Tag Archives: “bugs”

First Aid Safety, General Safety Issues, Hand Protection, Health Issues

LET’S “CLEAN UP” OUR ACT!

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There are “good germs” and “bad germs,” and many of those little critters can make us sick.  Our homes and offices all have bacteria, so let’s talk a little bit about how to clean up some of the stuff that harbors them.  One of the germiest items in your home is the remote control.  You should use a disinfectant swipe on it at least every two days, or if someone in your house is sick, every day.  Wait to do your channel surfing after you have prepared dinner because during food prep, you can transfer microbes like E.coli or salmonella to your clicker. 

We women love purses, so much so that they go everywhere we go.  That purse can pick up staph, salmonella, and even E.coli.  Don’t keep loose cash in your bag.  Paper money is the dirtiest thing there is.  Experts say that the flu virus can live on paper money for seventeen days.  Clean the inside of your purse with a vacuum crevice attachment, or a long bristled suede brush and dump crumbs into the trash.  Another good idea is to hang your purse up rather than placing it on restaurant or bathroom floors, where germs are just waiting to catch a ride.

Here is a list of some of the germiest places in our lives: 

  1. Phones.  Cell phones carry 500 times more bacteria than a toilet seat, according to Kelly Reynolds, PhD., an environmental microbiologist at the University of Arizona.  Many disease-causing microbes can survive for weeks on your rarely cleaned office or cell phone.  Swipe with a disinfecting wipe daily.
  2. Soap dispensers.  Ironically, this germ-fighting tool is a hot spot for E.coli and other bacteria.  Lathering your hands with soap and singing one round of “Happy Birthday” while washing them, will give you time to get rid of all the bugs.
  3. Keyboard and mouse.  A co-worker’s germs can linger on your computer.  Rhinovirus, (cause of the common cold), can survive from hours to days on surfaces like keyboards.  Even if you are the only one who uses your computer, wipe these down weekly with a disinfectant.
  4. Lobby elevator buttons.  These little knobs are loaded with everyone’s germs.  Let someone else press the button, or use your knuckle, and apply hand sanitizer.
  5. Shopping cart handles.  Up to 8 in 10 may have E.coli, so use the hand sanitizer the store offers for free, or keep some in your car or purse to use after shopping.  (I keep a bottle in the side pocket of my car door). 

Here are some ingredients that you probably have in your pantry that are good for cleaning: 

  • Rubbing alcohol.  Dilute with one-half water to wipe down remotes and remove fingerprints on appliances, including stainless.
  • Lemon juice.  Mix with cream of tartar to make a paste, then scrub into rust stains on bathtubs – leave it on for a few hours until the stain disappears.
  • Fresh lemon. Cut one in half, sprinkle with salt, and use it to clean cutting boards and bring shine back to copper pots and pans.
  • White vinegar.  This rivals the disinfecting power of bleach.  Mix equal parts vinegar and water to clean mirrors.  Dip a cloth in the mixture, wipe, and buff dry.
  • Baking soda.  Use to remove marks from hard surfaces and deodorize your fridge.  Make it into a paste with hydrogen peroxide (1/3 c. soda to 2/3 c. peroxide) to remove underarm stains from white clothing.

There are many earth-friendly cleaning products that will kill almost 100 per cent of germs for house or office cleaning.  Remember, practicing good hand hygiene is very important for the prevention of disease.  Teach your children to get into the habit of washing their hands often. 

Source: Health.com

General Safety Issues, Health Issues

IT’S ALMOST TIME FOR COLD AND FLU SEASON, AGAIN!

The first global pandemic that had occurred in 40 years hit worldwide last year!  A nasty virus called “H1N1 Influenza” spread throughout the globe.  Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses.  It can be mild or severe, and can cause death in older persons, youngsters, and those who have certain underlying health conditions.  The H1N1 virus did not seem to affect older citizens as much as young adults, some of them in good health. 

Signs of influenza are body aches, chills, dry cough, fever, headache, and stuffy nose.  “Stomach flu” is not influenza.  There are certain antiviral medications that your healthcare provider may wish to prescribe for you.  Prevention is the key: annual flu vaccine.  Scientists make up a different vaccine each year because strains of influenza vary from year to year.  Experts are predicting we will see more of the H1N1 bug, as well as other viruses.  The 2010-2011 flu vaccine will protect against the 2009 H1N1 strain and two other influenza viruses.  If you take the shot, and still get the flu, the severity of it should be reduced. 

