LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Your coworker at the next desk coughs. And—horror!—he doesn’t cover his mouth. You shoot him a judgmental glance and start going through the list of possibilities: Was that a COVID cough? Does he have a cold? The flu? Some mysterious airborne virus that’s going to kickstart the next global pandemic?

Most importantly, you wonder: Am I going to get sick?

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At Michigan News Source, we hope the answer is a resounding “no!” To help keep you healthy, here are some of the illnesses to watch out for at this time of year in Michigan, plus a few tips on what you can do to keep the bugs away.

Experts say these illnesses are going around:

Royal Oak Pediatrics—Nonspecific cough. It doesn’t quite feel like COVID, the flu, or a cold. It’s just a pesky cough that just doesn’t want to clear up on its own. This is often a sign of a viral respiratory infection. In severe cases, it could indicate asthma, pneumonia, or bronchiolitis (which is most common in young children and is also making the rounds).

Woodhaven Pediatrics—Pinkeye. Viral pinkeye, which comes with watery red eyes and cold-like symptoms, usually resolves on its own. But bacterial pinkeye, which can glue eyes shut with yellow or greenish discharge, often requires antibiotic eyedrops to knock out the bug.

Mali and Mali Pediatrics—Allergies. Most people associate itchy noses and watery eyes with spring or fall when everything is in bloom, but fall and winter can bring their own challenges with dust mites, mold spores, animal dander, and other indoor nasties. Allergies usually require a few years of exposure before symptoms begin, so if you’re relatively new to the area and have just started experiencing allergy symptoms, it might be worth getting allergy tested.

Pro tip: Allergies generally respond to antihistamines, such as Claritin or Allegra, while colds don’t. That’s one way to tell the difference. Allergies also don’t cause the aches and sore throats associated with colds.

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Michigan Disease Surveillance System—Gastrointestinal illness. Yeah, this is a fun one. We’ve all been there! GI illnesses can be bacterial or viral and can be passed by direct contact with contaminated individuals or transmitted in food. Typically, foodborne illnesses come on faster than stomach viruses and don’t last as long.

What’s not going around much, according to the CDC—COVID and the flu. With the exceptions of Sanilac and St. Clair Counties, hospital admissions for COVID in Michigan are all “in the green,” with fewer than 10 cases per 100,000 people over a seven-day period. Positive tests are also down slightly this week.

Michigan flu cases have also stayed low so far this year. Peak flu season begins in December, so make sure you know the difference between colds and flu: Colds generally come without a fever, while the flu gets you to those triple-digits.

Here’s how you can stay healthy:

1. Eat lots of leafy greens and ditch the sugar. Health starts from the inside out. One study on mice found that eating cruciferous vegetables boosted specific cells required for immune system function. Another found that immune function was suppressed for several hours after participants drank two cans of soda.
2. Get some sleep. Another study found that participants who slept at least eight hours per night had greater viral resistance than their counterparts who slept seven hours or fewer. Exercise during the day (but not too close to bedtime) can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer. It also has the double benefit of directly boosting your immune system.
3. Drink green tea. Your immune system won’t be the only thing that benefits from this tasty drink. Studies show green tea may also improve cognitive function, lower the risk of some cancers, and help with weight loss.
4. Wash your hands like you mean it. 20 seconds. Two happy-birthdays. You’ve heard all the old tricks. Whenever you’re thinking about skipping out on the hand washing, remember: Your hands carry on average 3200 different germs, according to Pfizer.

 Watch out for these common health myths:

1. Zinc won’t actually keep you from getting a cold, according to some studies. There’s good and bad news: Zinc can help stave off a cold according to some literature, but that’s not necessarily true according to other studies. It also comes with unpleasant side effects including upset stomach and mouth irritation. To quote Mayo Clinic: “Zinc can’t be recommended to shorten your cold symptoms.”
2. Sorry, Vitamin C lovers—the literature is conflicted here too. The good news is that vitamin C may shorten the amount of time you’re sick, but only if you get started before you have symptoms. Dr. Bruce Bistrian, chief of clinical nutrition at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, says: “The data show that vitamin C is only marginally beneficial when it comes to the common cold.”