Top Ten Dirtiest Places - #7

One night hubs and I went to see a movie (a rarity but we had gotten a bunch of passes from the kids so we have been going out on a movie date after 10 years). The movie we saw was No Reservations which was pretty good. We termed it a 'chick flick'. But critiquing it isn't what this post is all about. It is about another dirty place....the movie theater. Theaters are crowded and I bet at least one if not 2 people in there are sick. Remember many viral infectious diseases are contagious a day before you know you are sick. During flu seasons it is not uncommon to hear someone sneeze or cough and an uncovered sneeze or cough can spray fresh microorganisms several rows away. Children's movies are the worse. There you can add head lice to the things you can catch if there are cloth seats. Think I am kidding? Did you know that during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, movie theaters in all major cities were closed?

Ever thought how many people sat in your same seat before you? Ever hear how often the clean those seats or for that matter the theater? I didn't know either until my son worked in one. They are lucky to get swept once a day and mopped once a week. My son said he couldn't ever remember when the seats and arm rests were wiped down.

Then there are the movie bathrooms that see waves of people using them after drinking those large colas. Ever notice how movie-users are not big hand-washers (I notice these things). Usually they are either rushing back to the movie, or trying to avoid the traffic jam in the parking lot. Bathroom stall door locks have got to be one of the more contaminated areas of the movie toilet, namely because they are always opened with unwashed fingers. Now think of all those man dribblers. Yanno the ones who either don't aim good or don't care. While urine is usually sterile and clean, what woman wants to put their purse on the floor of the theater where someone's foot with urine once was?

Then for many film buffs, a movie just isn't a movie without a tub of buttery popcorn or a jumbo-sized box of Raisinets. Ever wonder where most of that food ends up? Yep the floor. Ever wonder why they keep the lights on low? So you can't see how dirty the theater really is. Then there is that ice factor I talked about in an earlier post. And the teen factor in another post.

For me: I don't eat at the theater. I don't use the restroom. I only go to theaters that have non cloth seats and I never go during cold and flu season. I never take a purse but I do carry a lysol towelette to wash my hands as I leave.

Top Ten Dirtiest Places - #6

Yep the next on the top ten dirtiest places are pools, waterparks, and beaches. There are a whole lot of people out there that have a lower standard of hygiene than others. I really like people and kids. I am the one right in there with them playing at their level (must be the kid in me). I get sneezed on, kissed, slimed, peed, and pooped on regularly and it doesn't bother me a bit because I know how to dispose of dirty diapers and how to wash my hands. However, at public beaches, pools, and waterparks this is a little less controllable and filled with people with that lower standard. I have seen dirty diapers buried in the sand.

I own a 24 foot round pool. I used to think that no bacteria could live in a highly chlorinated pool but it does, even in ours. When my nieces and nephews or friends of my kids come over, the chemicals in the pool change. I have this sign before you climb the stairs to the pool that says.....there is no p in this ool. People laugh about that....think it's funny. But in reality, kids do not want to take the time to come inside to go to the bathroom. They put the p in the ool. Fecal matter like E. Coli is different but common with kids in swimming areas and beaches. But the bacteria doesn't just come from kids or irresponsible parents. They come from storm drains and sewer overflows. They come from RV owners dumping their holding tanks into storm drains. Some of that untreated water eventually makes it to the ocean where currents keep it conveniently near the shore for our recreational pleasure.

Here are the stats: it is estimated that up to 1.5 million people develop health problems and illness from beach and surf contamination. Health officials carefully monitor "acceptable fecal limits" and close the beaches quite often when those levels climb. To me, there really is no thing as acceptable fecal limits. I am not happy about acceptable limits of rodent and insect parts in my food either.

Another huge problem at public pools and water parks is warts. The concrete around the pool is rough on purpose so people don't slip and fall. But it roughs up the bottom of your feet and because your feet are wet, the skin barrier is now broken and allows viruses to invade....warts is a prime example. Wearing water socks will prevent you and your child from getting warts. Now the fecal matter is a different story.

