Family Infection Briefing

A short briefing for everyone in the household who is not the medical adult in charge. The goal is simple: help you keep one sick person from making the whole house sick, and help you know when to get help.

This briefing is a household summary. The detailed Survipedia pages for the adult in charge are linked at the end.

Educational use only

This briefing is for emergencies when professional medical care is hard to reach. It is not a substitute for a doctor. If you can get medical help, get it.

Page 1 — What germs are

"Germs" is a casual word for the tiny living things that can make us sick. There are four main kinds, and the kind matters because each one is killed by a different medicine.

Bacteria. Single living cells. They cause things like strep throat, urinary infections, wound infections, and most pneumonia in older people. Antibiotics are the medicines that work on bacteria.

Viruses. Not really alive. They use your own cells to make copies of themselves. Most colds, most flu, most stomach bugs, and most sore throats are viruses. Antibiotics do not work on viruses. Your immune system does the work, and rest and fluids help.

Fungi. Things like athlete's foot, ringworm, and diaper rash yeast. They grow in warm, damp places on the skin. They are treated with creams, not antibiotics.

Parasites. Bigger living things like worms in the gut, head lice, and the tiny mites that cause scabies. They are treated with specific parasite medicines.

Why we do not ask for antibiotics for a cold

Antibiotics do not kill viruses. They do nothing to a cold. They can also make you sicker by killing the good bacteria in your gut, which can give you bad diarrhea. And every time anyone takes an antibiotic they do not need, it teaches the bacteria in the world how to survive that antibiotic. The next person who really needs it may find that it no longer works.

The rule for the household is: antibiotics are decided by the adult in charge, for a real reason, at the right dose, for the full number of days. No leftover pills, no sharing, no "just in case."

Where germs come from

Germs come from a small number of places: dirty water, hands that did not get washed, coughs and sneezes from a sick person, dirty wounds, ticks and mosquitoes, and food that was not cooked or stored properly. Almost every infection in a household traces back to one of these. If you close those doors, most germs never get in.

Page 2 — The five things to always do

These five rules cover almost everything. If the household does these every day, most outbreaks never start.

1. Wash your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds

Wet your hands, soap them up, and scrub every surface — backs, between fingers, under nails — while you count slowly to twenty. Then rinse and dry on a clean towel. Do this after the toilet, before you cook, before you eat, after you care for someone sick, and after you cough or sneeze into your hand.

Hand sanitizer (the squeeze gel with alcohol in it) is a fine backup when there is no sink. It does not work well on stomach bugs, on hands that are visibly dirty, or against a germ called C. diff that some sick people carry. Soap and water beats sanitizer. Use sanitizer when you have to; use soap and water when you can.

2. Cover your cough

Cough or sneeze into the inside of your elbow, not into your hand. If you cough into your hand, you put the germs right onto the next doorknob you touch. If you are in the same room as someone sick and you have a mask, wear it. If the sick person is the one wearing a mask, that is even better — it keeps their germs from spreading at all.

3. Keep wounds clean

Any cut, scrape, or burn is a door for germs. As soon as you can, wash the wound with clean water and soap. Cover it with a clean bandage. Then check it every day. If the area around it turns red and the red is getting bigger, or if pus comes out, or if it smells bad, or if it hurts more today than yesterday — tell the adult. A small wound caught early is easy. A wound infection that has spread is dangerous.

4. Do not share towels, cups, or razors

Especially when someone is sick. Each person gets their own toothbrush, their own cup, their own washcloth, their own towel. Razors and nail clippers are never shared because they can carry blood-borne germs. This is one of the cheapest rules in the house and one of the most effective.

5. Cook meat and eggs all the way through; drink water you trust

Bacteria in raw meat and raw eggs die when food is cooked to the right temperature. Pink chicken, pink ground beef, and runny eggs from an unknown source can cause real food poisoning. Water from a tap that has been tested is fine. Water from a stream, a rain barrel, or a well after a flood has to be boiled, filtered, or treated with bleach or a purification tablet before drinking. If you are not sure, ask the adult before you drink it.

Page 3 — When something is wrong

These are the most common things you will see. For each one: what it probably is, what to do first, and what should make you wake the adult in charge.

Card 1 — Vomiting and diarrhea

What you see: Throwing up. Runny or watery stools. Stomach cramps. Feeling weak and tired.

What it probably is: A stomach virus. Very common. Usually gets better in 1 to 3 days on its own.

What to do first:

  • Small sips of an oral rehydration drink, or salted water, every minute or two. Big gulps come right back up.
  • Stay near a toilet or a bucket.
  • Stay in your own room. Use your own cup and towel.

Wake the adult if:

  • There is blood in the vomit or the stool.
  • The person cannot keep any liquid down for 8 hours.
  • They become very sleepy, hard to wake, or confused.
  • A baby under 6 months is sick.
  • A pregnant person is sick.

