Things You'll Need:
- Hand sanitizer (alcohol-based)
- Bleach
- Good hand washing habits
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Step 1
Know when and how to wash your hands.
You have undoubtly heard by now that the first line of defense against infection is to keep your hands clean. Easy to say--wash your hands! But knowing it and doing it are different things.
Wash your hands whenever you have the opportunity, but especially if you have touched anything that is likely to be contaminated. This usually means that when you are in the bathroom, the kitchen, or the laundry room you want to wash your hands frequently.
There is a technique:
Use warm, not hot water. Hot water can damage and dry your skin. Liquid soap is best, any kind you prefer. Antibacterial soap is actually not the best choice, it can be too drying to the skin and may contribute to bacterial resistance. Remember that it's the friction with the water and soap that will dislodge the bacteria and rinse them away. Wash all surfaces: back of hands, wrists, between fingers and under fingernails. Rinse well. Dry by patting with a towel or paper towels.
When washing your hands in a public restroom, there is a technique used in health-care facilities that prevents re-contamination caused by touching unclean surfaces after you have washed your hands: dispense towels and let them hang, ready to tear off (unless the dispenser gives you individual towels); wash hands, leave water running, dry hands with towels, turn off faucet with towels and discard.
In the absence of water and soap, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. Studies have shown this to be as effective as hand washing with soap and water, but only if the hand sanitizer is alcohol-based. -
Step 2
Avoid sharing personal items and food.
This may seem like common sense, but sometimes we don't even think about it. Everyone at home should practice using separate cups, eating utensils, hair brushes, make-up, chapstick etc. Do not allow children to drink after you. Teach your children from a young age not to share. The day will come when this practice could be extremely hazardous, worse than it is now. Currently, there are many horrid diseases passed through saliva (hepatitis in all it's forms, some incurable; meningitis; mononucleosis to name a few).
"Double dipping" falls into this category. If you suspect someone is "double dipping", don't even go there.
Teach young children to cut or break foods to share rather than "giving a bite", and to pour beverages into separate containers to share with others. -
Step 3
Cleanse your hair and body daily.
There is no getting around it. We use our hands to touch everything, and then we touch different parts of our body and especially our hair. Your skin already has a certain amount of bacteria growing on it. Add to that the rest of the stuff you picked up that day. And think of the people you shook hands with. Or, what about what your kids have been playing with (or in).
So, needless to say, you and yours need to bathe daily to remove all this accumulation to keep yourselves healthy.
Use a moisturizing soap. Again, antibacterial soaps are not the best. Antibacterial soaps used all the time will create resistant bacteria, and can be very drying to your skin. The idea here is to keep the skin intact, moist and supple so it can do it's job the best. The skin is the body's first line of defense against disease. So take good care of it.
Ideally, especially for those who work in health care or around large groups of people (this includes school kids) the best time to bathe is right after you get home for the day. Remove all clothing and leave it in the laundry room away from your clean clothes and bedding. Bathe, and put all used towels and wash cloths into the laundry hamper (which should not be stored in your bedroom). Put on fresh clean clothes. -
Step 4
Keep your clothing, linens and bedding clean and dry.
This one could be a challenge for some of your family members: getting everyone to keep their clothes off the floor. The floor is the dirtiest place anywhere you go--even your home--and even if you make everyone remove their shoes before coming inside. It's a crazy place to put clothing you intend to wear. And it's even a crazier idea to put possibly contaminated clothing you've been wearing all day on the floor to add to the already high number of bacteria growing there.
If you insist on wearing clothing more than once, do not put it back in a drawer or closet with clean clothing. Hang it off the back of chair, on a bathroom rack, but not on the floor or on your bed. -
Step 5
Keep your house clean, especially bathroom and kitchen surfaces.
Dust and piles of stuff lying around the house, dirt accumulating on the floor, food left on counters, stove and dishes, and I won't mention the bathroom but you know what I mean---all contribute to perfect growing mediums for bacteria, and also put a strain on your respiratory and immune systems. Cleaning a little everyday will keep everything from building up.
The kitchen and the bathroom should be cleaned everyday. Deep clean weekly (scrub everything), and clean surfaces at least once per day.
Use bleach, it will kill everything. Make a solution of 1 part bleach to 9 parts water and put it in a well-labeled spray bottle. Keep one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. When you're done in the room, just lightly spray down surfaces, sinks, counters, and wipe dry. -
Step 6
Stay safe in public.
