Tuesday, December 22, 2015

HEALTHY LIVING--PREVENTING HOLIDAY COLDS AND FLU

These cute holiday penguin guest towels could be harboring unwanted guests.
The holidays are upon us, and that means many of us are hosting family and friends in the coming days. It also means that it’s cold and flu season. Unless you’re a hermit who has been holed up in a cabin on top of a mountain or living in a cave somewhere without wi-fi, TV, or a daily newspaper, you know the importance of getting a flu shot and washing your hands well to ward off an onslaught of some nasty germs that want to invade our bodies this time of year. However, there are other steps you should take to avoid the spread of germs.

Even if you’re somewhat vigilant about washing your hands (really, how many of us actually scrub for the time it takes us to sing “Happy Birthday” twice, the suggested length of time for hand-washing?) you probably won’t kill every speck of e. coli or other illness-causing bacteria. Did you know those teeny-tiny specks of bacteria deposit themselves on your towels when you dry your hands?

Not only should you change your hand towels every day or two, it’s a good idea to assign a separate hand towel to each member of the family to prevent the spread of illness. Let each family member choose a color and stress the importance of them only using their own towel.

In addition, as pretty as your powder room holiday guest towels are, swap them out for disposable hand towels when you’re expecting guests. You never know what bugs your family and friends are incubating, and you don’t want them depositing unwanted gifts in your home.

Also, ditch the bar soap. Those cute snowflake and Christmas tree-shaped guest soaps you lovingly placed in a holiday dish on your powder room sink will also become a resting place for germs. Your best bet is to exchange the pretty soaps for a no-touch liquid soap dispenser.

Follow these simple rules, and you could avoid a lot of post-holiday coughing and sneezing.

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