But when it is hot outside and summer beckons, we all would love to be at the beach or in the water, contamination or not. We take our chances and just hope we are not one of the 1.5 million people who come home with vomiting and diarrhea or warts.

Top Ten Dirtiest Places - #5

I thought I would combine these two together because not only do they rank up there with the dirtiest places but they also have the distinction of being the most dangerous places. What are they? They are hospitals and nursing homes.

Have you walked in a nursing home lately? FYI - when you first walk into a nursing home, you enter on the first floor. These are the up and about lucid patients and there is a pleasant odor emulating from the hallways. Don't be fooled. Before placing your loved one in a nursing home check the upper floors. Those are the floors where the sickest are kept...you are greeted on those floors with the smells of urine and feces and the sounds of moaning and crying. You see either people slumped over in wheelchairs with a blank dull expression on their face or people who will try to draw you into their room to help them. I know. I worked in a county nursing home for 7 years, 3 years part time weekdays full time weekends from age 15 to 18, then 4 years full time nights until I graduated from nursing school when I was 22. The chances your loved one will get an infection are high in nursing homes. The CDC reports that over two million people contact nosocomial infections when they are hospitalized, resulting in over 80,000 deaths. Unless the nursing home or hospital staff strictly adheres to standard (or enhanced) precautions, people will die. Those precautions are as simple as thorough hand-washing, the use of disposable gloves, and routine environmental disinfection. Those precautions work, but only if people consistently use them. I rarely see the personnel do any of the above. The number of MRSA (antibiotic resistant bacteria) is very high and MRSA infections have been becoming increasing rampant in hospitals and nursing homes since first recognized in 1961. Beware: they are now in our backyards. Just walking in a nursing home and touching anything puts you at risk. So keep a can of Lysol spray in your car. Before placing your loved one in a nursing home, look at state records on infection and make sure the nursing home hasn't been cited for deficiencies. Ask about staff turnover. The higher the rate of turnover, the higher your loved one is at risk. Look at the staff taking care of your loved one. Do they speak English? Many are foreign nurses. If at all possible, keep your loved one alive and have them live with you. Hire help to come into your house.

Hospitals have just as high rate of MRSA infections and 'hospital aquired infections' as nursing homes....after all, where do the nursing home patients get transferred when they get sick? Now I will say that hospitals are cleaner than nursing homes. The medical personnel is trained and I personally have never seen a nurse enter a patient room without donning gloves and then washing their hands before leaving the room even if dispensing medications. The OR is the place to worry. With increasing cutbacks in hospital payments, services are being cut while insurance companies rank in the Fortune 500 and CEO's of said insurance companies rake in millions in compensation. It is at the expense of you. It used to be standard to have operating room RN's, circulating RN's, and a RN assigned to each and every operating room. Now you are lucky to get what is termed a 'OR tech'. The training for a 'OR tech' is 3 months, high school diploma. They don't know the instruments. They don't know sterile technique. They can't assist the doctor. You are lucky they show up or know where things are. There is a high turnover of OR techs and it has been reported they are sometimes recruited from housekeeping. My husband refuses to have them in his operating room. Instead he works with other podiatrists and they buddy up on each other's surgeries so they have someone who knows what they are doing. If the assistant gets paid, fine. If they don't, then no big deal. It is at no charge to the patient. It is for our patient's benefit.

Schedule your surgery for the am...never in the afternoon or evening. Again look up through your state websites and find out all you can about your hospital. Check their infection rate. Check their JCAHO standing. US News publishes a list of hospitals who reach a level of excellence. Avoid the others. Here is their link: http://health.usnews.com/sections/health/best-hospitals

All of us are part of the problem and part of the solution. There should be a worldwide 'Neighborhood Watch' for hygienic procedures. Viruses and bacteria have lived here long before we showed up and they will remain here long after we are gone. In the meantime, we have to co-exist.

Now, go wash your hands and have a nice, clean day....And remember, Lysol is your friend.

