Protecting you,
protecting me
We’re in this together
This pandemic is the most potent lesson one could conjure on how an individual's health and the community they live in are directly linked (the social determinants of health). Coronavirus spreads primarily when healthy people come in close personal contact with a person who has COVID-19 is coughing or sneezing. Health, whether at an individual or a population level, extends into the home, workplace, school, neighborhood, and community.
How long can the new coronavirus live on a surface, like say, a door handle, after someone infected touches it with dirty fingers? Research is showing that the virus can survive on hard surfaces such as plastic and stainless steel for up to 72 hours, and cardboard for up to 24 hours.
So how cautious should you be?
Enlist every family member with what will be the most you have ever cleaned in your life.
Wash your hands
Your hands are the most consistent “first” point of contact with cold, flu, and other germs. It is a direct line from a dirty cell phone to fingers to fork to mouth to full-blown fever a few days later.
How?
Ensure your kids know how to do it properly: use soap and warm water for a full 20 seconds. Soap contains fat-like substances known as amphiphiles, with structures very similar to the lipids in a virus membrane. The soap molecules “compete” with the fats in the virus membrane. The soap loosens the “glue” between the virus and the skin and also the Velcro-like interactions that hold the proteins, fats, and RNA in the virus together. (Paul Thordarson, The Guardian)
Why?
Even people who are relatively young and healthy should regularly wash their hands because they can spread the disease to those who are more vulnerable. Soap doesn’t only protect you and your family; when used correctly, it is a community safety net. At the molecular level, it works by breaking things apart. Help your teen to be mindful of the literal path their hands take (SCRUBS video), and the power of this mighty hygiene practice.
When?
Each time they come in from outside, before eating, after coughing or sneezing, blowing their nose and, of course, after using the bathroom. Clip fingernails frequently, as they provide a sneaky hiding spot for viruses. Hand lotion keeps skin comfy and unbroken, which also helps prevent the spread of infection.And try not to touch your hands to your face, since harmful germs can enter through your eyes, nose, and mouth.
Cleaning: A life skill
For cleaning the house, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, "diluted household bleach solutions, alcohol solutions with at least 60% alcohol, and most common EPA-registered household disinfectants should be effective."
Perhaps some of these cleaning habits and collective muscle will carry forward after things are more routine.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces: doorknobs, hard-backed chairs, desks, toilets, sinks, kitchen surfaces, remote controls, and light switches.
Clean personal belongings: phones, computers, and pens.
Replace hand towels with disposable paper towels.
Don't share drinking glasses.
Wash laundry in warm or hot water with detergent. Wash hands after handling soiled laundry.
Launder coats, backpacks, and reusable shopping bags more frequently
Take off shoes when you come inside.
Wash dishes, as usual, in the dishwasher or by hand with warm water and soap.
If you run out of disinfectant wipes, use paper towels and spray with sanitizer.
Clean digital devices, both morning and night.
Use hand sanitizer during errands: ATMs, grocery shopping, pumping gas, etc.
Clean steering wheel and car surfaces frequently.
“Wash your hands like you’ve been chopping jalapeños and you need to change your contacts.”
- Canadian Health Officer Bonnie Henry
Clean your devices
Apple recommends: no bleach, no aerosol sprays. You need your phone to work. A gentle wipe with a product that has 60 percent isopropyl alcohol does the job. Don’t forget your phone case. Wipe it down, in and out, thoroughly. And, wash your hands thoroughly when finished.
Talk to teens about changing behaviors like passing their phone around to view posts or photos, and encourage headphones and Bluetooth options to keep phones away from their face.
And, as Amelia Nierenberg (New York Times) writes, “Phones are, well, gross. A 2017 study published in the journal Germs found a host of bacteria, viruses, and pathogens on phones owned by teenagers. Scientists hypothesize that this may play a role in the spread of infectious agents in the community.”
Social distancing
It is powerful for young people to understand the public health reasons for social distancing. Invite them to explore this coronavirus simulator, developed by Harry Stevens.
Experts are now urging a more descriptive term: physical distancing. Anything that you or the community are doing to limit the spread of an infectious disease counts. The guidelines are changing all the time and it is our duty to stay current on local and national public health recommendations (see Trusted Sources).
The COVID situation is not about any one of us individually. We is the operative word. We can decrease the number of ill people. We can reduce the number of deaths. We must take responsibility. It is essential that each of us practice physical/social distancing. That is what is going to be most effective in slowing the spread of this disease. If we don't, we will be putting not just ourselves, but other people at risk. At the risk of death, potentially.
Many parents are struggling to make sense of these rapid-fire changing directives. Create a family plan. If you are questioning whether to plan a kid hangout, gather with friends, or spend non-essential time in a public place, ask yourself if it would be fine if, as a result, one of you took the virus to someone who might have a serious illness as a result. It's a quick and easy answer. Please, please stay informed, think, and act responsibly. You are good at this… really good. But you have to care and try.
