A Better Way To Clean

Going “ewww!” actually is a protective reflex. When you feel this reaction coming on there is probably a good reason for it and you should respond accordingly. If you pay attention to your environment, the people around you, your own behavior, and your ewww reflex, you should be able to avoid high risk situations that just might get you sick.

Here is my top 10 list of the situations where attention to personal hygiene can pay off big, especially during cold and flu season.

1. Children’s birthday parties and indoor recreational facilities. It’s hard for a parent to keep a child home from a highly anticipated party if all they have is a runny nose or a mild cough but no fever. In fact, there is no reliable way to be certain if a sick child is still contagious. Best to assume that at any birthday party with lots of children and hands-on activities during the cold and flu season you need to be vigilant about hand washing.
2. Fast food restaurants. These are high traffic spots and busy staff have little time to clean the tables, door handles, counters, and bathrooms Without even going into the nutritional issues, there are so many risk factors here that if you must eat fast food during the cold and flu season, get it to go.
3. Restaurant bathrooms. When you go out to eat, head for the bathroom to wash your hands first. If it is dirty, there is no soap or paper towels and you get that ewww reflex, turn around and find a cleaner place to eat. There is no getting around this; the cook and your waiter use the same bathroom.
4. Petting zoos are great fun, and if you are a parent you will feel like the bad guy saying no to cute animals. So instead of being an ogre, use these outings as an opportunity to teach basic hygiene in a setting where most kids understand that it makes sense.
5. The pediatrician’s waiting room. Most children in the office during the height of flu season are there because they are sick. Every surface in the waiting room is constantly exposed to coughs, sneezes, runny noses, and other potential contaminants. If your child is ill and needs to be seen, by all means take them in, just be careful to wash and use a hand sanitizer liberally during your visit and as soon as you leave. And if the well visit can wait, that’s not a bad idea.
6. The Escalator Handrail. We all know that many people touch these handrails all day long but what you may not know is that the rollers and pulleys that guide the rail manage to quite effectively spread contamination. That’s why various studies have found these handrails contaminated with all forms of bacteria. Stop to wash your hands before heading to the food court.
7. Taxi cabs in busy cities during the cold and flu season. Many passengers but many fewer cleanings.
8. Pens and stylus’ used to sign credit cards, especially in food stores where poultry is sold. That stylus or pen is handled by dozens of people every day and infrequently cleaned. If someone had handled a package of chicken, it is doubtful that they washed before they checked out.
9. Telephone handsets. Whenever we talk we create a microscopic mist that lands on the microphone and you then hold up to your face. ewwww
10. Porta Potties – need I say more?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 9th, 2007 at 9:28 am and is filed under Out and About. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.