By Michele Bender
From Health magazine
From Health magazine
If you’re tossing warm, damp gear in your gym bag after working out, you could be giving millions of germs a free ride home with you. “It’s the perfect environment for bacteria to thrive,” says Kelly A. Reynolds, PhD, a microbiologist and associate professor of public health at the University of Arizona. The results could sideline you with everything from colds and flu to a nasty staph infection. Don’t throw in the towel, though. Here’s how to sanitize the worst gym-bag-germ offenders. Read More
We call them the dirty dozen. It’s our laundry list of the germiest places you’re likely to encounter during an average day. Sure, there are outbreaks of microbes and viruses across the country, but these buggers are where you live. In the office, at home, at the gym, on your vacation. “It’s enough to make even the least germophobic person a little worried,” says Dr. Germ, a.k.a. Charles Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. After all, some of these germs lurk where you least expect them, he says: “People are more worried about the trash can than the kitchen sink, when it should be the other way around.” 
Back to school, back to cooler nights, back to a sneeze-free life? Think again. Ragweed, late summer’s big offender, lingers well into fall. Plus, your house may be harboring a gang of other allergens—dust mites lurking in bedding and carpet, mold thriving on late-season humidity, beloved pets full of dander, not to mention cockroaches and mice ready to come in from the soon-to-be cold. Sounds like it’s a good time to fortify your germ defenses with these fall-cleaning tips from our allergy experts. 
Are you avoiding your co-worker with that hacking cough in the cubicle next to you? Do you draw your hand back from every doorknob? Have cold-and-flu phobia? Get a grip before the grippe gets you. We’ve consulted dozens of medical experts to bring you 14 ways to avoid colds and flu this season. 
