Donna L Brogan.com

In my previous post I gave information on many places we might not think of as being really bad areas for germs.  This post will tell about more germ areas and the most germy jobs.  Please read the following from a comment I received on my recent post – It is a great addition to my post:

September 17, 2009 by Oren Pardes:

While disinfection IS a highly recommended practice, many germs have become MORE of a problem due to our attempts to kill them. Those that survive “adapt” and become “stronger”. Rather than focus on reducing the number of germs, we need to increase our ability to resist them.

Germs (even in large numbers) are usually only a problem if our immune systems are weak. Getting the kinds and amount of food, water, sleep, exercise, sunlight, and other things that support and strengthen us is by far the most important action(s) we can take for staying healthy and protecting ourselves from getting sick.

Germs can also only infect and hurt us (and/or anyone else) if they can get into our bodies. Unfortunately, we often help them to do so – with what we touch with our hands (including ourselves). Putting our hands in our mouths is so common we probably don’t even realize it.

Here are three easy but important practices for staying healthy:

1. Cough and sneeze into a sleeve (or other fabric) rather than hands.

2. Wash the SIDES and TIP of EACH finger (and under the nails).

3. Clean faucet and door handles BEFORE washing hands OR use a paper towel to touch them AFTER washing hands. Otherwise hands are NOT clean.

Finally, the household object with the MOST germs is almost always the kitchen sponge used to clean dishes. Microwaving it on a regular basis is one way to reduce the chances of spreading germs by “cleaning”.

Thank you Oren.:-)

Now for a few more germ areas we probably do not think of :

Laundry Machines

Laundromats are  hardly a place of cleanliness, but even laundry done at home is filled with germs.  There is approximately 0.1 gram of fecal material in a piece of underwear, amounting to about 100 million E.Coli bacteria.  Unfortunately,  only a very small percent of people use really  hot water to wash their clothes and then dry them for a full 45 minutes, which would  kill more bacteria.

Detergent makers are now telling people that they can use their detergent in cold water.  To minimize exposure to harmful bacteria, it is recommended doing laundry that requires bleach as your first load.  This will disinfect the machine. Save undergarments as your last load.   Do not use the same sorting tables for clean and dirty laundry since the E. coli bacteria will transfer to the table and then back to your clean clothes.

Gear Shift and Dashboard

In a recent British study, microbiologists randomly tested both the interiors and trunks of 25 cars.  They found that 285 types of bacteria were present .  They identified at least 10 different types of bacteria.  Stick shifts, whtich harbor 356 germs per square inch, did the worst.  American cars weren’t much better.  The dashboard was one of the most germ-laden locations in a car because it is one of the warmest places and has ventilation on either side that can aerate spores and blow them out among passengers.  The change holders, cup holders and children’s car sets were also hot spots for microorganisms.

The Most Germy Jobs

Teacher/Day Care Aide

Teachers had six times more germs in their workspace  than accountants (the second place finisher) with cleaner desks but 5 1/2 times more germs on their phones , nearly twice as many germs on their computer mouse and nearly 27 times more germs on keyboards than other professionals that were studied.  The dirtiest object in the classroom is the kid’s desk. They hand in papers to the teacher and during flu season also the flu germs.  A teacher in Massachusetts trys to keep her students vigilant by encouraging them to eat well and cough and sneeze etiquette.

Bank Teller/Cashier/Desks

For bank tellers and cashiers, much of their jobs involve handling dirty pieces of money from all types of customers.  Almost everyone knows how dirty money is but almost nobody really cleans or disinfects the desks until they start sticking to it.  Workers who are at their desks a lot tend to eat there also, which increases bacteria.

Police Officer

The people that have more direct contact with people have a greater chance of getting a cold or the flu.  A police officer deals with people who usually don’t have their best interest in mind and they have to enter environments that don’t have microbe safety in mind either

While public safety officers work their jobs with the safety of others in mind, they often need to watch out for needles and other potentially dangerous objects while in the line of duty.  Now these officers should be wearing surgical gloves while they deal with these people.

Animal Control Officer

Farmers and agricultural workers, while working with animals, can be exposed to diseases.  But animal control officers have a disadvantage because they deal with unruly animals.  In addition to rabies, then can be exposed when called to clean up dead animals or animal waste.  It is very important to clean up these messes because a variety of parasites can be contracted by children exposed to feces.

Of course, like germs in general, exposure to animals may not be all bad.  Studies in Europe have shown that children who have grown up on farms are less likely to develop allergies, perhaps because of the greater number of bacteria that they were exposed to.

Janitor/Plumber/Sanitation Worker

As expected, janitors and plumbers encounter many peoples germs and are sometimes responsible for getting rid of them.  Because of these they are at a much greater risk.  Surfaces are responsible for a lot of the germs we pick up, and janitors and plumbers face no shortage of germy surfaces.  If they have to work in a nursing home or hospital they need to take special care, at least wear disposable gloves.

In some professions, workers are surrounded by germs at all times.  These workers should wear special clothing and it should be laundered separately and washed at high temperature with a bleach additive.

Meatpacker

When you bring meat home from the supermarket, you cook it and clean any surfaces it touched to avoid salmonella and E. coli.  But what if, instead of few steaks, you were dealing with an entire carcass?  This is what goes on in a meatpacking plant.  And even though they wear protective clothing, it is not always enough.

Last December, a pork processing plant in Austin, Minnesota gained notoriety when 12 of its workers came down with a neurological illness that impaired their movement, in some cases leading to paralysis.  Similar symptons cropped up among Indiana meatpackers in January.  In February, The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention named the illness progressive inflammatory neuropathy.  While the investigators didn’t know the exact cause, it appeared to be contact with pig brain tissue along with a compressed air system that was used to blow the tissue out of the pig’s heads.  Even though federal legislation has been aimed at protecting these workers, thay have not always been successful.

In Conclusion

Germs live everywhere. You can find germs in the air, on food, plants and animals, in the soil, in the water, and on just about every other surface — including your own body.

Most germs won’t harm you. Your immune system protects you against a multitude of infectious agents. However, some germs are formidable adversaries because they’re constantly mutating to breach your immune system’s defenses. Knowing more about how germs work can increase your chances of avoiding infection.

If you liked this post, feel free to comment.  Any ideas you may have will be well received.