Wash Those Hands or Else!
According to Reader’s Digest (February 2008), there’s a new strain of the Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria roaming about. And believe me, you don’t want to catch this nasty little bugger!
I hyked over to the MayoClinic.com website for a quick rundown of the symptoms and here’s what I found:
Staph infections, including MRSA, generally start as small red bumps that resemble pimples, boils or spider bites. These can quickly turn into deep, painful abscesses that require surgical draining. Sometimes the bacteria remain confined to the skin. But they can also burrow deep into the body, causing potentially life-threatening infections in bones, joints, surgical wounds, the bloodstream, heart valves and lungs.
So, how do you avoid this particular strain of bacteria? Apparently, much the same way you would avoid all others: you thoroughly wash your hands.
According to the Reader’s Digest article, “There are no preventive treatments or vaccines specific to this strain, but good hygiene, such as hand-washing can reduce transmission.”
It’s very important to pay attention to the public places you frequent so you can better equip yourself to fight disease-causing germs where they lurk. Public restrooms are nuisance#1 and even the most ardent germ fighter can loose the battle. Make certain you use clean paper towels to open and close doors and turn faucet knobs. At the very least, use your sleeve, but don’t wash your hands and then touch everything you see!
We conducted our own research on the grimiest public places (you can read about it in our Grimiest Germ Survey Results article) and found that shopping carts are among the most disgusting public surfaces. Naturally, we recommend using our Clean Shopper shopping cart cover to protect you and your baby when shopping, but you can always use antibacterial wipes as well.
The only concern I have with the antibacterial wipes as opposed to shopping cart covers is the residue that antibacterial cleansers leave behind. It’s not a problem for adults, but for babies who constantly suck and teeth on the shopping cart handlebar and metal sides, it may not be the healthiest substance to ingest.
Whether or not you use a shopping cart cover to protect you and your baby from the virus-causing germs that lurk on shopping carts, always remember to wash your hands!
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