What better way to move from the man cold to dealing with all the “oh so wonderful” illnesses starting to circulate this time of year. HFM (hand foot mouth disease) has been showing its ugly face around our local school and daycare's. There actually have been a few other common illnesses making their way around as well, but this would be the one at its peak right now.
For those of you who don’t know me well, I’m kind of a germ freak. Not to the point where I avoid all contact with the outside world or not let my children be normal children; it’s just that I go through the normal routines (a little out of the normal here and there) of trying to prevent the germs as much as I possibly can. I provided some great information on essential oils and how they do wonders for your health in my last blog, but I also mentioned how I wasn’t partial to just oils (always use the purest though or it’s not getting you anywhere). I also like my tradition of using bleach and Lysol as a way of sanitizing for certain objects.
First, you should always, I mean ALWAYS be regularly washing your own hands and teaching your children the proper way to wash theirs and making sure they are doing it regularly as well. I instill this in my children, husband and daycare children and I notice when it’s not enforced or practiced at home. This is the number one way to prevent the spread! No, I’m not a CNA, CMA, Nurse, Doctor, etc. I have just done my research, read my articles, and lived the NICU life for 86 days. Just wash your hands with soap, people. If you don’t have access to soap, then use hand sanitizer. It’s a pretty easy task to avoid all those nasty bugs lurking on everything you touch. Cell phones (dirtier than a public toilet), gas pumps, railings, doorknobs, light switches, grocery carts, any public bathroom object, money, and on and on.
Second, do you consider the germs you bring into your house? When my youngest was born and in the NICU fighting for his life we learned a lot about ways to prevent carrying any outside germs in. One thing is wearing your shoes into the house. Shoes carry so much bacteria, germs, dirt and feces into the home. Do not wear shoes through your house. Especially on carpet. Also, it is very disrespectful for people to wear their shoes in someone else’s home. I fight this daily with daycare. Another, is that your clothes house some of the same things. It may be extreme for some to consider this and they may not be able to, but your family should change clothes as soon as you walk in the door. I enforced this along with everything else mentioned in this blog with my two older children during our NICU stay and they did not get sick once that entire winter!
Third, are you properly cleaning objects to do what you can to prevent getting sick? Some minor and quick things you can do is Lysol your shoes, kids’ backpacks, furniture, rugs, carpets or any other object too large to wash. I use Lysol/Clorox wipes to wipe down surfaces that I cannot wash or soak or I use the doTERRA cleaning product for countertops and chairs because I do believe in using safer alternatives on eating surfaces. One of the biggest projects I take on when deep cleaning are the playroom toys. Weekly, I give them a quick doTERRA spray and/or Lysol spray, but 2-3 times a year I give them a bleach bath. The number of germs sitting on toys is very high. I use the kitchen sink and do a little at time. The main things I do this for are Legos and kitchen toys. I fill one side of the sink with hot water and add 1 Cup of bleach. I allow them to soak 15 minutes or so kind of stirring them around every so often. I suggest wearing gloves because my hands always dry out. On the other side of the sink I have fresh cold water that I move the bleach-soaked toys to and allow to soak for another 15 minutes. Once this process is complete I lay them out on towels on the counters and allow to dry overnight. I change out the bleach and fresh water as often as I need to. The filth and scum left behind in the bleach water almost makes you want to complete this task every month, but it takes so much time, plus it’d probably ruin the toys if I was doing it so often. I wipe all the remaining toys down with Lysol wipes and once dried once over with a baby wipe to remove the Lysol residue. This does take a lot of your time and its work, but it’s worth it!
Finally, what are you waiting for? Give these tips a try. It does take a little more work than not worrying about germs or illnesses, but you won’t regret that cleaner, healthy feeling. Who doesn’t want happy, healthy children? I know I don’t like to be sick or see my children suffer, so I try to avoid it at all costs. It also helps to prevent missing work, school and other activities. And, if you’re sick already, please just stay home 😊 I hope you all are happy, healthy and blessed this Winter season!
XOXO – Britney
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