The point is, healthy habits keep you well. That according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’m sure you’ve heard of them. (smile)
My four year old goes to an accredited preschool where each child washes his/her hands upon entering the building. It has become a routine for everybody and, like the water cooler at work, the kids and parents gather around the sink to gab about the latest happenings– as if we hadn’t just seen each other yesterday!
An Philadelphia-based NBC affiliate reported on an elementary school where a health promotion agency and community educator, Main Line Health, helped out in a classroom to teach hand-washing skills. The upshot turned out that it isn’t as easy as it first seems, as a special lotion plus ultra-violet light revealed on the hands of the subjects!
Myth busting – According to what l read at Mayo Clinic, Antibacterial soaps – although popular – are no more effective at killing germs than regular soap. It is the lathering, scrubbing (to the tune of Happy Birthday, or Row Your Boat), rinsing, drying, and USING A TOWEL TO TURN OFF THE FAUCET procedure that leaves your hands clean. Sorry about the capital letters but l got a little excited there.
Using antibacterial soaps may lead to the development of bacteria that are resistant to the products’ antimicrobial agents — making it even harder to kill these germs in the future.
Bianca Dixon, age 11, of Plano (Texas) unfortunately faced MRSA – methicillin-resistant Staphylococus aureus. According to the article,
the symptoms were severe, painful and it was touch-and-go for a time for the young girl.
Personally, l believe in germs, but l don’t believe in germ theory. That means l definitely want a sterile field if l ever have surgery. But l am willing to bet on host resistance factors as well as feeling comfortable not bleaching my whole house.
When our baby was in NICU (neonatal intensive care) all visitors hand to thoroughly scrub their hands for a full minute or more. (Thankfully the baby was OK after a few days.) I remember the pathos it evoked for me seeing the worried parents and grandparents scrub and scrub their hands, as if handwashing was a good luck charm to make their little precious ones healthy and well.