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Category: Hygiene and Self Care

Safely Using Hand Sanitizer | FDA

Hand Sanitizer

We can help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases by washing our hands regularly with soap and water for 20 seconds – especially after going to the bathroom, before eating, and after coughing, sneezing, or blowing our nose. If soap and water are not available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend using alcohol-based hand sanitizers containing at least 60% alcohol to help you avoid getting sick and spreading germs toContinue…

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Sharing Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Between People and Pets… Is There a Concern? | Worms & Germs Blog

An abstract in the upcoming European Conference on Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) has gotten a fair bit of press and led to a lot of questions because of some sensational headlines. I’ll hopefully be able to check out all the details at ECCMID (I’ll be there for the Global Leaders Group on AMR meeting), but let’s take a quick look at what we know so far… Source: Sharing Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Between People andContinue…

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NIH-funded study shows sound sleep supports immune function | NHLBI, NIH

Getting a consistent good night’s sleep supports normal production and programming of hematopoietic stem cells, a building block of the body’s innate immune system, according to a small National Institutes of Health-supported study in humans and mice. Sleep has long been linked to immune function, but researchers discovered that getting enough of it influenced the environment where monocytes – a type of white blood cell – form, develop, and get primed to support immune function.Continue…

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How Clean Is the Air on Planes? | Condé Nast Traveler

It’s that time of year again, when travel—or any indoor activity, really—comes with concerns of catching the flu. The combination of the annual surge of influenza activity with still-lingering COVID strains is enough to make even savvy travelers worried about stepping into a crowded airport or boarding a plane.One of the paramount issues is determining if the air on planes hastens the spread of infection. But apprehensions about aircraft cabin air long predate COVID orContinue…

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Hospital-acquired pneumonia is killing patients. There’s a simple way to stop it.

Brushing Teeth Saves Lives

Four years ago, when Karen Giuliano went to a Boston hospital for hip replacement surgery, she was given a pale-pink bucket of toiletries issued to patients in many hospitals. Inside were tissues, bar soap, deodorant, toothpaste, and, without a doubt, the worst toothbrush she’d ever seen.“I couldn’t believe it. I got a toothbrush with no bristles,” she said. “It must have not gone through the bristle machine. It was just a stick.”To most patients, aContinue…

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