Our Ask An Angel correspondent is Arlene Petersen, Life Care Navigation Specialist in the area of senior home care.
Q. I recently visited a friend who was babysitting her grandchild. The visit was wonderful, but her grandchild was obviously sick with a cold. How do I handle the upcoming cold and flu season when I am out and about or when I have visitors? I don’t want to be offensive to anyone, but the thought of getting sick makes me want to be a hermit!
A. There is clear evidence that germs are spread by touch. It is so important to wash our hands thoroughly! The only challenge with this is that we often do not wash properly.
The Center for Disease Control says that keeping hands clean through improved hand hygiene is one of the most important steps we can take to avoid getting sick and spreading germs to others. Many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean, running water.
The following sounds like common sense, but it is a good review for all of us.If possible, use regular soap with clean water. After you apply the soap, lather up and continue rubbing with the soap on your hands for at least 20 seconds. If you need help with knowing when 20 seconds are up, try singing the happy birthday song, twice. It sounds silly, but it is an easy way to truly wash for 20 seconds. Don’t forget to scrub well, especially under the nails. It’s important to wash when handling food, after caring for someone who is sick or visiting with someone who is ill. Obviously, it is important to wash after using the restroom, after sneezing, taking out the garbage, handling pet waste and especially after being in public places, like the grocery store where you touch the cart handle. This list is not exhaustive.
If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol to clean hands.I always carry a small hand sanitizer in my purse. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers can quickly reduce the number of germs on hands in some situations, but sanitizers do not eliminate all types of germs. Be mindful of where you are at without being obsessive about it. A healthy awareness is a good first defense.
Have a question for our angel correspondent? You can send our angel an email to apetersen@visitingangels.com or send your question via mail to Ask An Angel, 65 Woodbury St., South Elgin, IL 60177.
