Keeping Winter Germs at Bay

Dirtiest Little Secrets

Speaking of the bathroom, Janse said the most troubling place there is not the toilet seat. Rather, in public restrooms, it's the floor. At home, it's the toothbrush. So be careful where you set your purse or briefcase in a public bathroom. The sinks and door handles are also likely to be havens for germs. At home, the toothbrush can be a landing place for droplets that fly from the toilet when it is flushed without closing the lid.

Contagious Co-Workers

Just going to work can be a hazard during cold and flu season.

Public health experts suggest reconsidering eating at your desk because it can be one of the most germ-ridden places in the office. Others include the microwave oven door handle and keypad, telephone receivers, and the computer keyboard and mouse. Beware of communal foods that others have picked over, maybe even dropped on the floor and put back.

"Presenteeism" can be another source of exposure at work. This is the opposite of absenteeism, Janse said. The phenomenon refers to workers who insist that the job can't get done without them -- in sickness and in health. Their sense of duty, even when sick, costs employers an estimated $180 billion annually, according to the American Productivity Audit, in lower productivity and lost time from co-workers to whom they pass their illnesses.

Watch out for the co-worker who seems to have his own workplace dispensary. This cheerful colleague keeps a supply of tissues, Band-Aids, headache and pain medication, candy and general munchies at his desk. Often there is a colored rubber stress ball atop the desk, and folks stop by to knead and squeeze in a deadline crunch.

Such helpfulness quickly becomes known throughout the workplace. And that is the problem: Nearly everyone who comes by for a tissue or aspirin is sick and may leave germs behind. It is better, health officials said, to keep your own tissues, wound care, drugs and jelly beans secured in your own space.

Conquering Phobias

Public health officials say some precautions also are in line at the doctor's office, where many of the people in the waiting room are sick.

Janse offers some specific suggestions in her book.

Don't drink from the water fountains at medical offices. Try to prevent children from crawling, playing and rolling on the floor. After you've failed, change their clothes when you get home.

Whenever possible, make morning appointments or try to be the first one there when the office reopens after lunch. During the break in many offices, the rooms are freshly cleaned and sanitized.

Recently in the waiting room at the office where my daughter was to get an X-ray, I whispered a mandate to her not to touch the toys mounted on the wall. Boldly, she whispered back that she was not afraid of potential contamination. After all, it was gymnastics, not germs, that had broken her ankle.

Further injury was averted when I spied the huge container of sanitized wipes mounted on the wall beside the toys. She selected a toy. I wiped it down and handed it to her. There was peace and goodwill in the land.

What's the moral of this story? Do we have to be freaky about avoiding colds and flu?

"Certainly there are germs everywhere," said Civista hospital's Delligatti. "I guess you're going to have to figure out how crazy, alert or sensitized you want to be because, really, you could develop a phobia about it and never leave your house. I think you need to do what's reasonable."