No, I’m not writing about jogging 10 miles a day, nor am I writing about lifting weights either! What I’m talking about is avoiding getting sick via colds, flus and other germs…
First, a little background about me… The last 10 or so years, I’ve have been sick a lot! At first like any great parent, I blamed it on my kids (and when they were very young, I’m sure they had an impact). But now that they are older and don’t put hands in their mouths so much. So now, I think I’m primarily getting sick from work. So, I stopped putting my cube neighbors’ mice in my mouth (lol),
Here is what I now do:
- I use my sleeve to open the doors if I don’t have a napkin or tissue.
- I take a napkin (from fast food places) out of my car and use it to open the doors at work.
- I always use purell after using someone keyboard, or after someone uses my keyboard.
- I have have a special routine for going to the bathroom.
I know, you are thinking “a special routing for going to the bathroom?” As you well know, not everybody washes their hands after going to either “of the options” when they go to the bathroom (how that for PC?).
This might be pushing the envelope a bit, but I’m going to tell you about my “special routine” anyway!
- I open the door to the bathroom by pushing it with my forearm if I’m wearing a long sleeve shirt. (sometimes I push the door open with my foot if I don’t have a long sleeve shirt on).
- Next, I take my magic napkin out of my pocket, tear a long inch wide strip of it and open the bathroom stall door.
- The typical activities are performed…
- Use another long inch wide strip from my napkin to open the stall door.
- Wash hands vigorously (as the signs that I see around demands that I do, surprisingly the sign is not in our bathrooms… I guess we are suppose to know…).
- Leave the water running (only for a sec) as I reach for a paper towel and dry my hands
- Then use the towel to turn the water off. (Yeah, I’m being picky, but it works for me)
- Grab another towel and use the bottom half to dry my hands fully.
- Then as I go to the door, I use the upper half of the towel to open the door.
- After the door is open, I toss the towel in the trash can besides the door.
- Don’t tell anyone, but I’m the one who put that trash can there… 🙂 So far nobody has asked why, and tons of people now use it (I’m such a trend setter)…
- Now I go back to my cube healthy! Hurray!!!
I know this isn’t as glamorous or as exciting as practically any of my previous personal finance posts. But believe it or not, this post has a lot of value… if you use it, you too will get sick much less often, saving you money! This technique could also help you advance more quickly in your career. If you are sick less, you are at work more and you are able to perform at a higher level vs. if you were sick all of the time.
The past few years, I’ve hardly been sick… I attribute my good fortune to what we jokingly call the “hand something“, but since my kids read this, I’ll leave the name to your imaginations… Just think of hand protection 😉
Oh, I also use my napkins for getting water from the filtered water dispense at work, and the elevator buttons, and any surface that I can think of that other people touch frequently. If you use small strips of the napkin like I do, not many people will notice either…
What do you think? Am I over doing it? Do you use similar techniques?
Respectfully,
-MR
Ha! THis is great stuff thanks for sharing! I work on a large oil exploration ship in the Gulf of Mexico and I am constantly sharing a similar strategy as yours during our weekly safety meetings etc.
With nearly 200 people working/living in close proximity to each other for weeks at a time, colds and flus travel like wild fire!
I used to blame my sicknesses on my kids too, but last go around, I got sick and then my daughter had a similar sickness.
I felt bad knowing that I probably gave it to her!
Anyway, thanks for sharing your “personal routine” with us all!
I think your habits are perfectly normal. Then again, I am a pretty obsessive hand washer so I might not be the person to ask. Some people might think my preventive measures are a bit OCD but hey, I haven’t gotten sick, not even a little cold, in years so, it works!
@Debt Freedom
Working on a ship, you probably constantly have to open and close doors. Guessing that such an environment is predominately male, I but using pieces of napkins would be harder to use with the rest of the guys around. Luckily, what I have been doing for the past few years is starting to spread… I see more and more people using the same techniques.
@Jin6655321
It makes sense! And it’s so much more sanitary, really. Good to hear that I’m not the only one.
I remember being repulsed by the public phones at the grocery store I use to work at as a kid. It was indoor, so it didn’t even have the rain and sun to bake some of the germs away. Needless to say, I never used that public phone… 🙂
Personally I think you are going a little far.
I understand why you feel how you do. Been there, done that. I use to do all I could to avoid public restrooms anywhere!
Then I started a traveling job… duh… what now?
In time I just learned to accept that there are germs everywhere. I don’t even think about it anymore. Funny thing, I am exposed to more germs by far than the average person. In over 12 years of traveling, I’ve been sick twice!
To be honest, one of those was with the swine I caught on a flight back from Tulsa but still, look at the odds. There is also something to be said for exposure allowing your body to build natural immunity.
I am sure you saw my post a few weeks ago, Ban Antibiotics… The data would show we need to embrace the germs.
just another view…
Yeah, I’m a strange egg that way… While I try to avoid germs as much as possible, I don’t like using chemicals to clean around the house. If I had it my way, we would use white vinegar and water for most of our cleaning.
I don’t use purell that much, but if it’s available, and if I need it, I’ll use it.
I think it comes down to how strong your immune system is. Mine isn’t so strong, so I adapt in other ways. Others…, they don’t need to take the measures that I do, and good for them! I think that’s great.
I don’t mind catching a simple cold every now and then, but I’m not going to go out of my way to catch them either 😉
I guess I just believe it depend on what is going around, and one’s history with illnesses.
Hahhaa, awesome! How do you spell “hypochondriac”?!
Love the routine! I’m kinda a germophobe myself.
Folks, FLOSS yo teeth and brush frequently! Don’t forget to shower too, geez!
Sam
@Sam
Lol, I thought I’d get a lot more ribbing on this one. I know I’m not the norm on this… but it works for me!
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
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