It Really Bothers Me When People Are Careless About Spreading Germs

Right now, there are three people where my husband works that have MRSA infections. This really bothers me. It started out with one person who has had multiple infections. I sent a copy of my article "Ten Things I Did To Beat MRSA" with my husband to give him in the hopes that he would take it seriously and be cautious. I was wrong. This guy doesn't seem to care who he infects. He has now infected two other people because of his careless attitude. I know my husband is being extra cautious at work, but it still worries me that he is stuck in that environment. I wish he could just quit right now. That entire place needs to be sanitized, but the problem is, this one careless person will just re-contaminate everything.

The purpose of my website, book, and this blog is to help people become more aware about avoiding the spread of germs. I know a lot of this information seems obvious and should be common sense, but from what I see, it's not. When the swine flu was a big problem, there were sick people out there running errands, going to work, or going to school with no thought of others. I know someone who works at a dry cleaning store that asked one of her customers to please go home because she came to pick up her dry cleaning when she was very sick. When we are sick, we need to be cautious about where we go. It's best to stay home until you get better because you are contagious! Everything you came in contact with during your illness should be sanitized. A lot of people died from swine flu. Simple precautions could have prevented it from becoming such a pandemic.

As far as my husband's job goes, it is my opinion that the guy spreading MRSA around should be suspended until he is cleared by a doctor. MRSA is a serious infection that is very hard to get rid of. Anyone who does not take it seriously is someone I prefer not to be around.

Public Bathroom Gadgets That Make Me Happy

A few days ago, I took my daughter to Salt Lake City to see a pediatric urologist about her recurring bladder infections. They wanted a urine sample and she needed to go pretty bad. Her regular pediatrician's office has always provided me with a medical urine hat that goes in the toilet and catches the urine. They also gave me rubber gloves to use. The urologist's office did not have any urine hats. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get a urine sample from a 6-year-old without getting it all over me. I put toilet paper on the seat and instead of sitting her down, I stood her on the toilet. As I was getting the sample cup ready, she couldn't hold it any more and started going. I panicked and yelled "stop!" but she couldn't. I just had to stick the cup in the stream and then pull it back out when it got full. My daughter was cracking up because pee was going everywhere. It went down her legs, on her feet, on the toilet, and on the floor. I laughed with her because it was pretty funny. Fortunately, I managed not to get it all over me. I helped her clean her legs, feet, and shoes off. Then I cleaned the toilet and floor. It's a good thing I always keep sanitizing wipes in my purse. Once all that was done, we both washed our hands very thoroughly. My daughter was prescribed a low dose of antibiotics that she will be taking every day for the next six months to prevent further infections and, hopefully, cure the problem. I'm not crazy about her being on antibiotics for that long because the overuse of antibiotics is what has created superbugs like MRSA. I don't want her to keep getting these infections though so I will hope for the best.

After we left, we went to Fashion Place Mall to have some dinner, look around a little, and wait out rush-hour traffic. We took a potty break at Nordstrom because their bathrooms are pretty clean. I was thrilled  to see this dispenser by the door. It dispenses the equivelant of about three squares of toilet paper that you can use to open the door. What a cool idea! They also had a trash can right behind the door to throw it away in. I didn't have my camera with me so I had to get my phone out to take a picture of this (with clean hands, of course). It doesn't take much to make me happy. Anything that helps with the avoidance of germs is a winner in my book! This happened to be one of those single-stall family bathrooms, so I didn't have people looking at me funny while I was taking pictures in the bathroom. I have to applaud stores that take extra measures to help people stay healthy. I am happy to give stores like Nordstrom my business and also recommend them to others.

"How To Be A Germophobe; Avoiding Sickness In Today's Germy World" Now On Kindle!

My "How To Be A Germophobe" book is now available for purchase on Amazon's Kindle for only $3.95!

In this day and age of ever increasing super bugs it pays to be careful. This book is an excellent resource for avoiding germs. It was inspired by my family's experience with the superbug MRSA.

I am currently in the finishing stage of an ebook that details my experience fighting MRSA and everything we did to ultimately beat it. Doctors say that once you have it, you will always have it. We have proven that wrong.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus)

I want to hear your stories! Please leave a comment and tell me about your experience with MRSA, what you went through, how you treated it, etc.

My son ate dirt! Should I be worried?

I was outside this evening pulling weeds in my garden yet again (a never-ending battle). My 20-month-old son was outside playing with his 5-year-old sister. I wasn't paying much attention to them other than looking up ocassionally to see where they were. When I finished, I noticed that my son had a ring of dirt around his mouth. Apparently, he must of eaten some dirt. Ewww! Should I be worried about him? What's done is done and I can't reverse it. I'm choosing not to worry about it. It's good for him to build up some immunities. I would not intentionally expose him to germs, but it's impossible to avoid all germs.

