| Wayne 962 |
03-11-2020 03:09 PM |
I wrote this on another site (Nextdoor) last week or so:
Quote:
Here are my suggestions, based upon not much other than common sense (also coming from what I've read and heard). This is what I am doing, and this is what I have been doing over the past several years to try to stay healthy. Call this "Wayne Dempsey Common Sense" or something like that...
- I wash my hands prior to eating. This is very basic, but it's easy to forget and not do this. My Mom used to insist upon this when we were younger, but as I've gotten older (47 years old), I've lost some of the diligence.
- I bought myself a pair of light leather work gloves, and I wear them when I'm going out into public. Not only do the gloves keep germs off of your hands, but they also subconsciously prevent you from touching your face. This is a big one and is how the flu virus is spread often (from what I hear).
- I try to avoid touching anything. If it's a door handle, I pull down my sweatshirt sleeve and use that to open the door. If I'm using a pinpad at the grocery store, I use a pen to punch in the numbers, or I use my knuckle. I don't typically stick my knuckle on my face, so it's just another thing to isolate. I read something interesting that said they found coronavirus on the bathroom faucet handle. Makes sense - you turn it on with your contaminated hands, wash them thoroughly, and then turn it off and recontaminate them again! That's why Doctors and Nurses use those foot pedal controlled sinks.
- I make it a game to avoid touching anything in public places (like a grocery store. You can actually achieve this if you try. I got some coffee drinks in Smart and Final the other day - entered the store through the automatic door, grabbed the coffee, placed it on the check out counter, stuck my credit card in the slot, took the coffee, and left. Not touching anything.
- I do not shake anyone's hand. We had an open house today and about 25 people wanted to shake my hand. I told them I was sick and that it wasn't a bad idea. I'm no longer sick (I was about two weeks ago), but telling people you might be sick makes them glad you didn't shake their hand. Howie Mandel bump-fist for me.
- This one is slightly sneaky - if you want people to stay away from you, then just start fake coughing a lot. People will avoid you like you have the plague. If you're in an unsafe area of downtown and you think you might be mugged or attacked. Just walk down the street hacking - muggers don't want to catch your germs and will immediately be turned off. That's the theory at least.
- Sorry wifey - I avoid kissing my wife, kids, etc. Don't share food or utensils. If you're really concerned about contamination, then don't eat out (restaurants or fast food, etc.) - prepare your own meals. No buffets (that's my theory about why viruses spread on cruise ships).
- I don't let people near my stuff. Car washes (no interior cleaning), house cleaners (cough cough), etc. Avoid dental appointments, etc. Only go to the doctor or clinic if it's absolutely necessary. If you need to go some place (like Kaiser), try to check in at the orthopedics counter - those patients are typically just limping and hobbling around - not coughing up a lung.
- Use hand sanitizer. Don't bite your fingernails.
- I have a stash of water and food in case of quarantine (or earthquake). Probably not 14 days worth, as my wife keeps pulling from "the stash".
- Don't hang out with people who are coughing. Someone came into my office the other day. When leaving, they proceeded to cough into their hands and then opened the door to leave. Arrrgh! I got out the isopropyl alcohol and cleaned the door knob (even though I use my sweatshirt to open the door). Don't believe people when they say, "oh, I'm not contagious". B.S!
- Watch out for pinpads, ATMs, silly "enter your zip code" pads on gas pumps. Come to think of it, gas pumps -> this is a big one that everyone touches.
- I carry hand sanitizer in my car - I suggest using it when you get *in* the car. You've been out in the stores, and who knows what you've touched. Then you touch your steering wheel and it's "game on" for the germs. Getting them before you get into "your space" in the car seems important.
- Bathrooms - 100% of the time I never touch the door handle. I just don't understand why the "pull" handle is on the inside of the bathroom 99.9% of the time. Your hands are clean you want to "push" the door open with your foot so you don't have to get out of the bathroom. Seems really dumb to me that they do it that way.
- I went to Kaiser the other day, for a non-infectious disease type of issue. I strategically tried to choose a seat in the waiting room which seemed the most undesirable. But, when I got in, they sat me in this chair to take my blood pressure - the same chair that *everyone* sat in before me. I could literally see some leftover "stuff" on the padded bar that they put down in front of me. Disaster in the making - I wrote my Dr an email letting him know that I thought the chair was basically a bio hazard germ factory.
I would hope that following these suggestions will help keep me "sick free". They've worked relatively well over the past several years, hopefully they will continue to work in the future.
-Wayne
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