Battling Bugs - the secret weapons!

Hey all,

Just thought I should post some do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do advice, coming from my favorite 'microbe hunter' Dr. Philip Tierno who discovered toxic shock syndrome. In the battle against bugs, did you know that you can prevent 95% of all sicknesses like colds, flu, meningitis, diarrheal diseases, samonella, hepatitis A, RSV, etc. by proper handwashing? Handwashing! So simple yet none of of us do it properly or often enough. Millions of lives could be saved every year!

1. First wet your hands and apply liquid or clean bar soap.

2. Next rub your hands vigorously together and scrub all surfaces.

3. Continue for 10 - 15 seconds. It is the soap combined with the scrubbing action that helps dislodge and remove germs. Be sure to rub between fingers, around nailbeds, under figernails, jewelry, and the back of your hands. Repeat. If your taps don't shut off automatically use disposable paper towel to shut off the taps.

4. Rinse well and dry your hands.

Dr. Tierno suggests proper handwashing many many many times a day! The usual after the bathroom, before you make food, after changing the baby, etc. but also like when you first come into your house.

Also, for those of you who get sick a lot, BLEACH should be your best friend! Even a small dilution of bleach will kill all sort of bad deadly bugs (SARS, HIV, e coli, avian flu and more all die in bleach) so use it frequently in the bathroom and kitchen, on door handles, light switches, etc. Bleach should also be part of your emergency kit (a few drops in polluted water, let it stand an hour and presto! Fairly safe drinking water!).

Kids toys (and the kitchen sink) are the dirtiest items in your house! Bleach and rinse well as often as you can! I'm all for kids being exposed to some dirt and germs but totally against knowingly testing Rian's immune system with things that could kill him. E. Coli outbreaks have recently happened here - one child placed on kidney dialysis at BC Children's Hospital - and Ontario so be cautious...