All babies that are in the crawling stage put everything they find in their mouth. My son still puts things in his mouth sometimes, but not as much as he used to. I have a family of 8 people tracking dirt in from outside. While I do now have a vacuum cleaner that sanitizes, I'm sure there are still plenty of germs on my floor. I don't freak out if my son picks something up and puts it in his mouth. If it's something he might choke on, I will go dig it out of his mouth. Otherwise, I don't worry about it. Maybe it's because he's the 6th child and I'm not as uptight as I was with the first.

What about scary germs like H1N1? Again, I would never intentionally expose my son or any of my kids to germs. When the swine flu was circulating last year, I was extra cautious when out in public. I am generally cautious in public anyway. I watch out for people who are coughing and stay away from them. I try to avoid touching things as much as possible. I sanitize my hands and my kids hands often. As soon as the H1N1 vaccine became available to everyone, I had my whole family vaccinated. I know someone who almost died from swine flu, and I don't want to take any chances with that. My family also had an experience with MRSA that I absolutely never want to deal with again! That is another big reason that I am very cautious about germs. I am a germophobe and proud of it!

Do adults still need to build up immunities? My opinion is no. I have had enough colds, stomach bugs, food poisoning, etc. I prefer to avoid germs and build up my immune system through diet, supplements and exercise. I plan to stay healthy! Go to my website, http://www.howtobeagermophobe.com/ and sign up for a free report: "How To Boost Your Immune System."

Lesser-Known Bug A Bigger Hospital Threat Than MRSA

By MIKE STOBBE
AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA (AP) - As one superbug seems to be fading as a threat in hospitals, another is on the rise, a new study suggests.

A dangerous, drug-resistant staph infection called MRSA is often seen as the biggest germ threat to patients in hospitals and other health care facilities. But infections from Clostridium difficile _ known as C-diff _ are surpassing MRSA infections, the study of 28 hospitals in the Southeast found.

"I think MRSA is almost a household name. Everybody thinks of MRSA as a serious threat," said Dr. Becky Miller, an infectious diseases specialist at Duke University Medical Center. She presented the research Saturday in Atlanta, at a medical conference on infection in health care facilities. "But C. difficile deserves more attention," she added.

MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, are bacteria that can't be treated with common antibiotics. They are often harmless as they ride on the skin, but become deadly once they get in the bloodstream. They enter through wounds, intravenous lines and other paths.

C-diff, also resistant to some antibiotics, is found in the colon and can cause diarrhea and a more serious intestinal condition known as colitis. It is spread by spores in feces. The spores are difficult to kill with most conventional household cleaners or alcohol-based hand sanitizers, so some of the disinfection measures against MRSA don't work on C-diff.

I FOUND A GERMOPHOBE FRIENDLY VACUUM CLEANER!!

In addition to getting a new washer and dryer, we also very much needed a new vacuum cleaner. We had 2 old pieces of junk. One that didn't work at all and another that didn't work very well. I saw an "infomercial" one night advertising the Oreck Halo vacuum cleaner with a UV-C light that kills germs while you vacuum. It even kills MRSA, which is the germ that I fear the most. I have wanted an Oreck vacuum for several years now and I am thrilled to find a germ-killing one. I ordered my new Oreck last week and it came today. I love it!! My carpets look great. I wish I had this when my 1-year-old was still crawling.

MRSA at Beaches

An associated press article from San Francisco, published in my local newspaper on Sunday Sept. 13, 2009 states "staph germs found on beaches."

"Dangerous staph bacteria have been found in sand and water for the first time at five public beaches along the coast of Washington, and scientists think the state is not the only one with this problem."

"The germ is MRSA, or methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus-- a hard-to-treat bug once rarely seen outside of hospitals but that increasingly is spreading in ordinary community settings such as schools, locker rooms and gyms."

"The germ causes nasty skin infections as well as pneumonia and other life-threatening problems. It spreads mostly through human contact. Little is known about environmental sources that also may harbor the germ."

Marilyn Roberts, a microbiologist at the University of Washington is quoted as saying "We don't know the risk... but the fact that we found these organisms suggests that the level is much higher than we thought."

The article further says "People should not avoid beaches or be afraid to enjoy them, scientists say." This is where I have to disagree! I have dealt with this germ with my own family and it absolutely terrifies me. MRSA is a very agressive germ. All it needs is the tiniest of scratches or pinpricks and it gets under your skin and causes a huge abscess! It is very hard to get rid of and the whole experience is a nightmare. Everything has to be sanitized constantly because you don't know where it could be lurking.

My advice is: Avoid any place that is known to have MRSA!