Germs, Hygiene and Your Health | ArticlesBase.com
Germs are everywhere. Every time you touch a door handle, shake someone's hand or type on someone else's computer keyboard, you are transmitting and receiving germs. Recently, I watched a news program in which investigators used special equipment to determine where the most germs can be found in public places. They went into a hotel room of a popular hotel chain, and I almost had to change the channel. You would have been horrified to hear about the types of things that were found in places that we normally don't think of as being terribly dirty.
One of the biggest places where germs were found is in a place that every single one of us goes to at some point: the supermarket! That's right- I couldn't believe it myself. After they explained it though- it made sense. If you use a shopping car when you go to the supermarket to go food shopping, then you are instantly allowing germs into your life. When you touch the handle of the shopping cart the next time you go food shopping, think about all of the different people who have touched that very same handle. Also, because of the ways in which shopping carts are constructed, people with small children will usually put their babies or toddlers in the seat at the front of the shopping cart…right where the handle is that you use to push it! Babies drool, little kids pick their noses, people sneeze- and other people use the bathroom without washing their hands- and where does it all go? Right on the handle that your holding to push the cart forward.
If you want to take it a step further, after you've infested your hands with all sorts of disgusting germs, many people won't hesitate to put their hands all over the produce. Lettuce, cucumbers, oranges, apples, pears, grapes…all of it gets groped by people whose hands are filthy and germ ridden. This is why it is so incredibly important that if you purchase produce, you bring it home and immediately wash it. Never mind “tasting the grapes” at the supermarket to see if they are sweet! There were at least a few hundred people before you who had their mits all over them!
Now, if you go food shopping at the supermarkets, many supermarkets will actually provide convenient “handi-wipes” at the front door of the store entrances right by the shopping carts so that super hygiene-aware people can wipe down their shopping carts before proceeding. On another note, did you know that in some countries, you're not allowed to touch the produce? That's right. You have to tell the attendant which piece of fruit or how many veggies you plan on purchasing. At first, this seemed really annoying to me. However, now it may not be such a bad idea for the United States to pick up on. Anything that we can do to prevent the spread of germs (well, almost anything) is better than doing nothing at all.
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