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Family Focus Health & Nutrition 10 Places where germs hide| 10 Places where germs hide |
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Check out these favourite hiding places of germs below - if you cannot avoid them, at least you’ll know what to do to keep them at bay. 1. Buses and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) The MRT carriage has lots of places with ‘germ traps’ including grab poles and those glass separators at the ends of each row of seats. When people cough or sneeze on these separators, they may leave respiratory droplets and hence germs behind if they’re not feeling well. In buses, discourage your children from roving fingers which can turn up nasty ‘surprises’ such as used tissues in between seats. So where possible, avoid contact with these surfaces and use a hand sanitizer or wash your hands (if possible) when you arrive at your destination.
If you drive and are one of those who usually gets a petrol attendant to assist you with top-ups, this may not be an issue for you. Pump handles do get handled by a lot of sweaty hands in our tropical environment, so keep that bottle of hand sanitizer handy in your glove compartment to get your hands clean before you drive off.
Why are supermarket grocery carts often so dirty? Children often take a ride in these carts as temporary strollers, leaving behind rubbish, tissues or germs from dirty fingers. Try to pick a clean cart if you can. In addition, grocery cart handles may contain a lot of germs as this is where we place our hands. People could have used their hands to rub their noses and then hold the handle, thereby transferring the germs to the handles. So, do wipe down the handle of your cart before you push it down the aisle. And, don’t forget to wash your hands or use a hand sanitizer after shopping!
Neat rows of bookshelves, orderly tables and chairs… who would guess that the library can be such a germ-infested area? Well picture this: members handling numerous books and coughing or sneezing in an air-conditioned environment for a prolonged period, toddlers and young children crawling, rolling and running around in the kids section, plus grabbing and poring over books with grubby fingers. As you browse through books, avoid touching your face or mouth area, and wash your hands once you are done.
Although clean drinking water runs out of drinking spouts, the fountain surface may not be clean, especially if someone has coughed, sneezed or spit on it! Let the water run for a while before you take your drink, and avoid fountains with obvious dirt.
Think about all the long queues you’ve seen at ATMS (especially during festive seasons and the recently concluded Great Singapore Sale). Multiple the people queuing by the number of fingers punching the keypad – that’s a lot of ‘keypad action’! All these fingers may have touched various dirty surfaces in the course of the day. So, be sure to clean your hands after visiting the teller. In some countries, more people are using disposable finger cots (small rubber ‘protectors’ for your fingertips) which can be found at the pharmacy and some supermarkets – you may wish to consider this too.
Lift buttons see a lot of ‘pressing’ action especially in a mall during a good sale! Germs get transmitted to these buttons if people – children and adults alike – touch their eyes, noses and mouths before pressing these buttons. Try to avoid touching the lift buttons directly where possible – cover your fingers with a tissue or part of your long sleeve. Some people even go to the extent of using objects or their elbows if they have to touch the buttons.
If your work is desk-bound, chances are you spend at least several hours tap-tapping on your keyboard each day. While germs on keyboard keys can be wiped with a disinfectant, the spaces in between may contain bits of food, water and respiratory droplets. This increases your chances of passing germs to a colleague, or of getting infected if you share your computer with someone who is ill. Try not to eat at your desk and clean your keyboard keys and crevices with a soft cloth, fine brush and disinfectant. And, wash your hands frequently with soap and water.
Do you bring your handy purse or wallet everywhere you go? You’ll be surprised how many germ-infested surfaces a wallet can ‘rest’ on during a typical workday – an office desk, a table at the hawker centre, a ledge in the toilet! Try to avoid placing your wallet on surfaces in public areas, and if you must do so, wipe down the surface of your wallet with an antiseptic wipe regularly (avoid denim and cloth-like purses unless you are prepared to wash them!). Contrary to what many think, the kitchen contains more bacteria compared to other rooms in the house, including the bathroom. The main culprit is the wet sponge in the sink – with moisture and bits of food residue clinging to it, it provides an ideal environment for bacterial growth. A ‘washing-up’ sponge does need to be washed, rinsed and dried out in between washings. Place it on a drying rack rather than leave it in the wet soapy container, and replace it regularly too. Some people prefer to use dishcloths which you sanitise thoroughly in the laundry and dry in the sun as well. Answer these questions below to win a Kirei Kirei Gift Set worth $50 (3 winners)!
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