Avoid crowded areas. Stay away from sick people. Try not to touch everything in sight, and when you do, be aware that your hands may be contaminated. Use hand-sanitizer when necessary. If you find it necessary to go among people who are, or may be ill (like at work where lots of people think it's heroic to work sick), do not share phones, pens, or anything else. Watch out for the water cooler (handled by hands that may have been coughed on). Refrain from shaking hands if you can. Encourage people to cough into their elbow instead of their hands or onto surfaces. You may even want to carry a personal pack of Clorox wipes to wipe down surfaces or phones before you use them. These also come in real handy in a public restroom, much better than those toilet protector paper things.
Obviously, you don't want to become a "germophobe". But realistically, during times of illness outbreaks, the above suggestions are do-able, and really not "over the top." As time goes on, and we become more exposed to newer and more foreign bugs that get here overnight from overseas, you will be glad you had the time to practice some infection control techniques. Now is the time to teach our children. With bacteria becoming more resistant to antibiotics, and viruses mutating constantly, just think about the world they will live in as adults. -
Step 7
Beware when in a health care setting, or among ill people.
Always check with the nursing staff when visiting someone in the hospital, who will advise you about any precautions you need to take. Stay out of hospitals and health care facilities unless you really need to be there.
If you have a sick person at home, make sure everyone practices good hand washing techniques. Try to confine the sick person in a room away from other well people in the home. If you have a family member with the flu, all other family members should wear a mask when in direct contact with the ill person. You can get masks at your local pharmacy or medical supply store. Don't use the masks you can get at places like Home Depot--these are meant for dust type contaminates and are not effective against air-borne bacteria and viruses. -
Step 8
Do not handle body fluids.
Stay aware of the hazard of body fluids. If you treat everyone around you like they are infected, you will keep yourself safe. Again, don't become a "germophobe" or become afraid to be among other people. Just be aware that anyone has the potential of being infected with something. In a health care setting, the employees are taught to practice "standard precautions", which simply means that you protect yourself when you are in a situation where you may have contact with any body fluids. That includes not only the "gross stuff" but simple moisture from membranes like the inside of your eyelid. So, wear gloves, use condoms, whatever the situation calls for. Do not handle blood bare-handed. And always wash your hands thoroughly afterward. Teach your children: "If it's warm and gushy and not yours---don't touch it unless you're wearing gloves." And then, wash your hands. -
Step 9
Keep your immune system intact.
1. You can't avoid stress if you are living. But try to be aware of the number of stressors your body has to deal with everyday. The more stress, the greater the impact on your immune system and before you know it--you're sick. By stress, we're talking about anything the body has to fight against to stay in a balanced state (mental, emotional, or physical). So not just worry, but being too cold, being too hot, eating too much salt, allergies (even the ones you are not aware of), not enough sleep, the list goes on and on. Paying attention to the things in the rest of the list will help you minimize stress.
2. Eat a nutritious diet with plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables. These will provide the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants you need to keep your immune system healthy. Drink plenty of fluids too. Stay away from junk food--foods high in sugar, salt, bad fats and simple carbohydrates will take their toll on your body. If you need a refresher course on nutrition, there is a link below for MyPyramid.gov.
3. If your diet is good, you don't need to take supplements. But most people are either concerned about eating too much, or they don't have time to pay attention to their diet. It's a good idea to take a multivitamin supplement, just one a day. Pick one that has everything you need and take it daily with food. Add a glass of orange juice every day. That's all you need in the way of supplement. Studies have shown that taking too many vitamin supplements could be detrimental to your health.
4. Sleep helps your body rebuild and repair. Your body is in a constant state of repairing itself. This includes your immune system. Get 8 to 10 hours of sleep every day. Even if you have to take naps.
5. Fresh air and sunshine is something Grandma used to talk about as being so important to your health, and she was right. It's now known that the sun isn't all bad. Just 10 minutes of sunshine on bare skin daily will keep you stocked with Vitamin D, essential to your immune system as well as many other important body functions. -
Step 10
Keep your skin intact; prevent infections when your skin is broken.
1. Eating right, and keeping your skin clean, dry and moisturized daily will prevent tiny breaks in the skin caused by dryness or rashes.
2. Use moisturizing soaps rather than antibacterial soaps.
3. When your skin is broken (abrasions, cuts, scrapes, insect bites, etc) clean the area well with soap and water (you can also use hydrogen peroxide or betadine solution). Apply an antibiotic ointment and cover the area with a bandage (or bandaid). Keep the bandage dry. Clean it again at least once a day, apply antibiotic ointment and cover with a clean bandage. Do this until the area heals, or a solid scab forms over the entire open area. A scab is "nature's bandaid". Leave it alone until it comes off by itself. -
Step 11
Keep your recommended Immunizations up to date.
Find out from your health care provider if all the immunizations for you and your family are current. Get boosters when needed. Stay informed about updates in recommendations. You can get information about this from your health care provider or from the CDC (link below).
