DoWe Really Need To Wash Our Hands?

We were told from the time that we were little kids to wash our hands. "Did you wash your hands before dinner"? Our mothers would ask. "Wash up before bed" our parents often commanded. "Johnny, stop picking your nose. Now go wash up before you eat" I’m sure that most of us out there have heard these shouts or something similar to them from our parents as we were growing up. What is the big deal about this anyway? Well, that is what this article about.

The Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta cites five common ways in which those disease- causing germs can be transmitted on our household. The first is hands to food. Here, the germs are transmitted from dirty hands to food. You or someone else eats the food and possibly gets sick. Another way is changing an infants diaper. Obviously, there is a multitude of germs in an infant’s stool. Without washing, these germs cam be transmitted anywhere and onto anything. Another was if from food to hand. Here the person is handling raw uncooked foods. If they do not wash their hands, they can spread these germs anywhere even back onto other foods, which are then consumed. Nose, mouth, eyes is another way of transmitting germs. Hand washing can prevent all of the above.

What is the big deal you ask? Well, the incidence of hospital- borne infections is on the rise. Why? One of the reasons is that hospital staff is not washing their hands the way that they should. Properly, hospital staff should wash their hands in between touching every patient. I need to tell you that is not the case. As a matter of fact, that is no where near the case. A surgical hand wash for instance, use to take about a good 10 minutes, we would start at the elbows and work down, scrubbing each finger individually to its tip. I would venture to guess that isn’t happening much today. There was a recent article in the Sunday San Diego Union newspaper that discussed just that fact. It talked about how people were getting preventable infections unnecessarily because hands were not properly washed. Do we care now as much as we did even 10 years ago about what we do to others? I don’t think so.

Hand washing is the beginning of infection control. This is an indisputable fact. Not simply a statement. Also, does it matter how we wash our hands, I think so. Simply rinsing you hands with water isn’t good enough. You need to wash your hand with both soap and water and the temperature needs to be on the hot side. Why? Because of the oils on your skin, the germs can adhere to your skin so simply rinsing with water will not get rid of them. The soap forms a bond with the oils and will take the germs with them. Also, the heat of the water opens the skin pores and releases some of the bacteria in them.

Here are some interesting facts:

One half of bacterial infections don’t respond to antibiotics any longer.
Only an estimated 22-63% of medical personnel wash their hands between patient contacts.
There are an estimated 1.5 million infections per year that occur in long term care facilities.
Direct touching transmits 80% of common infections.
There are approximately 22 million cases of food poisoning with 10,000 deaths per year, which the FDA say is, cause by lack of hand washing.
Seniors and the disabled are 10 times more likely to die from food poisoning than the rest of the population. This accounts for 1/3 of the US population.
The top cause for food borne illnesses is poor hygiene
The top cause for poor hygiene is lack of hand washing.
The above stats were gotten from the Food and Drug Administration and the Center for Disease Control.

Living in a fast paced society leaves little time for many people to stop and wash their hands. They are not thinking about the consequences of their lack of action. However, you as the disabled person must pay attention. Why? Because as I stated above, you are 10 times more likely to die from food poisoning than the general population. This is a fact folk not fiction. Most individuals who are disabled are exposed more frequently to health care providers from doctors to nurses’ aids. Not all of them take the time to wash their hands, thus exposing you to infection. The remedy here is to ask the medical provider whether they are a doctor or an orderly to wash their hands before they touch you. Don’t take a no for an answer.

Let’s take a look at the above facts. Fact One; over half of the bacterial infections don’t respond to antibiotics any longer. Because of the overuse of antibiotics, many of bacteria have become resistant to them. It used to be when I was growing up (I’m in my mid- 40’s) the doctors wouldn’t give us an antibiotic usually penicillin unless our fever lasted more than three days. This gave our body a chance to fight off the infection. The antibiotics were used only if we couldn’t do it on our own. Today however, people don’t want to be inconvenienced, they don’t have the time to come back if they don’t get better, so they pressure the doctors to give them medication. The result is bacterial that becomes resistant to the antibiotic.

Fact Two; only an estimate 22-63% of medical personnel wash their hands between patient contact. This scares the heck out of me. As disabled people, we deal with medical personnel very often. How do we know that the nurse who cleaned out the colostomy bag from the patient in the other room right before she came in to perform a procedure on you washed her hands? Its simple, ask. If she says that she didn’t, don’t let her touch you with doing so. Do not be ashamed to speak up. You may be saving yourself an infection. I can tell you from working in a hospital that there is so much work to do that sometimes they simply forget. Even if it is your doctor, speak up.

This leads us into Fact Three; that there is an estimated 1.5 million infections that occur in long term care facilities per year. These facilities do not have the same ratio of trained medical personnel that hospitals do. They usually hire medical assistants or nurse’s aides to perform the direct patient care. These individuals may not fully understand the full ramifications on not washing their hands. That is why you better.

