Flu Smarts: What good is washing hands?

What you don't see can hurt you.

Everyone seems to think they're invulnerable, long

after the defiance of childhood and lack of experience

has gone away.

People wonder what real good washing hands does?

Well, if we do it regularly, with plenty of soap, and

spend a reasonable amount of time on it....

if we are careful to use a paper towel to open

and close bathroom doors and turn on faucets,

and if we use hot water, it can be a very effective

way of keeping the flu virus at bay.

The current flu virus can last outside the human

boy up to 8 hours. EIGHT hours. That means if you

walk into an empty office, don't be falsely lulled;

the germs of all the nasty, unconcerned people from

the prior 8 hours of activity are accumulated on

every surface of a room, waiting to attack.

That's a long time.

The HIV virus only lasts outside the body about an hour,

and that's if it's in a bodily fluid that was released. But the

flu? 8 hours on its own. Tough guy.

Don't give it one single opening or excuse to

get hold of you. It only takes one exposure to get sick.

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Flu Smarts: Mind your Hands!

We do it so automatically that it's a tough habit to break.

People put their hands to their face a thousand times a day;

adjusting glasses, rubbing a nose, wiping a lip,

PUTTING A PEN TO YOUR MOUTH,

scratching an eye, wiping away sweat, and so much more.

But in cold and flu season, an innocuous momentary

action can bring a world of pain.

Our orifices--eyes, nose, mouth--are portals of

entry for disease, and very absorptive tissue.

It will take some doing, but resist automatically

putting your hands near your face before

thoroughly washing them. (And limit it even then.)

It's the same as putting your face on everything

your hands have touched!!

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