In case you hadn’t noticed; “general public health” has been in the news a lot lately. With Ebola making its debut in the USA, everyone is suddenly focused on “exposure to germs or infectors” in the environment. This article is not about Ebola; the World Health Organization has released an official communication regarding this disease which can be found at: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/ebola/faq-ebola/en/.

This increased concern about the spread of infectious diseases leads us to reiterate protocols we should follow in our offices regarding office hygiene to prevent the spread of germs in enclosed environments.  No matter where you are in the world, most likely the weather is changing. In some places it is starting to get really cold, and any severe change in weather may wreak havoc on our respiratory systems and is prime season for breeding the influenza virus, commonly known as the Flu.

One of the primary culprits for the spread of colds and flu is germs that reside on surfaces touched by multiple people. Door knobs, hand rails, elevator buttons, and keyboards are some of the examples of surfaces we touch every day. The best defense against these contaminated surfaces is to either wash your hands, or clean your hands with anti-bacterial wipes after you’ve come into contact with public surfaces. If you cannot get to either of these immediately then refrain from touching your face until you can wash your hands.

Please remember to wash your hands with soap and warm water sufficiently. One recommendation is to sing “Row, row, row your boat” slowly while washing your hands. Your hands are clean when you have finished the whole nursery rhyme. If you’re not familiar with this rhyme, pick any song or rhyme that takes at least a minute to sing.

Another major culprit for the spread of germs in the office is people coughing or sneezing without covering their mouth. The protocol is to cover your mouth with a tissue when coughing or sneezing, throw the tissue away immediately and then wash your hands to prevent germs from spreading.  If a tissue is not available, sneeze or cough into your sleeve at the elbow and then follow up with washing your hands.

One of the most effective ways that we can help each other from falling sick is to recognize when we ourselves need to stay home or to encourage our colleagues to go home if they are displaying flu like symptoms of fever, coughing and sneezing.

A couple of other areas that may cause the spread of germs (that we tend to neglect) are our workstations and gym equipment.  The average keyboard, mouse and chair have approximately 21,000 germs per square inch. Periodically clean your desk and computer equipment with an anti-bacterial wipe, usually found in your office’s supply closet/drawer.

The last area we would like to draw your attention to is gym equipment.  Always wipe down the machine handles or any part of the equipment that you are going to touch with your bare hands before you use the equipment. As an added courtesy, please wipe down the equipment after you’ve exercised, leaving the machine relatively germ free for the next user.

In summary, the most important thing you can do to avoid contaminating others, or yourself from other’s illnesses, is to wash your hands. It’s most critical to wash your hands after using the bathroom, touching public surfaces like hand rails and elevator buttons, and sneezing or coughing.

Thanks to: Farida Hasanali, Jessica Loflin, Sarah Pedersen, and Janet Wager