Just Say No To Germs!
Wash those hands!
Here is the top 10 list of yucky places filled with all sorts of germs, bacteria, etc. courtesy of your favorite neighborhood germ-o-phobe; facts brought to you by Parents magazine.
The bad news…those darn germs are pretty much everywhere!
The good news…regular hand washing kills the majority of them, ahhh (:
- Playgrounds
- Ball pits, like at fast food restaurant play areas, etc.
- Petting zoos and pets
- Public water fountains
- Shopping carts
- Children’s museums
- Public high chairs
- Computer keyboards…like the one I am typing on right now
- Pediatrician’s waiting room
- Door knobs
Basically any area that little hands can reach and do so on a regular basis is germy, and as much as I wish I could assume that the child-friendly high chair at El Cerro Grande is squeaky clean and harmless, I can’t because chances are it is probably not germ-free, ugh.
Playgrounds are tons of fun, but since they are mostly outside they do not get cleaned like indoor play areas. Cue the dreaded ball pit, or as the Princess Bride would say “the pit of despair!” Those things are a fecal filled nightmare!
Ack, doggy tongue germs!
Pets and animals at petting zoos may not look particularly dirty, but most of them do roll in questionable material and also track feces and other outdoor contaminants on their feet.
This is a tough one for me because my dogs are indoor/outdoor pets that get bathed once a week, but I know they can still get Isaac sick, even though when they lick him he squeals with delight as I inwardly cringe while looking for photo ops.
Obviously water fountains, high chairs, doorknobs, keyboards, etc, get a lot of dirty hand traffic, toddler hands that wipe runny noses, pick boogers, possibly eat said boogers, go down pants, come in contact with fun bodily fluids and wastes, etc. I feel bad blasting children’s museums because they are awesome, but again, think of all the hands on exhibits. I’m not saying don’t go to them, just WASH THOSE HANDS before and after or drench them in sanitizer!
Shopping carts are mostly contaminated with salmonella from raw meat, usually chicken. Countless times I have grabbed a package of chicken and it feels wet and I hope that it’s not chicken juice but know it probably is. Even with those handy cart wipes that most grocery stores have now, I am still squeamish and untrusting of the carts.
I think the pediatrician’s office is a no-brainer. Sick kids…enough said.
Anyone want to add some other particularly nasty places for germs to hang out? Or you can remind me that kids and germs go hand in hand and to settle down and take a germ-free chill pill (:
I thought of your post today as I was pumping gas. Those nozzle handles have got to be on the nasty top ten list.
The pet one is hard for me too because our dog is mostly an indoor dog, which is not so bad when you have an older child. Now, when my other one starts crawling and putting everything in her mouth, that’s when I’ll be freaking out.
My OCD is in overdrive just thinking about all the places I went today and the germs I must have encountered. The good news is you will survive, this coming from a woman that ran a daycare out of her home for 15 years. My house never felt clean no matter how much I cleaned it. Maybe that is where the OCD first came about? I wash my hands ans use hand sanitizer before and after leaving stores, and I definitely wipe down all shopping carts.
Mamta, ew yes gas handles are on the nasty list, but more for adults than kids, unless you have them trained at a young age to pump your gas, haha maybe they could also cook and clean? Yeah right, wishful thinking…and yes, the dog one is hard, but I have also read that children raised around dogs and/or cats develop strong resistances to pet-induced allergies and whatnot, so that is good to hear and kind of balances thing out (I hope!).
Laura, sorry to aggravate your OCD (: It’s good to know that we will all survive, and I mean that especially coming from someone with your experience. I am a hand sanitizer junkie as well!
Hi my name is Stephen Robb, we are inquiry about the germ warfare hand
image to see if we could use it on our website being built at this time.Please
feel free to conatact us at any time
Stephen Robb
steelofnevada@yahoo.com
702-203-2721
Thank You
Hi Stephen,
I found this photo on a free photo source, I believe, but I can’t remember which one. Feel free to use it at your own discretion, thanks (:
[...] enough to survive the dreaded petting zoo? Remember, petting zoos were on the top ten list of dirty nasty places/things! The good news is we all made it through unscathed and actually had a fun time, [...]