Safety and sanitation in the workplace.

https://osu.app.box.com/s/yzjb809hg9tx6zg5jhm2d1r24r0x9y8s

Hand hygiene, social distancing, the proper use of PPE and routine cleaning—helps to reduce and limit the spread of viruses and infection to keep staff and patients safe.

I noticed from reading old (2009) recommendations during that pandemic (which didn't close down the economy or lockdown our normal activities) that sloppy habits of hygiene returned after the emergency passed. I hope some of these guidelines continue, like NOT EATING at workstations, and that applies not just to ICU, clinics, receptionist areas, but at ALL work places. It's difficult enough to clean computer equipment and keyboards, without adding the grease from French fries and Fritos. Plus for the patients nearby, there is the smell problem.

And I don't consider constant use of sanitizer a substitute for thorough hand washing with soap.

While we’re all washing, don’t forget. . .fingernails

Let me add one more health measure I haven't seen mentioned. Your fingernails. Trim them shorter than usual. Fake nails are factories of bacteria and fungus. Painted natural nails are too in that you can't see the crude they accumulate and cracks harbor critters. Yes, this is a virus, but you don't want to add to the stew, especially if you are working in any health facility or food service. If you're in veterinary medicine, you don't want to share your work with your pet at home.

"A real threat to patients lurks at the very tips of health-care workers’ fingers. Even when properly washed and gloved, the risk of infection is still there. The threat is pathogens harbored beneath artificial fingernails. If clinicians forgo artificial fingernails, it could make a significant difference in infection control. Studies have shown that artificial nails, as well as chipped nail polish, possess a greater amount of gram negative bacteria and pathogens than natural nails. The grooves and rough areas create a prefect space for bacteria to thrive."

https://www.rdhmag.com/pathology/public-health/article/16407021/infection-control-right-at-your-fingertips?

Your future is better if you have a toilet

Maybe if more men knew about the problems women have with sanitation and hygiene, fewer of them would be conflicted about their sexuality. https://www.wsscc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/We-Can’t-Wait-A-report-on-sanitation-and-hygiene-for-women-and-girls-WSSCC-WaterAid-Unilever-2013.pdf

"Women and girls living without any toilets spend 97 billion hours each year finding a place to go" and even in developed and western countries it can be a challenge.  Our church supports the collection of hygiene products for school girls and homeless women. Teachers have told me about teens who skip school because they don’t have sanitary products.

This is an interesting report on sanitation and hygiene, particularly as it affects women.  Good graphics.

Do something small that won’t change lives

Today I packed a bag for a family or household to have complete sides with the turkey Lutheran Social Services will distribute--mashed potatoes, 2 different vegetables, 2 fruits, a cake, gravy, cranberry sauce and pumpkin. I also packed a bag for "God's Hygiene Help Center" which includes personal care items for women who need to get back their dignity. This was started by Tammy Jewell about 8 years ago who was using her own disability check to buy things for those less fortunate. I packed shampoo, hand lotion, cotton balls, razors, deodorant, hand sanitizer, feminine hygiene products, and new Christmas socks, just for fun.

No one's life will be permanently changed. But the recipient may just be on a temporary slide and can bounce back, but she could be mentally ill and spend the rest of her life on the street. Why not have one good day to feel like everyone else? Would that be so terrible?

A few years ago I was visiting in Mt. Morris around the holidays and my Uncle Gene stopped by to chat. He was feeling great--he and a bunch of guys at the bar had taken up their annual collection for turkeys and were going to distribute them to (there was a list). They felt good and there were some families who had a nice meal--nothing life changing, just people helping people.

I was thinking about this because two Nobel Prize winners won on the basis of small projects enhanced by competition and incentive—finding out that children in Africa learn better if the teacher shows up, and that children are more like to get immunizations if they and the health care worker show up.  So simple.  Yet the author of the article was critical.

https://www.econlib.org/nobel-laureates-aim-too-low-on-global-poverty/

Donations for personal hygiene

We took about $50 of groceries to the Thanksgiving service at UALC on Thursday (nicest church service of the year with the best hymns).  But I kept aside a bag of personal care items I’ve been buying—shampoo, sanitary napkins, deodorant, bar soap, toothpaste, tooth brushes, liquid hand soap. These are for Tammy Jewell’s ministry, “God’s Hygiene Help Center,” which offers basic hygiene care to people who have lost their dignity because they simply can’t afford everyday items.  Some are for children, some for out of work men and women looking for jobs, some for the elderly and homeless.

Jewell is a former victim of human trafficking who came to know Jesus. Now she reaches out to addicts and trafficking victims.  When she shares Jesus, she also offers some small material aid.