Top Ten Dirtiest Places - #4

Now I would hazard a guess no one would have ever entertained the idea that shoes and feet are in the top ten dirtiest places. I mean we clean our feet everyday, right? While you might shower and wash your feet every single day, you put those clean dry feet right back into dirty shoes. When was the last time you cleaned your shoes? Most will say NEVER!

When is the last time one of your kids or your husband took off their shoes and you said. "Oh god, what's that smell?" You think something up and died on you or the cat peed so you go sniffing around and lo and behold you find the culprit....tennis shoes and your husband's smelly feet. In order to understand how shoes get so smelly, we need to actually understand what causes smelly shoes in the first place so the first thing you need to look at is the type of shoes you are wearing. Are they synthetic materials like rubber or vinyl? You should always wear either leather or cloth that can absorb moisture.

But the problem of how to clean smelly tennis shoes is to deal with what caused the odor to begin with....and that is the feet. The damp and warm conditions in socks and shoes, especially training shoes, provide the perfect environment for the growth of bacteria and fungus, which cause smelly feet. Athlete’s foot and other skin disorders also contribute to smelly feet.

So you have sweaty feet? The medical term for sweaty feet is called hyperhydrosis. It is very common in teens and young adults. Each of us has a set point for our metabolism. This set point is somewhat like the thermostat in our homes. Some folks have a higher set point than others. For some, this may be due to anxiety, stress, hyperthyroidism, hypoadrenalism or excessive fluid intake. For others, it's just their natural metabolic set point. Bromhydrosis is a condition that occurs with excessive perspiration and a foul odor. The distinctive odor of smelly tennis shoes is actually caused by bacteria helping to decompose the perspiration and dead skin cells on the foot and those that are left in the shoe. You are making cheese in your shoes without milk, just leather and human skin flakes.

Just to make sure you are keeping up here....you have clean feet. Your shoes have not been cleaned and contain each and every day's worth of perspiration and dead skin cells left behind....accumulating...take a black light to the insides of your shoe. The whole shoe lights up like it was radioactive.

Ok, so how do we solve the issue? Definitely not by drowning your feet in heavy odor-masking perfumes. After awhile, "peach banana sunrise" doesn't smell much better than "rotten toe funk".

Did you realize that here are approximately 250,000 sweat glands in each pair of feet that release nearly a cup of moisture every day? Bacteria jumps from your feet to your shoes, and from your shoes to your feet. So, when they come in contact eith each other (the feet and shoes) you contaminate the other.

You need to keep your feet clean and dry. Wearing natural fiber socks that absorb moisture, and only wear boots and tennis shoes for as short a period as possible. Don't wear the same shoe for two days in a row...you need to let them dry out totally. Wash you feet with antibacterial soap with a couple of squirts of Betadine (we put ours in a squirt bottle for the shower so we don't accidently spill the whole bottle). Dry totally. Use antiperspirant spray to control the sweat issue. Change socks and shoes more than once a day if you perspire a lot. After taking off your shoes at night, spray the insides of the shoe liberally with Lysol spray. Let it totally dry before wearing that pair of shoes again. Throw them in the washer with a cap of bleach water in the shoe. Take out the insole of the shoe and wash it at least once a week. Some people say that soaking your feet in a green tea solution works too. Doing all the above will keep the smellies and cheese away and prevent athletes foot and fungus toenails. If the above doesn't work, then it's time to see your podiatrist.

Happy Memorial Day and Happy Birthday Son!

I stand and salute you who have given me freedom but especially my father in law who was 1 of 8 left in his platoon in the Battle of Anzio and marched with General Patton in World War II, my father served in the Air Force, a lot of my high school classmates who were in the Vietnam War, a friend's son who was in Desert Storm, a lot of my daughter's and son's friends who are in our current war, and the 5 boys who are currently still stationed in Iran and Korea and who re-upped because they believe in what they are doing.

A heartfelt THANKS from the bottom of my heart! I wish you a safe return and another care package is on its way!

Another important event today is my son's 27th birthday! My how time flies!

