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G
INFECTION
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LATHER, RINSE, REPEAT
Wash-
ing your hands is a great way to stop the
spread of disease.
Why? Because it gets rid of germs
that may have glommed on to you when
you touched something or someone. The
trick, however, is remembering to wash
your hands well and often—before you
plant those germs in your mouth, nose
or eyes and before you share them with
someone else.
According to the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), it’s particu-
larly good to wash your hands before you:
●
Eat.
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Prepare meals.
●
Treat some-
one’s wound.
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Handle contact lenses.
And after you:
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Use the bathroom.
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Change a diaper.
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Touch germ-filled
items, like trash cans or cleaning rags.
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Handle food.
It’s not enough to just splash your hands
with water, either. You need to scrub them
all over with soap and warm water for at
least 20 seconds. Rinse and dry with a paper
towel. No soap? An alcohol-based sanitizer
will do in a pinch, advises the CDC.
Download a QR reader
to your smartphone and
scan this link to watch
a video from the CDC
about handwashing.
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PRACTICE SAFE FOOD
You’ve seen
the headlines about salmonella,
E. coli
and Listeria. Foodborne illnesses caused
by these and other bugs are considered
infectious diseases too.
To help protect yourself and your fam-
ily from food poisoning, follow the hand-
washing advice above. Four other actions
you can take:
●
●
Avoid cross-contamination. Keep raw
animal products away from other foods.
Start at the grocery store by putting
meat, poultry, fish and eggs in plastic
bags before loading them into your cart.
Refrigerate raw foods in containers when
you get home. And when preparing foods,
dedicate one cutting board to animal
products only. Use a different board for
cutting other foods, such as fresh produce.
●
●
Thaw it right. Never defrost food at
room temperature—meaning don’t leave
it on the counter or in the sink. You can
safely thaw food in the refrigerator, under
cold running water or in the microwave.
Plan accordingly: Food thawed in cold
water or in the microwave needs to be
cooked immediately.
●
●
Heat it up. Cook foods at recom-
mended temperatures to kill any harm-
ful bacteria. Use a food thermometer,
and check the cooking guide at
www.isitdoneyet.gov
.
●
●
Cool it down. Cold slows the growth
of bacteria, so keep your refrigerator at
40 degrees or below. Refrigerate leftovers
quickly. And use ice packs when taking
food on the road to picnics or potlucks.
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CLEAN—AND MAYBE EVEN
DISINFECT
The floor may look clean
enough to eat from, but that doesn’t mean
you should try it.
And not just because it’s a floor. Clean-
ing removes germs from surfaces, but it
doesn’t kill them. Disinfecting does.
Disinfectants obliterate bacteria, vi-
ruses and other germs. They’re powerful
enough that they have to be registered
with the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
In fact, that’s one way to identify a
true disinfectant: Check the label for an
EPA registration number. Also, look for
words like
germicidal
,
antimicrobial
or
antibacterial
on the label.
There’s no need for germ overkill, how-
ever; cleaning with soap and water is fine
for many surfaces, advises the CDC. But
it does recommend using disinfectants—
especially when someone in the household
is ill—in areas where germs tend to cluster,
such as kitchens and bathrooms.
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KEEP UP WITH IMMUNIZATIONS
We’re doing a decent job of vaccinating
children in the U.S. against infectious
diseases such as chickenpox, measles and
mumps, reports the CDC. But that’s not
necessarily the case with adults.
On average, about 50,000 adults in the
U.S. die from vaccine-preventable diseases
or their complications every year, accord-
ing to the National Foundation for Infec-
tious Diseases.
Vaccinations are one of the most ef-
fective ways to prevent illness. That’s why
you should make sure all members of your
family—children, teenagers and adults—
are up-to-date on their shots. And don’t
forget an annual flu shot for just about
anyone in the family.
You can find the recommended immu-
nization schedules for all ages at
www.cdc.gov/vaccines
.
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ANTIBIOTICS: USE AS NEEDED
One of the most important things to
remember about antibiotics is this: They
only work for bacterial infections—not
viruses like the flu, a cold, bronchitis, or
most sore throats and ear infections.
There’s no doubt that antibiotics have
been powerful tools against infectious dis-
eases. Their effectiveness has been some-
thing of a double-edged sword, however:
They’ve worked so well against so many
diseases that we’ve often misused them.
We may have asked our doctors to pre-
scribe them whenever we felt ill—even
when we didn’t need them. We may not
have always finished our prescriptions.
Or sometimes we may have given leftover
pills to sick friends.
As a result, germs grew stronger.
Antibacterial resistance—germs learn-
ing to fight back against antibiotics that
once treated them—is a growing health
threat that affects everyone. But we can
all help stop it.
How? Don’t expect your doctor to offer
antibiotics every time you or your child
gets sick, advises the CDC.
If your doctor does prescribe antibiot-
ics, follow the directions. Take them every
day, as many times as stated on the label,
for as long as stated. If you’re feeling better,
that’s great. But some germs may be linger-
ing in your body, so finish the prescription.
And keep in mind that if you’re in-
fected, you can infect others. Stay home
from work and other public places until
you’re well. If your illness caused a fever,
wait at least 24 hours after it’s gone before
mingling with others.
WHAT ELSE YOU CAN DO
Ask your
doctor about other things you can do to
help prevent infectious illness—such as
using insect repellent to avoid bites from
ticks and mosquitoes. Find out why it’s
important for pregnant women not to
clean cat litter boxes and why you need to
keep an eye on kids’ hands when visiting
animals at a petting zoo or county fair.
You also can learn more about infec-
tious diseases at the website of the National
Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Diseases,
www.niaid.nih.gov
.
F A L L 2 0 1 2
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H E A L T H
B E A T