From UALC.org Cornerstone, Nov. 22-26, 2015

Urinary Concentrations of Triclosan in the U.S. Population

Triclosan is a synthetic chemical with broad antimicrobial activity that has been used extensively in consumer products, including personal care products, textiles, and plastic kitchenware. 75% of the population shows some Triclosan in their urine. For once, there is no gap between races and gender, so I'm sure that will give research some pause. But higher income people have more in their urine than lower income.

I looked at the April 2010 updated FDA page, and didn't see anything alarming. That won't stop the alarms, of course. I'm sure it's killed far more than its share of dangerous germs.

Environmental Health Perspectives: Urinary Concentrations of Triclosan in the U.S. Population: 2003–2004

Thursday Thirteen--13 places my purse spread germs before 7 a.m.

Yesterday I was listening to a local radio talk guy discuss germs on a woman's purse, although it also applied to briefcases, backpacks, and bookbags. Women's purses are probably the worst, because women eat, handle food and use make-up, all of which create germ growth. So I checked Snopes because some of this was going around in e-mails about 2 years ago, and was being reported on TV health shows. What I found seemed to confirm it, although I didn't track down the original research.

"According to researchers at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake City, Utah, women's purses may be not only high in overall germ counts, but especially prone to carrying some of the most harmful varieties of bugs. Among the nasty bacteria found on purses were salmonella and E. coli, which can cause food poisoning and gastrointestinal problems, and pseudomonas, which causes eye infections. Perhaps even more cringe-worthy: researchers found evidence of trace fecal contamination on the majority of the purses tested. Results of the study were reported in a recent piece by the local news affiliate KUTV." Lifescript

Here are the places my purse landed before 7 a.m. this morning.

1) My side desk at home (I don't work here; just pile things on it).


2) My office chair while I was gathering my coat, notebook, etc. to leave for the coffee shop.

3) Counter top in my office bathroom where I went to put on my lipstick.


4) Table top in the kitchen while I looked for a pencil.

5) Passenger seat of my van while driving.

6) Counter top at Panera's where I ordered, paid for and picked up a coffee cup.

7) Counter top where I poured the coffee and added cream.

8) Table top where I sat to drink my coffee and read.


9) Hearth of the fireplace next to my table.

10) Door hook in toilet stall of the ladies' room.

11) Sink top in the ladies' room when I washed my hands. Keep in mind you handle your purse before you wash your hands.

12) My lap, and the underside of the table, when I returned to the table.

13) Kitchen counter top when I got home.


My purse is fabric and not easy to clean; plus it's black and I can't see the soil. I'm guessing the handle is much dirtier than the bottom. The three worst places to put a purse, according to the research, were in my own home--the kitchen table, kitchen counter top, and the bathroom counter top. But think about that stall door in the ladies room at the restaurant. A power flush toilet with no lid--a door that is never cleaned but within spray range. Yuk. The door probably isn't much better than the floor, which at least might be mopped once a day.

What about your purse/briefcase? Where has it traveled today?

Visit or join other Thursday Thirteeners.

Thursday Thirteen

3648

Get the clean hands habit

This was one of a series of instructional images used by the Minnesota Board of Health in the 1930s used to train the state’s public health workers. The purpose of these images and the appropriate training was focused on protecting food supplies from bacterial contamination.

Many people do not think about food safety until a food-related illness affects them or a family member. While the food supply in the United States in 2005 was deemed to be one of the safest in the world, CDC estimates that 76 million people get sick, more than 300,000 are hospitalized, and 5,000 Americans die each year. Text and photo courtesy of PHIL, Public Health Image Library.

3409 Wash your hands and other good stuff

I heard on the news today that the "cruise ship virus" has hit some Columbus hospitals--both patients and staff. The recommendations are that people wash their hands when around patients, preparing food, or using the bathrooms. Duh!

Did you know there are an estimated 1.4 million salmonella infections annually in the U.S.? Most are food borne, but many are acquired from animals, particularly pet rodents, such as hamsters, mice or rats. Another reason to wash you hands after handling animals, particularly at the pet store. NEJM 356:21-8 (January 4, 2007)

Nearly 20% of automobile crashes involve driver sleepiness unrelated to alcohol, and the total direct and indirect costs of sleepiness and sleep disorders amount to hundreds of billions of dollars annually in the U.S. An estimated 50-70 million Americans have sleep-related problems. This information was included in a review of Sleep disorders and sleep depreivation: an unmet public health problem, published in 2006 by the National Academies Press, published in NEJM 356;2, January 11, 2006. You can read the summary and chapters here. I personally think this book belongs in your public library--it's not very expensive--because the recommendations involve national issues and policies. Mine would only have to give up one cook book or one Elvis title to buy it. Hand washing won't help you sleep better, but good sleep hygiene will.