Holiday Germs: Reduce Germs for a Healthier Holiday Season

The holidays are almost here. That means a lot more close contact with family, friends, and strangers-and a lot more germs to share too.

Every time our family gathers for Thanksgiving or Christmas, there is at least one person who comes in complaining about how nauseated they feel, and they just don’t know if they’ll be able to eat dinner or not. And it seems as if there are always at least a couple of people with red eyes, drippy noses, and a hacking cough that they share with everyone else around them.

There are plenty of germs being spread in stores, banks, post offices, and even churches this time of year too. When I’m buying groceries, I try to get into the checkout line where the cashiers and baggers are not coughing and sneezing all over the place.

You can’t escape the holiday germs when you go to church either. It doesn’t matter whether your church uses hugs or handshakes when greeting each other. There are still plenty of germs being passed around, either way.

There are several ways that you can reduce germs this holiday season.

1.Carry hand sanitizer everywhere. We really like Purell Hand Sanitizer. I carry a small bottle in my purse. My husband carries a small bottle in his truck, and we keep a bottle in the car too. Each time we leave a store, bank, or the post office, we sanitize our hands. We also wipe the handles of any shopping carts we use as we enter a store.

2.Use bleach. My mother in law always put a few drops of bleach into the dishpan when she washed dishes during the winter. Chlorine is absorbed through the skin, so it’s probably not the healthiest thing to do, but it does cut down on winter germs. A few drops of bleach in the mop water are helpful too, though the smell can be quite strong.