Fact Four; direct touching transmits 80% of common infections. It has been said and proven that our hands touch every part of our body a number of times every day. So it is easy then to comprehend how when we rub our eyes after touching bloody meat from the grocery store without washing our hands that we can cause an infection. Common infections include but are not limited to: colds, sore throats, eye infections, the flu, other viruses…

Fact Five; the FDA says that there are approximately 22 million cases of food poisoning with approximately 10,000 deaths per year that is caused by a lack of hand washing. In my opinion, you have to be very suspicious of the food handlers in restaurants or fast food chains. Who are the food preparers? Are they illegal immigrants from a third world country and possibly sick? Being hired simply because of cheap labor. You need to ask those questions about the food establishments that you frequent. Also, don’t discount yourself. Preparing your own food with dirty/contaminated hands can also cause food poisoning.

Fact Six; seniors and the disabled are 10 times more likely to die from food poisoning than the rest of the population. This to me is a very scary fact. Whether we like it or not, most disabled people have compromised immune systems. This either because of medications that they are taken, or appliances that you are using, or because you are sedentary. Either way, this should be a huge incentive for you to make sure that your hands are washed.

Facts Seven and Eight; the top cause of food borne illnesses is poor hygiene and the top cause of poor hygiene is lack of hand washing, speak for themselves.

Many of the germs that we are talking about here are what we call opportunistic. This means that they usually will not cause disease. They actually live on your skin or in your bowels. However, if your health is compromised because of a disability or a common cold, these germs can do great harm.

Many of you who are disabled have compromised immune systems. Either from your illness, or from medications that you may be taken or simply because you live a sedentary life. Because of this, you are more susceptible to infection. It is simple to wash you hands isn’t it? Well do it! It could save your life.

Diana Corso is the founder and publisher of NutritionalUpdates.com. Diana has a BS in Biology and an MBA. Diana is also the founder of disABLEDperson Inc. which is a non profit charity whose mission is to connect the disabled with employers. Diana has branded disABLEDperson Inc. nationally through it's web portal disABLEDperson.com. She can be reached at aol.com

Related Information of Interest:

Photography Q&A: The Basics Of Developing Photographs
* Can I develop my own photographs?

Yes, you can. By having your own darkroom, it is possible that you can develop your own photos. You first need to set up your own darkroom and buy darkroom equipment.

* What equipment and supplies do I need in a darkroom?

A darkroom requires many kinds of equipment to get you started in developing your photos. It is expensive, so you should prepare a sufficient amount of money to get into this hobby.

The darkroom necessities are:

• Enlarger
• Negative carrier
• Lens Board
• Lens
• Safelight
• Print trays
• Timer
• Thermometer
• Funnel
• Chemical jugs
• Developer, stop, fixer
• Printing paper
• Mixing rod
• Print squeegee
• Dust brush
• Graduates
• Negative Storage
• Dark Bag/ Dark room
• Film tank
• Film reels
• Film

Above is the equipment you need for a darkroom. However, you still need additional equipment to set up a complete darkroom above and beyond the former, which includes:

• Paper cutter
• Color print drum
• Motor base for print drum or rotary processor
• Color head or filters
• Color printing paper
• Color chemicals
• Jugs and graduates for color chemistry
• Color print viewing filter kit
• Light table
• Dry mount press
• Mounting tissue
• Bulk film loader
• Film cassettes
• Darkroom sink
• Water board
• Film drier
• Print drier
• Toners
• Jugs for toners
• Exposure/color analyzer
• Repeating printing timer
• Photo Oils/pencils
• Print tongs
• Hypo clear, photo-flow
• Easel
• Polycontrast Filters
• Film clips
• Print washer
• Blotter book
• Projection scale
• Antistaticum
• Canned air
• Loupe
• Cropping guide
• Film washer
• Cotton gloves
• Spotting dyes
• Spotting brush
• Contact printer
• Grain focuser

* What makes a good darkroom?

A good darkroom should be light-proof, spacious, have dry and wet areas, have ventilation, have bench space, be organized, have a safe light, and be comfortable to work in. Since you will be working with chemicals, it is important that you have enough space to maneuver to avoid tripping over dangerous chemicals.

