I love the way she will lay on her hip.
And I am trying to get healthy. This is my typical dinner lately...raw bell peppers with a tsp of ranch dressing as a dipping sauce, sauted asparagus (Cooked with NO butter, just cooking spray and salt.), and 2 scrambled eggs with just a sprinkle of cheddar cheese.
If humans ever formally declare war against germs, Nichole Titley could be a field general. During cold and flu season, the elementary school art teacher from Bethlehem, Connecticut, carries a spray bottle of diluted bleach with her to the grocery store. She'll spray and wipe the outside of a box of cookies before it gets anywhere near her 3-year-old daughter, Elizabeth. "My pediatrician says I should have worked for the health inspection department," she says.
In the other camp, stay-at-home mother of five Yvonne Mihailoff of Flint, Michigan, lets the germs fall where they may. "I'm pretty laid-back about the whole thing," she says. She's not strict about hand washing and doesn't expect any awards for housekeeping. "My baby crawls around on the floor and chews on what happens to be there."
The truth is that germs are both friend and foe. Many of the microscopic organisms we call "germs" (bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and fungi) are either harmless or good for keeping our bodies working smoothly. And a theory called the hygiene hypothesis suggests that some exposure to germs can reduce a child's risk of developing asthma and allergies.
But germs can also bring coldsm flu, and food poisoning, which don't make kids any healthier or their immune system any stronger. In short: the fewer illnesses, the better.
So what might be your best strategy in the fight against germs? Most people develop an approach that's part science, part preference. To help you settle on yours, we asked experts and moms for their answers to five of parents' most pressing germ questions. Here are their battle tactics.
These days, grocery stores acknowledge that some people feel squeamish about germs on shopping cart handles — antiseptic wipe dispensers are becoming a fixture at stores. But not all parents take advantage of them. "I never use the wipes," says Carolyn McCarthy, a mother of one from Decatur, Georgia, with another on the way. "We grew up riding around in shopping carts, and we did fine."
For other parents, a mere wipe isn't enough. In addition to her bleach bottle, Connecticut mom Titley brings her own cloth cart cover to keep the handle under wraps.
Shopping cart handles really can be coated in germs, says Elizabeth Scott, a professor of biology at Simmons University in Boston and founder of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community. "Then again, germs are absolutely everywhere." She says moms and dads could give grocery cart handles a quick wipe, but "it wouldn't be a huge concern of mine."
Allison Aiello, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan's School of Public Health, agrees that shopping cart handles don't pose any special health threat, at least no more than doorknobs, telephones, and the other germ-covered items in our lives.
When shopping for groceries, you should pay attention to your hands, not the handles, Scott says. "If I get a little chicken juice on my hands, I'll ask the clerk for a wipe," she says. Food-borne bacteria lurking on raw meat or fish pose a bigger threat than any other germs you're likely to run across in the store, she says.
Bottom line: Wiping down the shopping cart can only help, but it's a corner you can cut without guilt. The real danger in the store is raw meat and fish — so wash well after touching them.
When it comes to attacking germs at home, choosing the right arsenal of cleansers can be a perplexing task. While plenty of products claim to be antibacterial-this and antiseptic-that, pregnant mom McCarthy is reluctant to use anything harsher than soap and water. "I'm more worried about chemicals and cleaners than bacteria," she says. "You don't have to obliterate every germ out there."
Mother of five Mihailoff usually depends on a wet washcloth to keep her kitchen clean, although she'll occasionally use a tub-and-tile detergent for more serious scrubbing. Titley, mom to a toddler, can sum up her cleaning approach in five words: bleach, and lots of it.
According to biologist Scott, simple soap and water really can be good germ killers — as long as you can take the item to the sink and give it a good scrub. But for countertops and other surfaces, soap and water aren't enough, especially if you're using a rag that's been hanging around in the sink. "If you use a rag on a countertop, you don't remove bacteria, you just spread them around," she says.
Scott recommends using a disinfectant spray for the "critical surfaces" where germs collect, including kitchen counters and the bathroom. You can make your own disinfectant solution by mixing a tablespoon of chlorine bleach with a quart of water. After you spray, wipe it off with a clean rag, sponge, or paper towel, she says. (To give a used sponge a second wind, wet it and stick it in the microwave for two minutes — studies have shown that's enough to blast germs to smithereens.)
A few notes of caution when using chlorine bleach: Never mix it with other cleaners (the combination can create a dangerous gas), store it safely away from the reach of children, and remember that more isn't better — a diluted solution is effective, and straight bleach is overkill.
As for antibacterial soaps, they might give you an added sense of security, but the extra protection is an illusion. Public health expert Aiello and her colleagues published a study in August 2007 showing that antibacterial soaps containing the germ-killing chemical triclosan didn't kill any more germs than regular soaps. To make matters worse, previous studies suggest that triclosan can help bacteria better survive against other germ fighters like antibiotic medications. In other words, antibacterial soaps may actually be doing germs a favor.
Bottom line: Your best bets are a good scrub in the sink with plain soap and hot water, and a disinfectant spray for things you can't haul to the sink.
The BabyCenter 7: Best ways to banish germs
Due to the shortage of space in my apartment kitchen I decided to hang them. I have found that not only do I really like how they look but they are so much more accessible. Now in the morning I don't have to dig through a crowded cabinet I just snatch one off the hook for my morning coffee. I hung them below the cabinets right over my coffee maker.
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