Having kids in school

[Owens187]

+1 : AKA The Dirt Vaccine.

edit: And even more important, get rid of all your antibiotic/antimicrobial hand soaps. These are like antibiotics, and actually will create resistant and pathogenic strains of otherwise harmless microorganisms. The alcohol hand sanitizers won't do this, but nevertheless, using them does not allow your own immune system to recognize and remember them via antibodies.

+100

[Christi]

+1 : AKA The Dirt Vaccine.

edit: And even more important, get rid of all your antibiotic/antimicrobial hand soaps. These are like antibiotics, and actually will create resistant and pathogenic strains of otherwise harmless microorganisms. The alcohol hand sanitizers won't do this, but nevertheless, using them does not allow your own immune system to recognize and remember them via antibodies.

That is funny. Just the other day I was telling my husband we needed to spend more time training our girls to wash their hands after going potty and he asked me to fill up our soap dispenser. I haven't yet.

[sheilalynn]

I spend most of my life in an Emergency Room, and doing Microbiology, so I have an immune system of freakin STEEL. I DO NOT get sick.
Where people go wrong is being TOO hygenic. Dont wash your hands quite so much(unless you work in a hospital like I do). Let your kid eat that peice of candy he dropped on the ground. Ive always been this way with my kids, and they DO NOT get sick. Never even had an ear infection. Quit carrying around that little bottle of alcohol gel. It all adds up to a much stronger immune system.
Think about it, if you never ever ever let your body be exposed to pathogens, how the hell are you ever going to build antibodies to them? Some bug comes along, and just ravages your insides and makes you sick as a dog(no offense SnusDog :P ), instead of your body being familiar with that bug, and kicking its candy little ass. 8)

I was going to post along these exact lines! I swear my youngest sister is OCD when it comes to germs...makes me wonder how sick her kids will be once they get to school too. Our bodies are made to fight off germs as they come along, just as a fever is your body's way of fighting back also. So unless a fever is very high for a very long time, you're better off to let it do it's job. My kids were never very sick either. It doesn't mean I'll purposely walk into a room full of coughing sneezing snotting people and kiss them, but I'm not going to spray them down with Lysol either.

The whole "don't eat that piece of candy...it fell on the floor!" thing makes me laugh too. How often does a baby pick up a toy or teething ring off of the floor and put it in their mouth and the parent doesn't go berzerk, but let it be a food item and they go into overdrive with the "squeaming".

The "5 second rule" has been disproved also...it actually takes more like a minute or more for the germs to set in :P It more depends on what the item is, meaning toys, dry crackers, dry anything, etc won't pick up as many germs as a plate of hot spaghetti or a piece of boloney dropped on the floor. (Think I got that from Myth Busters).

[Christi]

I don't keep my house hospital clean for that reason. I sweep sometimes and mop even less...I don't live in filth but I don't mind a little clutter and dust. I honestly think that my kids pick this crap up from school..from the kids who's mother's do spray them down with lysol.

[sheilalynn]

I'm sure they do too Christi! All those Clorox commercials are ruining our bodies, hehe

[wa3zrm]

Where people go wrong is being TOO hygenic. Dont wash your hands quite so much (unless you work in a hospital like I do).

The alcohol gel is essential in viral hot zones. The hospital is just one such place. Schools are another. Even the play areas in McDonald's can be classified as hot zones.

Early elementary (K thru 3) age children are constantly plagued with viruses. This is the period they are developing their immune systems. Unless you already have a well defined immune system, you will pick-up may of the viruses these kids get. One way to insure you don't pick-up these viruses is to stop them from entering your mucus membranes. The alcohol gel is an excellent tool for doing this.

[Christi]

Where people go wrong is being TOO hygenic. Dont wash your hands quite so much (unless you work in a hospital like I do).

The alcohol gel is essential in viral hot zones. The hospital is just one such place. Schools are another. Even the play areas in McDonald's can be classified as hot zones.

Early elementary (K thru 3) age children are constantly plagued with viruses. This is the period they are developing their immune systems. Unless you already have a well defined immune system, you will pick-up may of the viruses these kids get. One way to insure you don't pick-up these viruses is to stop them from entering your mucus membranes. The alcohol gel is an excellent tool for doing this.

My daughters had the same pre-k teacher who is obsessed with hand sanitizer..I don't think it does a bit of good fighting against child hood illness crap. They both got sick just about the same amount of times in her class. I think it is all in peoples heads with the hand sanitizers. I don't give a crap if you show me 15 references that prove it works, I am hard headed like that.

My 6 year old daughter is nuts, the pre-k teacher taught her so good about germs she will NOT kiss any one on the mouth. Not me, her sisters, her daddy, gma, no one. She makes us kiss her forehead. It makes my husband angry, but I reminded him that it will keep her from kissing boys, well for a while anyway