HEALTHY LIVING--WAYS TO CUT DOWN ON WINTER ILLNESSES

It seems just about everyone I know is sick with some sort of cold or the flu. People are sneezing and coughing all over the place. Some do a good job of keeping their germs as much to themselves as possible, but most just cough and sneeze their germs out into the world with little regard for others. Or they sneeze and cough into their hands instead of the crook of their arm, then touch doorknobs, elevator buttons, menus, or any other object used by dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of others each day.

A little proactive hygiene only goes so far when the world is conspiring against you maintaining your health. What to do? Knowledge is power. In order to fight germs, you need to know where they hide. And you’d be surprised by some of their hiding places.

There has been much written about the overuse of hand sanitizers and how they’re partly responsible for the rise of superbugs. However, there are some times when using hand sanitizer is warranted, especially if you can’t wash your hands. Did you know there are as many as 100 times more germs on a restaurant menu than on a toilet seat? That’s because toilet seats get cleaned much more frequently than menus. When was the last time you saw a waitress or hostess wipe down a menu after a customer had ordered? The answer is probably never.

And think about every time you push an elevator button, grab a railing as you walk up and down a flight of stairs, pour yourself a cup of coffee from the communal office coffee pot, or push a shopping cart up and down the aisles at the supermarket or big box store. These are times you might want to whip out a travel size bottle of hand sanitizer if you can’t get to a bathroom to wash your hands. (Besides, how often do you use a public restroom only to find the soap dispenser is empty? Happens to me all the time!)

Other things to consider:

Your clothes are constantly picking up germs. If you can’t wash them in hot water or use bleach, make sure you tumble them dry for at least 30 minutes to kill any germs clinging to the fibers.

Never place your purse on the bathroom floor in a public restroom. If there’s no hook in the stall, keep the purse on your shoulder or loop the strap around your neck. And never place your purse on your kitchen counter. You’d be amazed at how much invisible yuck is clinging to the bottom of that purse.

If you use reusable canvas bags when you shop, make sure you wash them in hot water and bleach once a week to kill any e coli, salmonella or other dangerous germs they may have picked up from sitting in the cart or from the food you put in them.

These simple tips won’t prevent you from ever getting sick, but they should cut down on the number and severity of the illnesses you suffer throughout the year.

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.