Most of us believe that we are maintaining extremely high standards of health and hygiene in our homes! We might be doing it, but at the same time we might be inviting germs from outside without our deliberate efforts to do so! We even fail to notice how we have carried germs with us from various public places into our home! Most of the germs are found to rest in phone receivers, light switches, remote controls and in door knobs. And we touch all these objects without knowing that we are actually getting into contact with pathogens.
Here are some of the places where the germs are found:
- The Menu Book of Restaurants: You visit restaurants and place orders after going through the menu. But several other people, who are germ carriers, have also touched this menu before. There is a chance that the germs are resting on the menu and when you are touching it, the germs are sticking into your hands. Research has shown that the cold and flu virus can live for up to 18 hours on a hard surface. You should avoid a contact between the menu and the plate. It would be a safe practice to wash your hands after placing an order.
- Lemon Wedges: A study published in the Journal of Environmental Health in the year 2007 revealed that microbes reside in the lemon wedges which are placed on the rims of restaurant glasses. The different microorganisms which might be found in lemon wedges include E. coli and some other fecal bacteria. You can avoid it by ordering beverages without the lemon wedges.
- Condiment Dispensers: You would find very few restaurants which would carry out regular bleaching of the condiment containers such as salt and pepper shakers. It is a fact that most of us do not care to wash our hands before eating. So it is less likely that the person who has touched the dispenser before you has washed his hands! So whenever you touch it, you are accepting germs into your hands and then into your food! You can use a disinfectant wipe before touching the condiment dispenser. Touching the ketchup bottle with napkins won't help as the material is porous. This means that the germs would pass through the pores!
- The Door Handles of Restrooms: The door handles of restrooms are the areas where the germs prevail. This is because, these handles are touched by several individuals who are carrying these germs. You can avoid touching a germ laden door knob by using paper towels to hold it. You might be regarded as "manic" by others, but you know about your own wellbeing!
- The Soap Containers: The soap dispensers found in the public restrooms are the residing places for fecal bacteria. These containers are not cleaned up and microbes begin to grow with the building up of the soap scum. When people come to wash their hands, the bottoms of the containers continuously come into contact with dirty hands and this is how the bacteria propagate. You can avoid contamination by washing your hands with an alcohol based sanitizer or with hot water for 15 to 20 seconds.
- The Supermarket Trolleys: Several people are handling the trolleys in supermarkets and this is how the germs are getting transferred from one person to the other. The handles of the grocery carts are contaminated with fecal bacteria. You can choose to clean the handle with a disinfectant wipe before grabbing it.
- Bathrooms in the Flights: The bathrooms in the airplanes are storehouses of bacteria and other microbes. The faucets and doorknobs are the most common places where E. coli resides. Drinking green tea can boost up your immune system and you would be able to prevent the symptoms of cold.
- Doctor's Chamber: The doctor's chamber is the place where people with various illnesses gather. So this place is filled with germs of various types. You can avoid taking up germs from other persons by taking your own books and magazines with you and by carrying an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. You need to maintain a safe distance with other patients to prevent transfer of germs from their bodies to yours. It has been found that germ droplets from coughs and sneezes can move up to 3 feet before falling to the ground.
There is no way by which you can completely prevent germs from coming into close contact with you. But you can minimize the chances of contamination by taking these preventive measures. You cannot even avoid going to public places, but you can still prevent inviting germs from these places to your homes.
