After a transplant, bacteria and viruses are of great concern, because the medication to prevent rejection will increase the risk for infection.  Therefore, it is important to prevent and treat any type of infection such as a cold, flu, sore throat, or open cut.

(Microsan Antimicrobial Lotion contains 1% PCMX and 2% Nonoxynol-9.  Microsan destroys 99.999% of susceptible microorganisms on the skin in 30 seconds or less.  It provides residual antimicrobial action that retards microbial regrowth for 4- 6 hours.)  Read More and Order

The CDC reports that hand washing is one of the most important means of preventing the spread of disease.

There are many diseases that are transmitted from person to person through hands.  Infectious diseases remain the leading cause of death and disease worldwide as well as the third leading cause of death in the United States.  Proper hand washing can stop the spread of 99% of the germs that travel via droplets.

One 1996 study of school children found that in schools where children scrubbed up thoroughly four times a day the absenteeism from colds and flu dropped nearly 70%.

Caught Dirty-Handed

When was the last time you washed your hands? Did you wash properly?  What have you done since you washed?  Have you sneezed, put your fingers in your mouth, touched something contaminated, or someone else?

Observations in public restrooms have revealed that only about 68 percent of Americans wash up before leaving.  Yet, proper hand washing is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of infections.

People who use public restrooms are especially susceptible to picking up germs and viruses, but anyone who picks up reading material at the library, shares a keyboard, a telephone, or touches the handle of a grocery cart, a pen at a checkout counter, a doorknob, a stair railing, or other contaminated objects are susceptible to contract illness.

Think about all the things you touch each day and how many people may have touched them before you.

When we touch contaminated objects and forget or neglect to wash our hands (or don't wash them properly), we can spread these germs to other people, objects, or give them to ourselves by touching our eyes, mouths, noses, cuts on our bodies, or the food we eat.

Avoid Illness and/or Death

Here is one way to use a public restroom that will help keep you safe.

First, make sure that you have a paper towel before you use the toilet so you do not have to touch the toilet stall lock, toilet or urinal flush lever.  Never sit on a toilet seat unprotected.  If there is not a toilet seat cover use toilet paper to line the toilet seat.

After you flush the toilet and exit the stall toss the paper towel in the trash.  Next make available a new paper towel to turn the faucet off and on (you might need to turn the crank on a roller dispenser even before you turn the water on to make the paper towel available).

Wet your hand thoroughly with warm water.  IMPORTANT: DO NOT TOUCH THE FAUCET, HANDLES, OR THE SINK WHILE YOUR HANDS ARE WET!

Let the water run if it doesn't shut off automatically.

Work up a good lather with lots of soap. Experts say that a 15 second scrub is usually sufficient, but health care workers are trained to keep that lather working for 30 seconds.

Another guideline is to rub each area ten times: ten circles around each wrist, ten rubs on the back of your palms, ten rubs with fingers interlaced. Use your nails to scrub the palms of the other hand ten times; this gets lather under the nail tip, too, which is a favorite hiding spot for germs. Open your palms out as flat as you can, and work the lather into all those lines and crevices.

Pay special attention to the surface along the thumb/forefinger line. This, along with our palms, is the surface we use most often to pick things up and to shake hands.

When you are finished scrubbing, rinse thoroughly, letting the water run off your fingertips.  Now grab a paper towel and dry thoroughly, all the while letting the water run. When your hands are dry, use a clean, dry paper towel to turn off the water. Use another paper towel to handle the doorknob to leave the room, don't toss it until the door is open, use your foot if necessary to hold the door open, toss the towel in the trash, or on the floor, if the trash receptacle is unreachable.  Remember, dry paper towels are better germ barriers than wet ones.

If the restroom has a hot air dryer, use a tissue, a page from a magazine, or even your clothing to turn off the faucet and open the exit door.

We need to create a culture where proper hand-washing awareness is paramount.  If people would just wash their hands, we would have an impact on some of the most common illnesses, as well as some of the most serious health problems we face.

Wash Your Hands Whenever You Can and:

Before you

• Prepare or eat food
• Go to the bathroom
• Treat a cut or wound
• Tend to someone who's sick
• Put in or take out contact lenses
• Do any kind of activity that involves putting your fingers in or near your mouth, eyes, etc.

After you

• Go to the bathroom
• Handle uncooked foods, especially raw meat
• Eat
• Blow your nose, cough or sneeze
• Handle garbage
• Tend to someone who's sick
• Change a diaper
• Touch a pet, especially reptiles and exotic animals
• Use a public telephone

Microsan Antimicrobial Lotion

Contains 1% PCMX and 2% Nonoxynol-9.  Microsan destroys 99.999% of susceptible microorganisms on the skin in 30 seconds or less.  It provides residual antimicrobial action that retards microbial regrowth for 4- 6 hours.

Read More and Order

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