Discussion on:

Why I.T pro's get sick

Exposur to germs is not the problem in creating super bugs. Use of antibiotics is causing that problem.

There was a study of children measuring thier level of health and exposure to germs. They found a strong correlation between healthy children and regular exposure.

The healthiest kids believe it or not where those who slept in dirty beds.

The least healthy were those who lived in squeaky clean lysol soaked environments.

The reason: regular exposure when you are healthy triggers an immune response and makes your immune system stronger. While protection from exposure allows your immune system to be weak.

I was just talking about Mice and keyboards only. well maybe LAN LINE's

I agree, however I don't agree with the result, allergies are a hyper response not a diminished response. So I propose that exposure to Bacteria and Virus elements cause our systems to be in a balance (normal). If left in a virus free environment Anti-bodies don't know what to fight so they end up fighting things that are not important, like pollen.

clean my bed again!
I don't care what they say, I am going to use the same bale of hay week after week, till it becomes dust!

Children need exposure to build a healthy immune system. ADULTS? Not so much.

I don't think anyone here wants a SECOND bout of Chicken Pox.

Go read this article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,170188,00.html

The same guy who made the claim that anti-bacterial soap causes super-bugs now says that research does not prove his theory.

I would catagorize it as FAUX news.
I don't trust Focks news nearly as far as I can sling a baby grand piano!

When I was an IT Generalist, I would wear plastic gloves (clear) to the site (a friend gave me a large supply). This worked out really well for me. I also put one on whenever I know that I will be introduced to "a lot" of people in the office or meeting.

I used to think the Elementary Computer Teacher was going a little overboard wiping downs the mice and keyboards in the computer lab every day.

After recovering from a particularly nasty cold that I didn't get from anyone in my family, I think that I need to use the same precautions at work that I typically in third world countries.

I can only agree after an outing to the local grocery during cold season.Some of the things I noticed made me wear latex gloves. No one seemed to notice or care. I didn't get sick though!

One of our techs keeps Latex Gloves around and uses those. When he's done, out go the gloves, and then a good wipedown with the hospital approved sanitary hand rinse. He's not had a single cold or other illness since I've known him. Otherwise, good handwashing practices, and not touching your face is always advisable.

I have a Microbiology background (7 years).

DON'T press the buttons on the elevator (both the ones inside the elevator and outside the elevator) with your fingers. Use your elbow if you can. Just watching people walk up to an elevator and/or waiting for one is enough to make you...

Also, stair railings. NO ONE ever cleans those. Again, just watching people is enough to make you...

I TRIED to talk the management into cleaning both things once per hour and they turned me down.

Re cleaning the desktop, mouse, and keyboard.

See if you can get your supervisors on board (if you need to do so, wait until a good cold/flu season when they are shorthanded) and have them have all the employees use Clorox disinfecting wipes on the desk, keyboard, and mouse on the first Monday of the month for example.

Had a manager that was inconsiderate of others but expected you to be considerate of her.

Well, she really proved my above point to me when she used my computer one day to avoid booting hers up, and repeatedly sneezed on my keyboards. I was pretty grossed out!

Several years ago I was doing desktop support at a company that was hit by a flu epidemic. People were dropping like flies.

We had three desktop support techs and each of us got a can of Lysol spray and any piece of equipment that came in to the work room was sprayed down. If we went to someone's desk, we sprayed their keyboard and mouse before we touched them. The users didn't mind b/c we "sold" it as a health measure for them.

We made sure the can was about 18" away from the equipment so it got a light mist, not a soaking.

End result, no one in the group caught the flu!

I agree with washing one's hands as much as possible during the day. I am finding though I really suffer from dry skin on my hands though because of it, and am constantly lathering up with land lotion! I must have hand lotion near me at all times. I can't stand the feeling of dry hands!

It would be nice if the soap in the washrooms were easier on the skin. I have been finding that "foam" soap is way easier on the skin as it's less dense than most other hand soaps. But even still, my hands get dry from that.

Anyone know of a good hand soap that doesn't dry the hands so much?

Nurses regularly carry small bottles of hand sanitizer on lanyards. The bottle is suspended upside-down so they be used easily between contacts. Some of the carrying devices loop over a belt.

It was just my observation!!!

I wash my hands whenever possible, but have also started using my cell phone (not provided by my employer) for any calls I have to make, when visiting other people's offices. From the phone alone, I have noticed that I have not gotten colds, or flu, or any other easily transmitted illness in a long, long time.

Several years ago, I asked management to procure some alcohol wipes for me to eliminate this problem, but they looked at me like I had three heads.

Now that I can show that I am not the only one with this observation, maybe they will listen.

Thanks so much for posting this. It has been something that has been an issue with me for a while!

My mom pounded this philosophy in to me as a young boy. I follow it to this day. Always wash your hands...... and do it often. Especially if you're handling nasty mice and keyboards. Also, wipe down your own mouse and keyboard with alcohol wipes during the cold and flu season.

A few reasons WHY janitors leave keyboards and mice
alone during their cleaning rounds:

1) They MIGHT be bigger germophobes than you, and
wont touch the nasty things.
2) They are more than probably strictly forbidden to touch
employee desks during their rounds. This is to make their
bond cheaper. Or, they believe that such personal items
are the user's job to clean up.
3) And they are RIGHT about both clauses of reason #2
above. Keyboards, mice and computers, or ANYTHING in
their cubie or on their desks SHOULD be the user's
responsibility. PERIOD.

Clean your own desks and equipment, you nasty, nasty
people!!!

Ive always thought about the germs that you might get via the hands in public spaces. When I had babies I never used shopping trolleys. Now when I fill up with fuel I always wipe my hands with wet cloths or particularly when on long delivery trips I use disposable gloves. I have a G9 Logitech mouse which has removable covers so when my gamer son uses it he gets the cover that supposedly wicks the sweat away. It is the simple ideas that make life better.

Every department has multiple bottles of sanitizer mounted on the walls, a most desks have them. In the hallways, there's a sanitizer mounted about every 10 feet or so.

The bathrooms have special soap, and hand lotion. A lot of people don't realize that plain old hand lotion goes a long way to avoid spreading infection. If your hands are dry, there are microscopic cracks that critters like to hide in.

The biggest thing you can do is handwash several times per day for 15 seconds.

And in case you think the above is overkill, try working on machines in a hospital.

When I was a young kid in the 50s, I was sick all the time. At that time there were very few kids in the neighborhood. The first three years of grade school I was still sick all the time. In 4th grade other kids moved into the neighborhood, that sickness all went away, and I've been pretty healthy since.
I think that exposure to germs from all the kids around me eventually boosted my immune system till I no longer caught many colds/flu/measles (no measles vaccine in those days), and so forth.

From all the conventions, training seminars and gatherings I've been too I notice that most IT people are in bad shape. Even if they aren't in bad shape, they don't have healthy habits.

I'm not saying everyone should go on a health food kick, but changes do help. I simply quit drinking so many caffeinated drinks, watch my calorie and carb intake and joined a gym. I allow myself one caffeinated drink per day at work, but I make myself drink two bottles of water not long afterward to help get it out of my system. I know that doesn't work, but I feel better about it and more water never hurt anyone!

I also pick a day on the weekend to eat/drink whatever the heck I want...provided I spend 2 hours at the gym that day.

You'd be surprised what watching your intake (even if you aren't going as far health food nuts take it...just watch the carbs above all else) and joining a gym will do for your health. I go 7 days a week, but 3-4 days a week is enough to boost your health. Even with a small child bringing home all types of germs and colds from school I rarely get sick.