Inspirational Sunday - Seek to Give

I just love this amazing website. This is one of the pictures there. The website is: http://greatday.com/motivate/

Here is a message from there:

Seek to give

Whatever you desire for yourself, desire it for others as well. That will help to take you beyond the constraining influence of your ego.
There is nothing of any value to be gained by taking from others. For anything you take away from someone else can just as easily be taken from you.

Instead, choose to become the living embodiment of that which you wish to have. Give energy and focus and action to your dreams, and those dreams will come to life all around you.

The more people who benefit from your positive thoughts and efforts, the more quickly those efforts will bring valuable results. To experience great abundance, be a channel through which that abundance can flow.

Make a positive difference that extends into the lives around you. Create value that goes beyond you.

It is by giving that you make room to receive even more. Seek to give what you wish to have, and it will surely become real for you.

-- Ralph Marston

Top Ten Dirtiest Places - #3

With our busy schedule when hubs asks what's for dinner, my answer is either what are you cooking for me, what restaurant are we visiting tonight, or what do I have frozen in the deep freeze? Who wants to cook after working 12 hour days? Most of you know that I try to cook on my lighter days and freeze portions. It is much easier doing this for 2 people than a full family. We do go to a restaurant at least twice a month but we never ever do fast food places mainly because you are leaving your health in the hands of teens. I have nothing against teens. I just don't leave my health in their hands. Some of my sisters worked in well known fast food places and the stories they brought home was enough to turn me off fast food places forever. Working in an upscale restaurant myself as a waitress to supplement income to help pay college bills, I know how kitchens work. This is why I rarely trust restaurants and their food.

What's wrong with restaurants? One of the many things is Hepatitis A. There is a vaccine that is given to children at age 2 but it is not currently required in most schools. This is a great vaccine because it protects us against the most common form of hepatitis, Hepatitis A. Most cases of Hepatitis A are traced to restaurants. How? Hepatitis A is transmitted fecal-orally. In other words, someone's unwashed hands contaminated with feces likely made your salad (if you think the restaurant restrooms can be dirty don't ever step foot in the employee's bathrooms as they are seldom cleaned).

Another huge thing to worry about is E. coli. It too is another fecal contaminant, and some strains can cause Traveler's Diarrhea (aka Montezuma's Revenge).

Don't forget the ice in restaurants, too. Remember the report not too long ago a middle schooler did for an award-winning science project? She proved that fast food ice is dirtier than toilet water 70% of the time.

Then there are cockroaches, mice, and other critters that run around the kitchen and storage areas. Plus many foods we eat have insects or insect parts in them that we don't see. The Department of Health and Human Services has set a standard called the Food Defect Action Levels, which (to quote a publication) "are set on the basis of no hazard to health... These levels are set because it is not possible, and never has been possible, to grow in open fields, harvest and process crops that are totally free of natural defects." So have you tasted something crispy lately that shouldn't be crispy?

As I said I worked as a waitress. I know personally of kitchen terrorism. I have seen things that make me never ever want to dine out. I never piss off my server no matter how bad they are. My revenge is the tip way after I get my meal and then I avoid that restaurant for months just in case they remembered me and they always remember a bad tipper no matter how well deserved it was. I make sure to pay those checks in cash so they don't have my name. I don't really want to gross you out but suffice to say, that Seinfeld episode involving Poppy and his unwashed hands is right on. I don't know about your area, but several Chicago news programs have given us an inside view of hidden camera visits behind the scenes in restaurants. Dropping food on the floor and the 5 second rule along with the cook picking his nose are mild. I have seen far worse and this is at a supposedly upscale restaurant.

What can we do? Well, I never ever have ice in my drinks. I will order bottled water. How many of you check your local health department for any restaurant violations? Health departments and other government agencies that inspect restaurants have this data online. The problem with cleanliness in restaurants is the human factor. Humans on this planet have varying degrees of personal hygiene and integrity, and unfortunately, restaurants have no way of determining this when someone is hired. Personally I consider the IQ factor of the average employee of said restaurant. If that IQ is below average, you are at risk.

Now you see why I cook large helpings and freeze most for quick meals at the end of my busy days.