
- older persons
- young children
- people who are pregnant
- people who are immunocompromised
- people who have other medical conditions
It may influence your decision to wear a mask in certain situations if:
- you spend a lot of time with others who are at greater risk
- you're at risk of more severe complications from a respiratory infection
Improve indoor ventilation
Good ventilation exchanges indoor air for outdoor air. This helps reduce the buildup of infectious respiratory particles in indoor air. Opening windows or doors regularly, even for a few minutes at a time, creates a cross-breeze and can improve 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. Ensuring this system has clean, well-maintained air filters can help reduce the levels of infectious respiratory particles indoors.
Bathroom and kitchen exhaust fans that vent outside can also help remove potentially contaminated air.
Air filtration can also help by removing infectious respiratory particles, smoke, dust and pollen from the air. An example of an air filtration system is a portable air purifier with a high efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter.
When possible, gather outdoors to help reduce the risk of transmission of respiratory infectious diseases. Fresh, clean outdoor air allows infectious particles to disperse and not build up. Outdoor settings also give people more space to spread out.
Although improving indoor ventilation of certain spaces isn't always in your control, there are other ways to improve ventilation in your setting. You can refer to the following resources or contact your ventilation system professional for advice.
Learn more about:
Infographics:
- Choosing a portable air purifier
- Maintain and improve indoor air quality
- Protecting your indoor air from outdoor pollutants
- 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
This helps reduce the spread of respiratory infectious diseases by removing or killing germs on your hands.
If your hands are visibly dirty, you should wash them with soap and water instead of using hand sanitizer.
Some examples of when you should clean your hands include:
- when visibly dirty
- after using the washroom
- after removing a used mask
- after shaking someone's hand
- before eating or handling food
- before touching your eyes, nose or mouth
- after coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose
- after touching frequently touched surfaces and objects
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unclean hands to prevent germs from entering your body.
Learn more about:
- Hand washing and staying healthy
- Wash your hands to reduce the spread of COVID-19 (video)
- Reduce the spread of COVID-19: 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.
- Cough or sneeze into a tissue or your elbow, not your hand.
- Throw any used tissues into a lined waste container as soon as possible.
- 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.
- Put used disposable cleaning items, such as cloths and wipes, in a lined waste container before throwing them out.
- Wash reusable cleaning items with soap (or detergent) and hot water after use.
- 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
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 outlines household chemical safety and how to properly handle, use and dilute bleach.
What to do if you become sick
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.
When you're sick, it's especially important to use personal protective measures to help reduce the risk of spreading illness to others.
Learn more about:
- COVID-19 treatments
- Using medications safely
- Acetaminophen and children
- Medication and children younger than 6 years of age
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