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How Long Are You Contagious After You've Been Sick?
Do you know how long you're contagious for after you've been sick? Or more importantly . . . how long you should avoid your friends and family after THEY'VE been sick? Here's what doctors have to say about it . .
In general, it's not safe to be around someone until at least 5 to 7 days after their symptoms started. That's when they're the most contagious. But even then, you're not totally in the clear.
Sometimes you can still be contagious TWO WEEKS after your symptoms start. And just because you feel better doesn't mean you ARE better.
Unfortunately, most of us can't just cut ourselves off from society for that long. Especially around the holidays.
That's why you need to wash your hands as much as possible. And if you ARE sick, try to cough into your elbow instead of your hands.
And here's an important point for when you do get sick. Don't immediately start blaming the LAST sick person you happened to be around.
When you're exposed to a virus, it usually takes 2 to 3 days to develop symptoms. So if you're around a bunch of sick family members on Christmas and start sniffling the NEXT DAY, it's probably not their fault.