Symptoms of the common cold, which strikes more than one billion victims per year in the United States, are scratchy throat, runny nose, and sneezing.  Bed rest, fluids, gargling with warm salt water, using lozenges and throat sprays are common treatments for colds.  Colds are usually milder than flu and most often do not result in serious health problems.  Some over-the- counter medications might help.  Antibiotics will not kill viruses or prevent bacterial infections.  The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children not be given aspirin when they have a viral illness such as a cold.  Contact your pediatrician for best advice. 

When it comes to the common cold or influenza, here are some ways to help you  prevent and/or cope with either one of them: 

  • Avoid touching shared telephones, computers, stairway rails, doorknobs, money, and after doing so, wash hands properly!
  • Use alcohol-based disinfecting products for your hands.
  • Wash hands frequently, and teach your children to do so as well.
  • Try not to get too close to someone who is sneezing, coughing.
  • Stay away from others if you are sneezing or coughing.
  • If you have to sneeze or cough, sneeze or cough into your elbow, not hands.
  • While you are ill, stay home, DO NOT PASS GO, and get plenty of rest and drink lots of fluids.  Don’t take your germs to work or school, get well first!

Other respiratory viruses that curculate during flu season are non-flu viruses that include rhinovirus – one source of the common cold, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which is the most common cause of severe respiratory illness in young children and persons age sixty-five and older.

If you haven’t had your flu vaccine yet, think seriously about getting one.  Let’s try to stay ahead of the “bugs” this year!

Sources: Centers for Disease Control

Nat’l Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases

General Safety Issues

PLANNING FOR A PENDEMIC

We hate to even bring up the subject, but following the H1N1 Pandemic the world experienced, it is important that we plan for, yet hope that there won’t be another one.  No one knows when an outbreak will occur, or the specific characteristics of a future pandemic virus, which are unpredictable.  Also unknown are what age groups will be affected, nor how dangerous it will be. 

Pandemics occur when a new virus spreads easily from person to person throughout the world.  Knowing what to do in our daily lives, work, and activities can be helpful. 

I had the misfortune while on an Alaskan cruise to catch some kind of “bug”, which required a visit to the doctor, two shots, several medications and about three weeks to get over.  Other friends who traveled to various places came home sick, as well.  Following a trip to China, two of our family members came home so ill they had to be hospitalized.  We know that most persons who travel come home feeling perfectly fine, but there are too many ways to come in contact with germs that can make us very ill.  Even though you wash your hands thoroughly, you still have to touch rails, elevator buttons, door- knobs and other items that hundreds of people are in contact with, as well.  (I have decided that the next trip I go on, I will wear gloves.  It may look silly, but I know I won’t be touching something loaded with germs!)  Anyone riding on mass transportation would be wise to carry sanitary wipes along. 

When we were dealing with the H1N1 virus, experts advised hand washing, covering one’s mouth when coughing or sneezing, using a tissue only once, staying home if you feel sick, and getting the vaccine.  Workplaces should provide hand sanitizers, tissues, plastic cups rather than dishes and cups that may not be washed thoroughly.  They should also remove magazines from waiting rooms and break rooms, when illness breaks out.  Workstations should be cleaned frequently, to keep employees healthy.  This is good advice to follow even when there’s no outbreak of a virus.  If there is a “bug” moving around, avoid travel, meetings, and workshops, if at all possible.  Also stay away from crowded places.   If there is a vaccine available, by all means, get it.  Many times it is recommended to get the flu vaccine; even if the new virus is a different strain, it is hoped that this will allow the symptoms to be less serious.

As we said, we hope there will never be another pandemic, and if we take better precautions and try to keep ourselves healthy, hopefully it won’t happen again.  But in a world full of more and more people, something is bound to occur sooner or later.  If countries will share the information worldwide as soon as they suspect a virus is beginning to spread, other countries will be better prepared to protect their citizens.  A pandemic impacts countries’ economies, industries, schools, hospitals, and governments, in other words, everyone.  Stay healthy.