Card 2 — Cough and fever

What you see: Coughing. A fever (the body feels hot). Body aches. Runny nose. Tired all the time.

What it probably is: A cold or the flu. A virus. Usually gets better in 5 to 10 days.

What to do first:

  • Rest in bed. Drink water and warm liquids.
  • Stay in the sick room. Wear a mask if you have to come out for the bathroom.
  • Use a tissue once, then throw it away.

Wake the adult if:

  • Trouble breathing, or breathing very fast (more than 24 breaths a minute in an adult).
  • Lips or fingertips look bluish or grey.
  • The person is very confused or hard to wake.
  • Fever over 103°F (39.4°C) that medicine does not bring down.
  • Chest pain, or coughing up blood.
  • The person seemed to be getting better and then suddenly got worse again — this is dangerous.

Card 3 — A wound that looks bad

What you see: Redness around the wound that is spreading. Pus. A bad smell. The skin is hot to the touch. The pain is worse today than yesterday. Maybe a fever.

What it probably is: A wound infection. It can become serious quickly.

What to do first:

  • Stop. Do not touch the wound with dirty hands.
  • Wash your hands, take the bandage off, and look at it.
  • Take a pen and draw a line around the edge of the red area. Write the time next to the line. If the red passes that line in a few hours, the infection is spreading fast.

Wake the adult if:

  • Any of the signs above are present, especially spreading redness.
  • There are red streaks running up the arm or leg from the wound.
  • There is a fever.
  • The person is confused, very tired, or feels suddenly worse.

Card 4 — Burning when you pee

What you see: It burns when you pee. You feel like you have to go all the time, but only a little comes out. An ache low in the belly. Cloudy or smelly urine.

What it probably is: A bladder infection (a UTI). Common in women and girls. Treatable with the right antibiotic.

What to do first:

  • Drink water.
  • Tell the adult right away — they can start the right medicine. Do not wait days "to see if it goes away." Bladder infections that are ignored can become kidney infections, which are much worse.

Wake the adult if:

  • There is pain in the lower back or in the side, below the ribs.
  • There is fever, chills, throwing up, or feeling very tired.
  • This is in a baby, a pregnant person, or an elder.

These signs mean the infection may have reached the kidneys and become serious.

Card 5 — A weird rash

What you see: A new patch of red or bumpy skin that was not there before.

What to look for:

  • Does it look like a ring with the middle clearing? Probably a fungus (ringworm). Keep it clean and dry.
  • Is it spreading fast, or is the person feverish? Could be more serious.
  • Did the person have a tick bite in the last few weeks, and now there is a spreading red bullseye? Could be Lyme disease.
  • Press the side of a clear drinking glass firmly on the rash. If the rash fades under the glass, it is usually less serious. If the rash does not fade (it stays bright red or purple through the glass), that is an emergency.

What to do first: Keep the area clean and dry. Do not scratch. Do not share towels or bedding.

Wake the adult if:

  • Any rash with a fever.
  • A rash that does NOT fade under the glass.
  • A spreading red bullseye after a tick bite.
  • A rash with swelling of the face, lips, or tongue, or trouble breathing — this is an allergic reaction emergency.

Card 6 — A baby with fever

What you see: A baby feels hot, or you measure a temperature of 100.4°F (38°C) or higher.

A fever in a baby under 3 months old is ALWAYS an emergency.

What to do:

  • WAKE THE ADULT IMMEDIATELY. Do not wait to see if it gets better. Do not give medicine first.
  • For older babies (3 to 12 months) with fever, also wake the adult — but the under-3-month rule is the firmest.

Babies do not show illness the way older people do. A fever in a young baby can mean a serious infection that needs treatment within hours.

Page 4 — When to wake the adult

These are the warning signs where minutes matter. If you see any of these, wake the adult in charge now, even if it is the middle of the night. It is always better to wake them for nothing than to wait too long.

Wake the adult immediately for any of these

  • Trouble breathing. Breathing very fast, or lips and fingertips turning blue or grey.
  • Cannot keep liquids down for 8 hours.
  • Blood in vomit, in stool, in urine, or coughed up from the lungs.
  • Stiff neck plus headache plus drowsy or confused. This combination can mean meningitis.
  • A rash that does NOT fade when you press a glass on it. This is the glass test.
  • Sudden confusion, severe drowsiness, hard to wake up.
  • A baby under 3 months old with any fever (100.4°F / 38°C or higher).
  • Fever over 103°F (39.4°C) in anyone, especially if it will not come down.
  • A wound with spreading redness, red streaks, fever, or sudden worse pain.
  • Severe pain that will not stop.
  • A seizure (uncontrolled shaking, eyes rolling back, not responding).
  • Severe allergic reaction — face or throat swelling, trouble breathing, hives spreading fast.
  • Chest pain.
  • Cannot pee, or has not peed in 12 hours (8 hours for a child).
  • Anything that feels wrong, even if you cannot name it.

