By: Tuhin Choudhary, MD, MPH, MS & Robert W. Frenck Jr., MD, FAAP
As a whole, Americans are sick more than 4 billion days a year. Following germ-busting routines at home can help prevent those sick days and lower medical bills. Less contact with harmful germs means fewer infections, and fewer infections mean less school or workdays missed for your family. Cleaning routines can also reduce how many times you go to the doctor and the number of medications you might need to buy.
Simple cleaning routines that help prevent illness
If the idea of cleaning and disinfecting your entire house or apartment at once overwhelms you, you're not alone! Breaking down your cleaning routine into smaller, more manageable tasks across time can help. A room-by-room routine can make household chores easier and help you decrease the risk of infections. Find helpful tips, below.In the kitchen
Make sure to wash your hands and clean the kitchen surfaces before and after preparing meals.
Clean the kitchen counters with hot, soapy water and disinfect them by using a household bleach solution or other disinfectant.
Clean your cutting board or kitchen surface after use, especially when preparing raw meats.
Clean utensils before and after food preparation. Also clean utensils after they're used on raw foods and before using them again on cooked foods.
Handling food with care
Food can become
contaminated with bacteria and other germs. Eating contaminated food can cause stomach pain, vomiting and sometimes serious infections. To help prevent problems:
Cook ground meat all the way through (using a food thermometer can help).
Wash raw vegetables and fruit thoroughly before eating.
Avoid eating raw or undercooked eggs.
Thaw meat in the refrigerator, rather than on a countertop, and cook frozen food right after it's defrosted.
Keep raw foods and cooked foods separated, using separate utensils when preparing them.
Put any leftovers in the refrigerator or freezer as soon as possible to slow germ growth.
Don't leave foods that need refrigeration out for more than a couple of hours.
Cleaning routines & vaccines: a winning combination
While cleaning and disinfecting your home can help prevent disease, good hygiene alone can't stop all germs. That's where vaccines come in. A combination of good hygiene and immunizations gives your child a solid foundation for a lifetime of good health.
For many years, children got severely sick or died from infections that
we rarely see now. Good hygiene practices helped parents prevent infections, but the game changer was the arrival of vaccines. When children get
recommended immunizations at the right time and in the right order, their immune systems can identify and resist dangerous germs.
In the bathroom
Bathroom cleaning may not be the most enjoyable activity. However, just a few minutes a day spent getting rid of harmful germs in this part of your house can go a long way toward keeping your child healthy. Key steps include:
Clean and disinfect the toilet, sink and other surfaces weekly.
When a family member is sick with an infectious disease, particularly one that causes
diarrhea, cleaning might need to be more frequent.
After using soap and disinfecting, dry the cleaned surfaces with paper towels or a clean cloth.
Wash your hands when you are done cleaning the bathroom.
At the diaper changing station
Avoid changing diapers in areas where food is being prepared or eaten.
Clean the area after each diaper change, including the
changing table.
Wash your hands after cleaning the changing station or changing a diaper.
Note: Make sure you keep the bleach and all cleaning products locked up and
out of the reach for infants and young children.
In the bedrooms
By spending a few minutes clearing out objects that pile up or are misplaced each day, your weekly bedroom cleaning routine will be fast and easy. Avoiding clutter will make it harder for germs to find places to settle.
If possible, make the bed every day and remove clutter
Frequently empty the trash if used tissues or hygiene items are inside, especially if someone is sick at home.
Every week, wash bed sheets and pillowcases in warm or hot water and laundry detergent.
Dust surfaces and vacuum floors weekly
What to do when someone has a cold or a bad cough
When your child or another family member has a
cold or cough, there are important steps you can take in addition to following a household cleaning routine. Hand washing
Hand washing is important, but more so when someone is sick at home. Hands can be like little germ taxis, spreading germs to every doorknob and toy they touch. Proper hand washing helps stop this spread.
Remind kids to wash their hands properly. Washing until they finish singing the "happy birthday song" is a good way for them to remember how long to wash.
Getting kids into the habit of washing after they have been outside (including at school), using the bathroom and before eating a meal is a great way to prevent infections. Learn how to best wash both your and your kid's hands .
Respiratory hygiene: containing coughs & sneezes
If your child is sick, encourage them to avoid sneezing into the air, where germs can land on other people or on toys and other objects.
Encourage them to cough or sneeze into a tissue. If a tissue isn't available, they should cough or sneeze into their sleeves.
Discourage your child from covering their mouth with their hands while coughing or sneezing. This will leave germs on the hands that can be spread by touching other people or objects. Usually, it is hands that spread germs. They travel less through the air.
Throw away tissues immediately after each use, putting them in a nearby wastebasket or other container.
Once your child is old enough, teach them how to properly blow their nose into a tissue.
Don't allow your sick child to share items that can transmit germs, such as pacifiers, drinking cups, eating utensils, towels or
toothbrushes.
More information
About Dr. Choudhary Tuhin Choudhary, MD, MPH, MS, is a second year combined Internal Medicine-Pediatrics resident at Tulane University School of Medicine. Her professional interests include infectious disease and tropical medicine, health equity, global health, mentorship for first generation and nontraditional students, and medical education.
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About Dr. Frenck Robert W. Frenck Jr., MD, FAAP, is board-certified in pediatrics and pediatric infectious diseases and a member of the AAP Section on Infectious Diseases. He practices at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center and is a professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati.
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