Thursday Tidbit: Spreading Of Germs

With all the hype of the Flu and how to help prevent yourself for getting I thought it'd be neat to write a article about Germs!  I heard a few of these facts on the news or radio and thought Huh??? Interesting...so here it goes!

Back to the Basics:

Germs are tiny organisms, or living things, that can cause disease.  Germs are so small and neaky that they creep into our bodies without being noticed until we have symptoms that say we've been attacked!

Four Major types of germs are: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa.  They invade not only humans, but plants & animals too.

Not all bacteria is bad!  We need some bacteria in our intestines to help us use the nutrients in the food we eat and make waste from what's left over.  Also some bacteria is used in labs to product medicines and vaccines.

Viruses need to be inside living cells to grow and reproduce.  They spread and make us sick like chickenpox, measles, flu and many others.

Fungi get their nutrition from plants, people and animals.  They love damp, warm places and not much threat to Healthy People, example Athlete's Foot.

Protozoa love moisture too and often spread diseases through water.  Some can cause intestinal infections that lead to diarrhea, nausea, and belly pain.

Wash Your Hands, Wash Your Hand, Wash Your Hands:

We touch many things throughout the day - when we open a door, shake hands with people, hold a restaurant menu, pay for something, use the computer, telephone etc!

-Use Warm Water, Use Soap, Scrub which means getting soap b/w your fingers, under nails and palms front and back at least 15 to 20 seconds min.  Rinse your hands and DON'T TURN OFF THE WATER.  Dry your hands first and then use to turn the water off.

Interesting Facts:

Generally, adults who have the flu can spread the virus for up to 5 days after they start feeling sick.  Children can spread the flu virus for 7 days or more.  

However, people can be infected with the flu virus, look and feel healthy and spread the flu for 24 hours BEFORE they feel sick.

Flu viruses can live up to 2 days on hard surfaces and up to 12 hours on materials such as cloth and paper so make sure you Disinfect.

When someone coughs or sneezes or even talks germs move through the air very quickly.  Droplets containing the flu virus can travel up to 6 feet in seconds landing on other people and objects.

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