That last one matters. If your gut tells you something is off, trust it. Get the adult.

Page 5 — Isolation rules at home

When one person in the house is sick with something contagious, the goal is simple: keep the germs in one room. This is the single most important thing you can do to keep the rest of the household healthy.

One sick person, one room, door closed. Pick a room with a door. Set it up as the sick room. The sick person stays there.

The sick person wears the mask. When you go in to help them, they put on the mask — not you (though wearing one is fine too). The germs come from them; the mask is most effective on the source.

One caregiver, not a rotation. Pick one healthy adult to go in and out. Do not have everyone in the family taking turns — each visit is another chance for the germs to spread. The caregiver is the bridge between the sick room and the rest of the house, and there should be exactly one bridge.

Caregiver protection. Before going in: wash hands. Wear a mask. Wear gloves if you have them. After coming out: take off gloves, wash hands again. Do not touch your face. Do not eat anything until you have washed.

Dedicated supplies. The sick person gets their own cup, plate, fork, spoon, towel, washcloth, and toothbrush. These stay in the sick room. They are not shared, not even after washing, while the person is sick.

Bathroom plan. If the sick person can use a small bucket or basin in their room for vomit or urine, that is safest. If they must walk to a bathroom, that bathroom is theirs alone and everyone else uses a different one. Clean the toilet and the sink after each use with a bleach solution: 1 part household bleach mixed with 10 parts water (about 1 cup of bleach in 1 gallon / 3.8 liters of water). Let it sit on the surface for at least 5 minutes before wiping.

Laundry hot. Wash the sick person's bedding, towels, and clothes on the hottest setting your washer has. If you have no washer, soak them in hot soapy water and air-dry in the sun.

Trash sealed. Used tissues, masks, and gloves go straight into a bag inside the sick room. Tie the bag closed before it leaves the room.

Air it out. Open windows in the rest of the house. A box fan in the sick-room window, blowing air OUT of the room, helps pull germs outside instead of into the rest of the house.

When the person is better. Wait 24 to 48 hours after the fever has stopped (without fever medicine) before ending the isolation. Then wash all bedding hot, wipe down surfaces with the bleach solution, and let the room air out for a day with the window open.

Page 6 — What is in the kit and where

A medical kit you cannot find in an emergency is useless. Fill in the location of each item in your house, then keep this page in a place everyone can find — taped inside a kitchen cabinet, on the back of a bedroom door, or in the front of a binder.

Have one adult walk every household member through this list once a year. The point is not to memorize it — the point is to know where to look.

Household medical kit — fill in your locations

  • Thermometer — location: _________
  • Pulse oximeter (the finger one that measures oxygen) — location: _________
  • Acetaminophen (Tylenol) — location: _________
  • Ibuprofen (Advil) — do NOT give to a pregnant person at or after 20 weeks — location: _________
  • Children's acetaminophen (liquid) — location: _________
  • Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) packets, or sugar and salt for the recipe — location: _________
  • Antibiotics (only used by the adult in charge, never on your own) — location: _________
  • Wound supplies — gauze, tape, bandages, antibiotic ointment, irrigation syringe — location: _________
  • Topical antifungal cream (for athlete's foot, ringworm) — location: _________
  • Permethrin 5% cream (for scabies) — location: _________
  • Lice combs and lice treatment — location: _________
  • Soap, household bleach, gloves, masks — location: _________

Phone numbers — fill in and post:

  • Nearest hospital: _________
  • Urgent care: _________
  • Family doctor: _________
  • Poison Control: 1-800-222-1222
  • Family emergency contact (out of area): _________
  • Neighbor with medical training: _________

When in doubt, tell the adult in charge. It is always better to tell them a small problem twice than to miss a big one.

For the adult in charge — full reference pages

This briefing is the short version, written so anyone in the household can use it. For the adult in charge, every section above has a full Survipedia reference page with clinical detail, drug doses, and decision protocols:

Sources used

This briefing distills clinical guidance from Tier 1 sources cited in the underlying Survipedia pages. Key sources include: CDC (handwashing, isolation, foodborne illness, bleach concentrations, parasites, scabies, lice), WHO (oral rehydration, pulse oximetry thresholds, pediatric respiratory rates, antimicrobial resistance), American Academy of Pediatrics (fever thresholds in infants, pediatric dosing), American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (NSAIDs in pregnancy), IDSA (antibiotic stewardship and empiric dosing), and the FDA (NSAID pregnancy warning, drug labels). Full inline citations are on the linked reference pages.