A Handy PSA

Once every few years my immune system decides to take a vacation and I catch every single bug that is flying around. This is one of those years. It all started a few weeks ago when I caught a pretty terrible cold. Just as I was starting to feel better, it progressed into the worst laryngitis I have ever had.

Let me take this moment to remind you of my three year old daughter. And her million questions a minute tendencies. You can image how fun that was with absolutely zero ability to talk. A full week of her asking me a question, me trying to pantomime the answer and her yelling at the top of her lungs:

“I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!! YOU NEED TO TALK!!!!”

It was a blast.

My voice and my health finally returned and I contemplated throwing a party. Being sick is never fun, especially when sick days are not an option. I vowed to stay healthy and, literally, washed my hands of the experience.

Three weeks later and I started to feel run down. It was just a few days post Halloween so I contributed my fatigue to a few too many sugar overloaded late nights. The fatigue quickly progressed. I was sick. Really sick. By the end of that day I was bedridden praying for mercy. I had a whole host of terrible symptoms including a fever.

I never, ever, have a fever. Ever.

I decided to do exactly what most sane people warn against in this situation. I Googled.

In my defense, I wanted to make sure this wasn’t anything too serious. As much fun as it is to drag a three year old to a doctor’s office while feeling terrible, I try to avoid it. I looked up my symptoms and ruled out the classic flu.

Good.

Then I looked up “stomach flu/ stomach virus”. All sorts of scary sounding medical terms popped up. All pointing right back to what I had. Norovirus. A bug. A (not so) fun virus that will leave my body when it is good and ready. No doctor needed unless my symptoms continued on for a week or more or I felt like I couldn’t keep fluids down.

Next I clicked my way over to how this viral gift I was given was spread. So far neither my husband nor the kiddo had any symptoms. I really wanted to keep it that way. That, my friends, is where this fun adventure in Google-land made a turn for the absolute worse. “Norovirus, or stomach flu, spreads via contact with the feces of an infected person."

Uhhh, what?

As panic and disgust set in I continued to read. Apparently when your mom told you to wash your hands after using the bathroom, she was on to something. Norovirus is extremely contagious and can be passed easily if the infected person doesn’t wash their hands after using the loo. They touch anything, the doorknob, a phone, a vending machine and suddenly the very next person to touch that will be exposed to the same virus. If that person rubs their eyes or puts something into their mouths before the can wash their hands, they can plan on a 3-7 day staycation from hell.

This would explain why my family stayed healthy while I didn’t. I am an avid handwasher. (Although I clearly didn’t wash after touching whatever was infected with this virus. It could have been anything.) I always have hand sanitizer in my bag for those times we can’t wash. I do my best to not contribute our germs to the cesspool of viral goodness.

If you are anything like me, handwashing is a no-brainer, especially after using the restroom. However, there are a staggering amount of people who do not wash up after using the facilities. Today at the co-op, my daughter and I were washing up and I counted 3, yes THREE, grown women, leave without washing their hands. I would love to give them the benefit of the doubt and say they used a waterless hand cleanser from their purse, however, my still queasy stomach and pounding head say otherwise.

So here is your annual Juicebox Confession Public Service Announcement:

The power to stay healthy during this cold and flu season lies in your hands. Every time you cough, sneeze or use the bathroom and every time before you eat, wash your hands thoroughly for 20 seconds* with water AND soap. Go ahead and sing a couple rounds of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star” or “Happy Birthday” to know you have washed for the full 20 seconds. If you do not have access to soap and water go ahead and use an alcohol based hand sanitizer. (It has to contain a minimum of 60% alcohol to be effective.*)  The choice is in your hands. Literally.

*A big thank you to the informative and slightly terrifying CDC website.