There are many “rules” you can follow but today we present three simple, basic ones: The Three-Foot Rule, The 15-Second Friction and The 10 Percent Solution.

Such “rules” are refined and changed, sometimes disputed, but they can’t hurt you if you follow the directions, and there’s a good chance they will help you against the Big Baddie Germs prevalent during the winter months.

Tip 1: Three-Foot rule

This little-known rule has received new attention with worries over a worldwide flu pandemic. During the 1918 “Spanish Flu” pandemic that left few places in the United States untouched, it was called the 4-Foot Rule.

Public-service announcements in 1918 told people if they were going to talk with others, they needed to stand at least four feet apart to keep from catching and spreading the flu.

Even back then health officials realized the airborne germ droplets were culprits because coughing and sneezing can transmit colds, flu and other winter viruses. If you are standing far enough away from the sick person, you will not inhale the infected droplets or they will not settle on your skin for you to later transmit to yourself by inadvertently rubbing your eyes, nose or mouth.

Fast-forward 88 years from the pandemic; the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests standing at least three feet from a person with a cold or flu, or anyone suspected of such.

Tip 2: 10 Percent Solution

We all want a solution to rid our lives of illness-spreading germs. Even those of us who are not obsessive about battling germs realize there is a time when they must be banished. Enter The 10 Percent Solution.

Let’s say you’ve had a party. Several guests showed up with bad colds, and you worry a simple washing won’t properly clean the glasses, plates and cutlery.

Soaking the item in a solution of 10 percent chlorine bleach (translated as one part bleach to nine parts water) for at least 20 minutes is an old research-laboratory standby we can use in our homes. Wear gloves – bleach should not be absorbed through the skin – and rewash the items after their soaking bath.

This is a good one to pass on to hunters and fishermen after they clean their game and need to disinfect their knives and other implements.

Warning: This solution uses bleach, so if you accidentally splash it on cloth, you’ll get those telltale bleach marks. Most items soaked in the 10 percent solution will not discolor, but take cautions.

Beware: germs can be everywhere. Also, for the sake of others, don’t be careless with “sharing” your germs.

Tip 3: The 15-Second Friction

This rule does not mean to pick a fight with someone.

The 15-Second Friction is the best known of the three tips and the one most touted by public health officials. Even first-graders are taught its importance.

The “Friction” is the rubbing together of your hands, not just the water and the soap, that gives a good whack to the germs you’ve picked up on door knobs, telephones, countertops and other surfaces shared with others.

This rule simply says wash your hands, often and correctly. The Mississippi Department of Health, for example, advises that before handling food, setting the table, eating, treating a wound, tending to someone sick or installing contact lenses you should wash your hands.

You should also wash after you use the bathroom, cough or sneeze, prepare food, change diapers, play with pets, touch cuts or burns, handle dirty dishes and utensils, eat or be around someone who is sick or who appears on the verge of it.

A proper hand-washing takes about 20 seconds, and at least 15 seconds of that should be rubbing your hands together. That’s the friction. Water by itself is not enough to get rid of all germs because your skin naturally produces oil that germs can stick to. Soap breaks down that oil and makes it harder for germs to remain on your hands.

The friction then removes those germs.

If you meet the above wash-your-hands-now criteria but can’t get to soap and water, carry an alcohol-based gel in your handbag or pocket to use.