Three times in the past six days (that includes the weekend) the school nurse at my son’s elementary school has called me, and three times I’ve had to pick up my little boy from school. He’s not sick. If anything, he was a little stuffy. The first two check-outs were due to him spitting up mucus – a ritual he does every time he cries heartily or wakes up stuffy from a cold or allergies. The last time was from the scabby crust that formed on the end of his nose – just in time for school picture day. The …read more

The swine flu, aka H1N1, only goes back to april 2009 but it has
already marked itself in our history books. So far there have been 1,154 deaths from the Swine flu around the world. (according to a CNN report from August 5th, more have died since then)
With this month being the month for kids to start back in school, many will be coming in touch with others that have bad germs and bring it home. Dr. Erika Schwartz has stated that the CDC reported 436 deaths and 6,506 hospitalizations from the swine flu alone. With the opening of the school year how …read more

I knew it! According to a recent WebMD article, “plain soap” and antibacterial soap are comparably effective in killing germs when used properly. As a nurse friend of mine explained it to me, “The soap makes the dirt and germs slippery and the water rinses them away. That’s why you don’t need antibacterial soap — because it’s literally just washing the germs off.”
Here’s what WebMD had to say:
“Antibacterial soaps do not provide a benefit above and beyond plain soaps for generally healthy people living in the community,” researcher Allison Aiello, PhD, tells WebMD.
“Washing your hands is extremely important for preventing …read more

I can’t make this stuff up, folks. Two seniors at Connecticut College did an experiment for their microbiology class that demonstrated that the “5-second rule” is total overkill. According to their results, it takes more than 30 seconds for bacteria to grow on wet foods (eg, fruit slices, ice cubes, popsicles, etc) and more than a minute for it to grow on dry food (eg, crackers, a sandwich, hard candy). Watch the ABC News clip reporting the results. (There’s a 15-second ad before the segment, and then it automatically redirects you.)
Next time you drop something on the ground, blow (or …read more

This was another one of those reports that I read and just say, “Um, duh?” but evidently it’s been scientifically proven that microwaving your kitchen sponge can kill germs and potentially harmful bacteria.
“Basically, what we find is that we could knock out most bacteria in two minutes,” says researcher Gabriel Bitton, professor of environmental engineering at the University of Florida, in a news release. “People often put their sponges and scrubbers in the dishwasher, but if they really want to decontaminate them and not just clean them, they should use the microwave.”
Have you ever microwaved your sponge or dishcloth? …read more