Listen to this nurse please:

[Kingofalldems]

Link to tweet

[ResIpsa]

1. It's bad this year. Get a flu shot every year everyone..enough of the 'Anti-vaccination recitation'.

Your keys and phone should be disinfected regularly too. Clorox wipes, and for those of you w non-electric key fobs....in warm dish water w the keys.

[unblock]

2. i thought i saw a story a while back that the sneezing into the elbow thing didn't really work.

the obvious counter arguments is that it's got to be better than nothing, but i thought there was a study involving people drinking colored water or something, then sneezing and capturing the resulting spray.

and i think the conclusion was that the only thing that really made a difference was sneezing into an old-fashioned handkerchief, though of course then there's a different grossness....



anyway the hand-washing advice is certainly good.

[procon]

3. We spend years trying to teach our kids to wash their hands,

but as adults, especially for us older folks, we can all use a refresher course for the sake of our own health. When I go shopping it's not always possible to go wash my hands, and I'm not brave enough to wade into one of those filthy public restrooms.

No, I'm not a germaphobe, just an old retired RN who doesn't need to inadvertently catch something by contact and get sick. It makes me inwardly cringe at the thought of what might be hiding on door handles and shopping cart handles. I carry a little bottle of hand sanitizer in my purse, it probably helps a little until I get home and can do a deep scrub.

I've seen shoppers whip out a bottle of disinfectant and spray the entire cart before seating their kids. Recently I looked at plastic covers to put over the shopping cart handle to protect you from the gross contamination.

[Kingofalldems]

4. I carry the hand sanitizer everywhere I go--and use it.

Here is something disgusting-- those candies in restaurants at the register are loaded with vile matter I won't discuss here. Just learned that this week.

[Dave Starsky]

9. Bar peanuts are the worst.

I remember reading a study conducted in several bars where the peanuts at the bar contained more nasty bacteria than the bars' toilets.

[ResIpsa]

6. It's ok to be overly cautious when so many just don't care.

Definitely wipe the carts down. Take a walk through any store, and see folks wiping their nose and holding the tissue against the cart handle, kids sniffling, or some version thereof. Don't forget gas pump handles or any metal or fomite surface. You just can't be too careful w a flu season like this one.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

5. Oh for pete's sake.

I'm not going to live my live like I'm going in to perform brain surgery.

We touch our face hundreds of times a day (I've seen some say thousands). I'm not going to wash my hands every time I touch my face. Or every time I touch something that the other guy touched after not washing his hands after touching his face.

Sneezing in to your arm is ok I guess. If anything, it solves the problem of where to wipe the snot when people are looking so you don't have to excuse yourself to wipe your hand on your jeans.

The sickliest people I know are germaphobes and "anti bacterial" fanatics... and their kids

Eat right, exercise and get a flu shot. The first two will immensely benefit you in other ways and the last one may or may not help -- it certainly won't hurt.

Maybe we should all wear "the cone of shame" my dog wears after surgery. That would solve most of the face-touching problem.

I worked on construction sites in college. One guy used to remark - Our fingers were dirty when we started eating now they are clean. Hmm

[Wounded Bear]

7. And hydrate...

Keep the fluid level up there. Most internal pathogens are flushed out through the kidneys.

Drink lots and lots of water.

[LeftInTX]

8. I'm with you!!

I see people wiping down grocery carts. I see people wiping down everything.

At church the eucharistic ministers put on hand sanitizer in such as ritualistic manner that it looks like it is part of the liturgy. Did the Vatican write an encyclical on hand sanitizers?

At the gym the other day a couple wiped and wiped the exercise mats before getting on them. I swear they spent 10 minutes wiping those mats. The mats were the porous types, so I don't think wiping them down did much good.

People have turned into germaphobes.

It seems like the germaphobia craze started with AIDS.

[femmocrat]

10. I agree with you.

I was a teacher for more than 30 years. I rarely caught a cold, and knock on wood, I have never had the flu.

Exposure to germs builds up resistance. I once read that children with pets are healthier because they build up immunities.

Common sense, people! We are turning into a nation of neurotics.

[LuckyCharms]

11. I'm hyper aware of these precautions while visiting a hospital

especially. I am constantly hitting the hand sanitizer while visiting there, not for myself, but for the patients who are compromised.

In everyday life however, I just take normal precautions. I wash my hands when I need to, and almost never use anti-bacteria soap. I'll sneeze into my elbow when in public, and actively try to avoid sick people.

Funny story...I was grocery shopping once, and this guy sneezed right in my face. I mean, I could feel the snot go into my eyes. I said WTF DUDE???? He was oblivious and looked at me like I had 3 heads.