Having a chronic cough that seems to linger around is no laughing matter. It can be indicative of infections, smoking complications, nasal blockages and a few other dozen things.

Are you ignoring that cough that is not always expressing itself, but then never seems to go away as well? If so, you need to find out the root cause of that cough and see what you can do about it. Your body is trying to tell you something, you know.

Although coughing generally is the body's way of expelling material from the body (usually mucus), but coughing at night (consistently) may mean there is a lingering problem, such as a viral upper respiratory tract infections, asthma, nasal and sinus disease, stomach and esophageal problems, an inhaled foreign body or my favorite -- environmental irritants. Think your home is clean? Think again.

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You may think a 'How To' article on sneezing and coughing is a bit elementary, but then you'd be surprised at how many kids (and adults!) fail to take precautions when the cold season is in full swing. After all, it's that time of year when a simple office interaction or playground high-five can spread the funk.

The flu and cold can be given from one person to another simply by not covering your mouth when sneezing. Those pathogen-packed sneeze droplets come shooting out of the mouth at 100 MPH or more. That's 40,000 to 60,000 fluid droplets! It's our responsibility to cover our own mouths when the urge arises.

Speaking of covering mouths, use a tissue. But if you don't have one available, the crook of your elbow works great too. Otherwise, if you blow all that gunk on your hands and extend it to shake someone else's, they could end up sick just as easily! Of course, a sure-fire way to stay as clean as possible is to use a travel version of antibacterial hand sanitizer (like Purell). It doesn't take a lot of effort to ward off the sick season!

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Winter is known as cold season - and it's not just because the temperatures are dropping. Your chances of catching a cold this season are high -- but according to Everyday Health, you can reduce your chances of picking up one if you follow these steps:

• Avoid touching your face with your hands. Cold viruses can easily enter your body through the eyes and nose.
  
• Speaking of hands, wash them. Frequently.
  
• Avoid people who are sick, is possible.
  
• Keep your surroundings clean. Cold viruses can live for up to three hours on the phone reciever or stair railing, so make sure you are wiping those down with disinfectant if a sick person has used them.
• Take your echinacea at the first sign of sickness.
  
• Get your vitamin C too -- try drinking orange juice every day, for instance.
  

And if you're the one with the cold? Be polite -- cover your mouth when you sneeze and wash your hands often to prevent spreading the virus.

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Do you find yourself coughing every day, throughout the day? How about for weeks at a time? that kind of cough may be "chronic", or consistent and long-lasting. Instead of making excuses on its causes, have you researched what may be causing it?

Sometimes there is very little you can do about coughing in chronic fashion. As a possible side effect of medications, it's kind of hard to stop taking those just because of a cough. What about coughing due to excessive smoking? That's a lifestyle choice, of course.

If you'd like to see some specific sources of chronic coughing, there is a good list here. Do you see any conditions that affect you which may be contributing to your chronic cough? Are these conditions preventable.

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While buffets are tempting because of the low cost bargains and all you can eat amounts, ordering food from a menu can be much safer to eat. Other common sense rules to follow when going into a restaurant is to look at the overall cleanliness of the establishment and the hygiene of the people working there and that should give you a clue that foods are being handled properly and things are safe to eat. If you are in a state where health inspection grades have to be publicly displayed, be sure to check out their last inspection grade. A low score means it might not be that safe to eat there.

Unlike menu ordered food being prepared per order and coming out hot and fresh, buffets have foods resting in steam tables, ice baths, or salad bars. If improperly tended, these buffet stations can allow disease causing bacteria and viruses to flourish. Customers can come into contact with food on buffets including unattended children that might be tempted to poke a finger into the cake. And not to put down children, I have witnessed many an adult picking up food with their fingers instead of tongs or sneezing and coughing over the food. Pay attention to the warning signs that food is being neglected if you see dried out chicken or browned wilted salad. Another key thing to think about is if you are trying to diet and lose weight it is easier to stay on plan if you order from a menu. If you eat from a buffet, you will tend to over eat and break away from your diet plan.

Signs posted up on doctors walls, television coverage, health news broadcasts, and even commercials all emphasizing the new proper procedure on how to cough in public. We are now supposed to cough into our sleeve or a napkin, tissue, hanky, or something cloth to catch the germs. Coughing on the hands or just straight out in to the air can transfer germs for up to eight hours as they float about waiting to land on something or you spread them around with your hands on everything you touch.

With all of this coverage, I still witness lots of people coughing unprotected into the air or on their hands. So what will change the habits of millions of people daily? I think it begins at home with mothers teaching the proper way to cough while impressionable minds still can grasp the new concept. I also think the school systems should jump on board emphasizing the proper way to cough and protect others from spreading germs. But for us old farts out here, well...., that lesson may be harder to teach. We just need to get a better prospective on how our carelessness can affect a lot of people and build a conscious. Nothing like getting coughed on a hundred times in a doctors office by people ignoring posters plastered all around the office on the proper way to cough to realize this.

I have had friends over the years make fun of me lovingly when I raise the neck of my shirt and cough down inside my shirt saying I look so funny doing that. I felt it was the best way on a spur of the moment kind of thing when the coughing urge hits, to keep my germs from flying about. Who is laughing now?