Ebola: Protecting Yourself

Ebola: Protecting Yourself   October 20, 2014

Second Texas person is suspected of developing Ebola virus signs – photo credit – Facebook

http://buzzpo.com/ebola-protecting/

A lot’s been reported about Ebola, but little if anything is out there about simply protecting yourself. Although it’s been a few years since I wore scrubs in the trauma center, I’m going to take a stab at a short list of things every American can do to lessen the risk of infection (to anything).

First and foremost, you can limit your exposure.

If you don’t have to travel on public transportation, don’t.  No matter the reason (vacation, holidays, grandkids), no matter the timing (Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays), skip noncritical travel until solid evidence is out that the disease has been successfully quarantined and no additional threats are evident.

I know (as one who travels a lot) that delaying special trips is a tough pill to swallow, but exposure to Ebola is far worse than a missed train or flight.

The latest statistic is that the Ebola virus can live for THREE DAYS outside the body. So, this issue isn’t simply sitting in close proximity to someone who’s carrying it.

It’s also about handrails, doorknobs, and waiting areas. It’s about contamination in busy terminals, shuttles buses to and from parking, Bank ATM's Keypads, Gas-Pumps, RESTROOMS everywhere, stores like Wal-Mart, Shopping Carts, Restaurants, Menus at restaurants, and magazine kiosks, etc.

Imagine standing in line to buy a bottle of water, completely unaware that the person in front of you will be dead in ten days from a disease he doesn’t even know he has – that he just brought in from somewhere else. That’s a bottle you can live without.

Granted, staying away from arenas of public transportation is pretty tough if you happen to work in the transportation industry, but hopefully the airlines, trains, cruise ship owners, rental car agencies, and hotels, etc. are taking the risk seriously and cleaning more thoroughly.

Your second line of defense is your SKIN.

Your skin is the largest organ in your body and is your major protection against any and all contagious diseases.

Since it protects you, take a few precautions to protect it.

Any open wounds are an avenue of entry for bacteria, so if you must be out among the masses, cover the area for the duration of your exposure.

Learn the correct manner to "thoroughly" wash your hands.

I know this sounds ridiculous, but most folks are clueless about how to effectively wash their hands.

Take it from someone who’s scrubbed hundreds of times, each finger has five sides; palm, top, right and left sides, and the tips. When you briefly rub your hands together for a few seconds with soap or disinfectant, you’re likely only touching 1/5^th of the surface and the result is ineffective.

Also, most folks don’t realize that what rids the hands of germs is not the soap or antibacterial solution. It’s the friction.

While soap helps, it’s the combination with intense friction that rids the hands of germs.

So when you apply soap, rub back and forth vigorously, in between the fingers, then put one hand on top of the other, continuing to rub and then do the reverse.

Finish by scrubbing your Fingernails into the palm of one hand and switch hands.

Minimum washing time is really about two minutes, which is a long time at any sink.

But, if you think you’ve been exposed to disease, time yourself and do a thorough washing twice.

After you’ve washed your hands in a public restroom, HOW YOU EXIT THE RESTROOM IS JUST AS CRITICAL AS THE WASHING.

Pull an abundant amount of paper towels out and hold them under your arm while your wash your hands.

Then dry your hands thoroughly, fold the paper towels in half and use the thickened amount to shut off the faucet and open the door.

Avoid touching the door handle with your hand, as doing so negates the cleansing you’ve just done. Wait until you are outside and then discard the towels.

If the restroom is only equipped with air-drying, you can accomplish the same thing by pulling a wad of toilet paper out before you wash and dry your hands and then use the TP to open the door, etc.

Also, whenever you are in a high traffic, public place, you can limit your exposure to many microbes by carrying Clorox Wipes for example in a Ziploc bag in your pocket or purse and by simply not touching obvious things, like counters, merchandise, etc.

For instance, stop and think when you enter a shopping mall or grocery store. 

If the door is connected to an automatic opener for ‘Handicapped’ customers, use your elbow to press the box and wait for the door to open.

If that is not available, use a wipe as a barrier between your hand and the door pull. Properly discard the wipe as soon as you enter.

If you’re riding an escalator or using a shopping cart, again use a wipe as a barrier between your hand and whatever it is you must grab onto. Considering thousands of people touch these things every day, it is not a leap to realize the potential for exposure any number of germs.

And the moment you return to the privacy of your office or home, scrub your hands up to your elbows and dry off with disposable towels. Otherwise you’ve opened the door to admitting microbes in to your personal space.

Eating. Always, always, wash your hands thoroughly before you put anything into your mouth. This sounds like common sense, yet most people don’t do it. As someone who loves to frequent restaurants, I’ve noticed the vast majority of patrons sit, hold a menu (public), touch the table or counter (public), order their wine or martinis, unroll the napkin (which the server has just touched), grab for the salt, etc. As you can see, it’s much easier to get exposed to everything – than it is to not.

My last piece of advice is to carry a package of disposable gloves in your automobile.

Use gloves when filling your gas tank (imagine the vast numbers of people who have been there before you),

When using the cash machine at your bank, and/or any time you have to touch something that thousands of others have been in contact with.

One more thing the CDC has failed to mention.

Since Ebola causes massive internal hemorrhaging, anyone who’s taking a blood thinner (Warfarin (Coumadin), Heparin, Aspirin, etc. is at much higher risk for bad outcomes (as are hemophiliacs), because their clotting time is higher (longer) than normal. So those folks need to be especially cautious.

Clearly, this disease should never have reached our shores, but it did. Nevertheless, you can survive this. Your job is to think, use common sense, and be practical.