Did you know that most common illnesses are due to a lack of washing hands?
Yes, it's true. Those nasty little germs that cause infections are everywhere. Are you ever annoyed by people who cough without covering their mouths? Have you ever come down with an illness because of this practice? Probably so. No one likes to be sick, yet so many of us fail to observe the simple, one minute task of washing hands!
Restaurant workers are always instructed carefully on this subject. Restaurant owners put up signs in all the employee areas, reminding workers to wash their hands after handling food, equipment, menus or visiting the restroom. Any restaurant whose patrons became ill on numerous visits to that eating place would surely suffer a decline in customers. By washing hands frequently, a clean and safe environment is established. However, in our own homes, we tend to be a little less persnickety. If you want to avoid illness, clean hands are your best secret weapon!
Kids are renowned for not washing their hands as they should. They can go to school, handling all sorts of inanimate objects, touching other kids, playing in the schoolyard, trading parts of their lunch, then riding home on their bikes, all without the notion of washing hands ever entering their mind. How many times have you seen your kids come in and head straight for the frig or the cookie jar? By the end of a typical day, a kid might accumulate billions of germs on their little hands! Now that's a recipe for illness!
Now, how about you? When you go grocery shopping, you're usually pushing a grocery cart. Not to sound overly paranoid, but have you considered how many other people have used that cart today, depositing their accumulation of the day's germs on that cart handle? Unless you live in a sterile environment, it's impossible to avoid germs. Even the grocer has come to recognize the germ-laden grocery cart as a threat to his business. Some grocery chains have now implemented a cart-washing system, much like a car wash, to provide clean carts for shoppers and thus promote a healthy environment. Sick customers don't shop!
In school, teachers are always reminding kids about washing hands. Moms constantly chastise their kids 'Did you wash your hands?' - as they sit down to eat. It's an uphill battle, but well worth the trouble.
When you realize how essential the washing hands ritual is to avoiding sickness, you can become as vigorous as a politician in your campaign. At home, keeping plastic bottles of hand sanitizer handy in the kitchen, kid's rooms and the bathroom can encourage everyone to stay healthy, cutting back on sick days and lost productivity on all fronts.
Sooner or later, the message will get through and washing hands on a regular basis will become second nature. Everyone in your family will be happier campers, as a result! Keep on nagging!
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