Simple Health Tips to Stopthe

Germs This Cold and Flu Season

by Pam Roe

November 8, 2007

COLUMBIA , Mo. – As nursing students enter the professional curriculum at the University of Missouri-Columbia's Sinclair School of Nursing, nursing instructor Beth Traudes has to teach them the basics all over again.

“I have to teach them how to professionally make a bed, brush teeth and wash hands,” Traudes said. “Washing hands in warm water for the appropriate amount of time is crucial in breaking the cycle of infection.”

This same piece of advice was also given by Florence Nightingale 175 years ago while she attempted to cut down on the fatalities of war. So although most of us understand that washing our hands is the essential ingredient in fighting off colds and flus this winter season, we probably need all the reminders we can get.

Studies show that 40 to 60 percent of people don't wash their hands after using the restroom and most individuals don't wash long enough.

“Use warm water and scrub between your fingers as well as around your fingernails,” Traudes said. “Sing the ‘Alphabet' song or ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' twice and you know you've scrubbed away the majority of the germs and bacteria.”

Traudes said to pay particular attention to your cuticles and under your nails. Dirt, germs and bacteria gather in the crevices surrounding your nails and it's important to keep hangnails trimmed and bandaged to prevent bacteria and viruses from entering your body. Long, polished and artificial nails are more susceptible to harboring bacteria, Traudes said.

So if hand washing is the most important key to health, then using hand lotion is second most important key. “By keeping the skin soft and supple you are preventing cracking, which in turn helps keep the bacteria out,” the nursing lab instructor pointed out.

She also wants people to be aware that public surfaces such as public computer keyboards, banisters and handrails and countertops harbor these viruses. The Methicillin-Resistant Staph Aureaus (MRSA) bacteria colonizes in the nasal passages and on the skin. MRSA is transmitted through touch, not transmitted through the air (i.e. sneezing, coughing). Cold and flu viruses, however, can be transmitted through inhaling droplets from a sneeze or cough. All these bacteria and viruses can live on surfaces for up to 24 hours, so if someone coughs or sneezes into their hands and then immediately starts typing an email, grasping a shopping cart or using a public phone they could be easily transmitted to you.

Traudes suggests you use a waterless hand sanitizer containing aloe before and after touching public surfaces (aloe offsets the drying effects alcohol-based products have on the skin). Using the sanitizer before reduces germs you spread; using afterwards not only protects you but limits your contribution to the cycle of infection.

“The friction of rubbing your hands together helps these types of products remove bacteria and viruses from hands that are not visibly soiled,” she said. “I also urge people to take advantage of grocery stores offering disinfectant wipes to swab down the handlebars of shopping carts right before using them. Just remember to let the disinfectant evaporate before handling because it isn't effective until natural evaporation occurs.”

Simple Health Tips:

•  Wash hands frequently using warm water

•  Sing the ‘Alphabet' song or ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star' twice while washing

•  Use waterless hand sanitizers with aloe before and after touching public surfaces

•  Use plenty of hand lotion to keep skin soft and supple

•  Cough and/or sneeze into your elbow instead of your hands

•  Keep your hands away from your face (i.e. rubbing eyes or nose)

•  Don't share objects

•  Stay home if you are sick

•  Get the flu shot

 

Advanced Health Tips:

•  Use the paper towel you dry your hands with to turn off the faucet and open the door before throwing away

•  Use a liquid bandage product on hangnails to prevent germs from entering your system

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