Many of the recommendations I read involve super-sanitizing everything - including regular use of hand sanitizers as your Plan B. Clorox and other cleaning wipes and hand sanitizers are well-positioned next to every cash register these days. And a coworker of mine is already choking us with regular use of Oust in the office. But can you take your flu prevention efforts a little greener? Yes!
Here are some of the CDC's recommendations on preventing the transmission of the flu (including H1N1):
- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it. Wash your hands immediately after.
- Wash your hands often with soap and warm water. Wash for 15 to 20 seconds. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
- Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
- Keep surfaces (especially bedside tables, surfaces in the bathroom, kitchen counters and toys for children) clean.
- If someone in your home is sick, don't use their dishes or utensils if they haven't been washed.
- Avoid “hugging” laundry when you're carrying it to the washing machine it to prevent contaminating yourself. Wash your hands with soap and water after handling dirty laundry.
- Wash linens using household laundry soap and tumble dry on a hot setting. (I know, not the greenest, but it beats getting a bug!)
- When possible, keep the sick person in a room separate from the common areas of the house.
- If you use cloth towels, assign different colored cloth towels to each person in the household.
Hmmm....Sounds like a lot of common sense during a potentially stressful time!