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There's something going around, so wash your hands, will ya?

By adamg on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 1:42pm

Dr. Meghan MacLean Weir, a local pediatrician, reports:

I saw twenty-seven patients during a shift earlier this week and fifteen or so were throwing up and having diarrhea. So please, consider this your public service announcement to WASH YOUR HANDS. Repeatedly.

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Comments

By anon on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 4:57pm.

Too busy flicking light switches on and off and tapping my feet.

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By anon on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 5:10pm.

And no, squirting hand sanitizer on your hands does NOT count, considering much of what makes us sick are viruses and that stuff is anti-BACTERIAL. I'm no biologist, but you can't really *kill* viruses anyway, can you? Purell better thank the mainstream media hardcore for whipping everyone up about swine flu, thanks to which there's a freakin' Purell dispenser at every corner now. /EndTangentialRant

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By anon on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 8:16pm.

you're so off the mark, it isn't even funny.

First on the viruses, just read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hand_sanitizer#Effect... and note the comments on viricidal activity. Note that different hand sanitizers have different properties, but generally most eliminate viruses. And alcohol-based hand sanitizers, such as Purell, work on enveloped viruses, such as the (swine) flu.

On "killing" viruses, that has more to do with whether you consider them living or not. You can definitely make it so a virus is no longer infectious though.

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By SPBOS on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 8:36pm.

Yes, you can kill viruses...

and Yes, Purell kills viruses:

Is PURELL® Instant Hand Sanitizer active against Swine Flu?
While no hand sanitizer is indicated to prevent Swine Flu, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one of the ways you can help protect yourself from Swine Flu is by practicing good hand hygiene. Specific CDC recommendations include keeping your hands clean by washing with soap and water, or using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer when soap and water may not be available, such as when you're on the go.

http://www.purell.com/page.jhtml?id=/purell/includ...

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By anon on Sun, 06/26/2011 - 12:49pm.

that's what i am talking about is there any study that shows that wassing your hands, helps u preventing getting sick. I was not able to find one.

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By FlyingToaster on Sun, 02/20/2011 - 11:44pm.

... 2 days of diarrhea followed by 3 days of occasional vomiting. After day 2, we went into her pediatrician who warned us this was running 5-7 days.

I had the 2 days of diarrhea as well, but was able to skip the vomiting in favor of 3 days of nearly constant nausea. "Favor" being relative, here.

Preschool has the kids constantly washing hands and using sanitizer, but it's truly a petri dish of 3-5 year olds. And nearly all of the kids there have had a bout of this, along with a few parents :)

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By anon on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 11:17am.

The building codes should require that all toilet room doors swing out from the room. That way you can push the door open with your foot so you don't have to touch the door hardware. I see lots of people leaving the toilet rooms without washing their hands.

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By chicken on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 1:56pm.

This is a pet peeve of mine as well. All the time, I see people grab the handle and walk out of the bathroom (especially drunks) without washing their hands. Door handles in general are a disease-spreading risk.

Knowing this, I generally use a paper towel to open the door handle. However, this strategy is defeated by the so-called "Earth friendly" air dryers (which aren't really, but that's a whole other issue). At that point I have to decide if it's better not to wash my hands before eating, since I might pick up something worse in the bathroom.

Cleanliness of the bathroom is often a good indicator of quality of the restaurant, too.

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By Mr Clean on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 3:08pm.

on the bathroom doors at the Seaport Hotel:

http://www.cleanescape.com/

why didn't I think of this?

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By anon on Mon, 02/21/2011 - 4:25pm.

I do all of the above, and often.

I use paper towels, feet, shirt-tails or elbows to get out of bathrooms. (I also use paper towels or elbow to shut off faucet.
Definitely wash hands before eating.

Try to make a conscious effort not to put fingers near face (eyes and mouth.)

I also wash my hands as soon as I can after taking the T and holding the pole or strap.

Have to say I don't get sick often.
Might be overkill but it helps me sleep at night.

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