Travis Partrige is a regular contributor to photographer guides and photography-related sites such as Photography Question and Answer. Website: www.PhotographyQA.com

The Benefits of Submitting Articles for SEO
There are millions of businesses in the world. Similarly, there are millions of web sites being used to promote each and every one of them. Some get lucky enough and always appear number one in search engines. However, most get archived in the last places customers will ever look for in a search engine. Clearly, luck can not be everything when it comes to giving your business the attention it needs. Itï¿½s a good thing thereï¿½s always SEO. Search Engine Optimization is the only way to go if you want your ads and web sites to stand out in the internet. SEO compliant articles will inevitably hit the right keywords at all times. This procedure comes from the meticulous task of picking out most probable keywords people from all over the world use in search of corresponding services. Through hitting as many keywords as possible, a certain website raises its ranking in various search engines such as Yahoo and Google. With this higher ranking, customers gain more accessibility to the site. As we all know, it is indeed very rare for people to check out web sites in the latter pages of search results. That is why articles need to be optimized by inserting the words with most hits in terms of customersï¿½ random typing preference probabilities. Through search engine optimization, a web site will earn higher in the engines and remains there as long as it is kept properly maintained. SEO companies also see to it that their clients are always on top of the results page. As such, you are guaranteed continuing surveillance of your siteï¿½s ranking day in or day out. They also have keyword generators which can spare you from the laborious task of assessing which key words need to be hit and which ones are futile to include in the article. It also allows writers to hit the taste of the masses which access the internet. Companies can now focus writing attractively for the keywords which sell the best. Other services rendered by sites can now be dissolved if the web isnï¿½t showing an interest for it, therefore eliminating deadwood in the business. With this wonderful innovation in web writing, each article will surely be given ample attention in terms of engine optimization and accessibility. The purpose of advertising and syndication will be fulfilled, instead of stagnating in a dark and shady area with abysmally low ranking positions.

Sandra Adams writes search engine related articles.To get free articles to display on your own site, please visit www.articletrader.com

7 Winning Tips For Article Marketers
1. Follow up with your readers.

For example, you could offer a subscription to your ezine or
you could offer a free email course in your resource box.

2. Use lots of white space.

Increase your article's white space by going over it for
sentences you can shorten and also paragraphs you could
break up into two or three shorter paragraphs.

3. Use numbered lists.

Use your numbered lists to convey points in your articles or
your steps in your "how to" article.

Numbered lists can also be used to create the content of
your article, like I did with this simple list article.

4. Use the word "you" a lot in your articles.

Make your writing feel more personal by using the word you a
lot within your article.

That way your readers will feel like you are talking
directly to them and you'll be able to better draw them into
your article's content.

5. Write to one person.

Choose a person such as a friend or spouse to write your
article to.

By doing this, you will naturally use the word you a lot
within your article, and your readers will feel like you are
talking to them one to one.

6. Offer an article announcement list.

Keep people up to date on your latest articles by publishing
an email list that announces your new articles.

You could also announce your new articles by RSS to
publishers and webmasters that like your writing.

7. Let your affiliates use your articles to earn
commissions.

Make your articles available to your affiliates to publish
on their sites or in their ezines with their affiliate links
in your resource box.

You'll be able to successfully raise your profits by turning
your articles into an effective promotional tool for your
affiliates.

Ken runs the Net Pro Marketer where you'll find informative articles on business, marketing, and ezine publishing. Browse through the articles or submit your own at: www.netpromarketer.com

Delicious Christmas Cookies Recipes
Keep your kidsbusy during Christmas break baking cookies to give as Christmas gifts. Below are some common Christmas cookies that arenï¿½t too hard to make and are great for Christmas sharing.

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are classics that will melt in your mouth. You can roll the dough out and use Christmas shaped cookie cutters or simple roll the cookies into balls and then roll the balls in a festive topping like crushed almonds or coconut. These cookies are easy and fun to make.

Youï¿½ll need the following:

2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 pound unsalted butter
pinch of salt

To make the cookies mix the ingredients well and then roll out to ï¿½ inch thickness and use cookie cutters. Or make small balls out of them and roll the balls in nuts or coconut. Place on a greased cookie sheet and then flatten lightly with the bottom of a glass

Bake at 300ï¿½ F. for around 20 to 25 minutes.

Secret Kiss Cookie

These fun cookies have a chocolate kiss treat inside!
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
1 bag chocolate kiss candies, unwrapped (7 ounces)
powdered sugar

Cream the butter, vanilla, and sugar. Blend in the flour. Wrap a tablespoon of the dough around a chocolate candy kiss. Place on greased cookie sheet and bake at 350ï¿½ for approximately 15 minutes until the dough has set but is not brown. Then while still warm, roll each cookie in powdered sugar.

The recipe above makes about 2 to 3 dozen cookies.

Thumbprint Cookie

This is a colorful and fun cookie that kids love to make with a thumbprint.

2 1/2 cups flour ï¿½ add more if dough is too thin
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 teaspoons vanilla
Chopped nuts
Jam

Use an electric mixer and beat the butter at medium speed until creamy. Then add sugar and flour, vanilla and almond extract, blending well. Chill the dough for 2 ï¿½ hours then form it into small balls and roll them in the nuts. Place the balls on a lightly greased cookie sheet then make an indentation with your thumb and fill it with jam. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes until firm and light brown on bottom. Bake at 300ï¿½.

Marianne Jackson is a staff writer at Christmas Gazette and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including Family Review.