Keeping germs away

First and foremost we have all heard of the same old statement, "wash your hands". We have been told this from a very young age and possibly never taken it as serious as we do now. Since the dreaded H1N1 virus made it's appearance not too long ago it has sent many of us in a frenzy of how to stay healthy. The number one approach to this is to of course wash your hands!They say to help you wash them long enough to get them clean, you can say or sing the Happy Birthday song to yourself twice. This will help ensure that you have thoroughly cleaned all parts of your hands. I like to tell my daughter to make sure she makes soap bubbles. Otherwise she was just rubbing her hands under the water very fast which was more like rinsing than washing. I'm sure all of us have been guilty of the same thing when we are in a hurry.

Unfortunately hand washing is not always an accessible option when running errands, at the park, taking a walk, being in the car or any other place that does not offer a sink and soap. That is when you must have your hand sanitizer or "wet ones" handy. I do not encourage this use for little ones under the age of 1 or 2 years old for two reasons. One is that they are so young that they may try to eat or lick the liquid, which contains alcohol and they could get very sick or hurt by that. The other reason is that a baby's skin is very thin and it will absorb the alcohol much quicker than the skin of an adult. So it is best to stick with non alcohol based hand wipes or plain old baby wipes for your baby.

Some hand sanitizers can smell really bad and some smell great like perfume or cologne. You can have you pick. They sell them in Bath and Body Works and they come in some really pleasant scents. Others like CVS and walmart sell both the generic and lightly scented sanitizers. Some of them come with moisturizing beads or aloe in order to help not over dry your skin.

It is important to completely rub in the dime sized amount that you put in the palm of your hand. It is not as effective if you let it just air dry or wipe them off. Rub hands together until all is rubbed in.

Hand wipes like "wet ones" come in great use when you don't like using a hands sanitizer and wish to get a "cleaner feeling". It is also good for kids because they may not use the hand sanitizers effectively enough to actually get their hands clean. I also like to use these wipes when "cart wipes" are not offered at the entrance of the grocery or department stores. This helps cut down on transferring bacteria from the cart to you or your child's hand.

Disposable place mats were a great invention for the toddler and parent on the go and eating out. When your little one first starts to eat it, is impossible to get them to eat off of a plate. It will only end up on the floor. But it is equally gross to let them eat off of a table! Unless you are using a disposable place mat. They have a sticky section both at the top and bottom of the mat in order to ensure that they stay in place on the table while your child is eating. Some places like food courts offer these for free. Just take a look around for any possible dispensers. They look similar to a napkin dispenser but are mounted to a wall. They will easily pull up when you are finished. If you do not have these or are reluctant to fool will them. You can always use the antibacterial hand wipes to clean the table for you little one to safely eat "germ free".

No matter how much sanitizing and cleaning you do you and your family will still be exposed to germs and that isn't always a bad thing because we need them to help boost our immune system. But if we can prevent a few less colds and stomach bugs that would be a great help! And of course do not forget your flu shot! Especially if you have or work with babies and the elderly.