The throes of winter are upon us, and as usual I am in defensive mode, trying to dodge the many cold and flu viruses I encounter on a daily basis.

I fight the good fight, and knock on wood, I have been averaging a cold every 2.6 years these days.

How do I do it? Well, there's luck involved, surely. But I do my best to keep the crud from creeping onto my turf.

And it's not easy. Seems like my teenage daughter is a carrier for all things yucky more often than not. When she was younger, she'd get clingy when she was on the verge of not feeling good (read: about to get the full-blown under-the-weathers). She'd rest her head on my shoulder when we were at a restaurant, or plop down next to me on the couch.

After a few episodes of such turned me into a walking, talking mucus monster, I wised up and gave her the Heisman pose whenever she'd get too near. "Sorry, girlie - I love you, but go breathe on somebody else!"

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If it was just the average crud she was handing off to me, I probably wouldn't have been so standoff-ish. But the stuff she brought into the house (starting in grade school) was more potent than Yukon Jack. I always tell people, I never really had a cold until I caught some of the stuff that she brought home for me.

My head felt like it weighed more than Jared (pre-Subway). My nose ran more than Bill Buley with a new pair of running shoes. My body aches would linger for days. Miserable, just-shoot-me-now stuff.

So about that time I started taking a daily multivitamin. I also tried to keep my hands clean as much as I could. I began opening the fridge, doors and kitchen drawers by gripping in an area that I knew my daughter wouldn't have touched. I washed the television remote daily as well.

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I think the first three years I took a multivitamin, I was cold free. Coincidence? Maybe, but hey, I don't want to try it the other way just for comparison.

I do my best to get all the sleep I can. Most nights that is only seven hours, but that seems to be enough for me. I know people that function great with five or six. Some just have to have eight. You'll know when you've gotten enough.

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So think healthy in the coming year - if you won't do it for you, do it for me. If all of you will take care of yourselves, that's a whole lot less germs I gotta dodge in my quest for another yuck-free year.

Now, go forth - and wash your hands!

A bottle of hand sanitizer his constant companion this time of year, Jerry Hitchcock is a copy editor for The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2017, or via email at jhitchcock@cdapress.com.