How to avoid germs - Gas Station

Yep, there's lots of nasties out there. One would have to be Howard Hughes to avoid most of them.

One real nasty bacterial bug is C. Difficile. This bug can live on surfaces for up to 6 months I understand. The bacteria is like encapsulated in spores.

It usually hits people with weakened immune systems, but still. This one may very well lurk in most people's homes. Bathrooms are probably the worst room in the house, with toilets and sinks being a main source. But I also understand this particular bug can reside anywhere, and on everything.

Besides touching things, I'd say one major way you're also going to get sick, is by eating out in restaurants. And no, there's probably no discrimination between the fast food places, or the fanciest Steak Houses. If somebody in these places is sick, they're going to spread such.

That if you're traveling, and if such can be helped, pack a lunch. I truly believe that in 95% of cases, this is how I've gotten sick.
 
MarkD51 said:
Yep, there's lots of nasties out there. One would have to be Howard Hughes to avoid most of them.

One real nasty bacterial bug is C. Difficile. This bug can live on surfaces for up to 6 months I understand. The bacteria is like encapsulated in spores.

It usually hits people with weakened immune systems, but still. This one may very well lurk in most people's homes. Bathrooms are probably the worst room in the house, with toilets and sinks being a main source. But I also understand this particular bug can reside anywhere, and on everything.

Besides touching things, I'd say one major way you're also going to get sick, is by eating out in restaurants. And no, there's probably no discrimination between the fast food places, or the fanciest Steak Houses. If somebody in these places is sick, they're going to spread such.

That if you're traveling, and if such can be helped, pack a lunch. I truly believe that in 95% of cases, this is how I've gotten sick.
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Yep, food service workers will kill ya!
 
This is great idea. I almost always use a paper towel but sometimes the dispenser is empty or its windy and I have to chase the towel across the lot if it blows off the handle.
 
Well I forgot to wear my hazmat suit at the pump this morning so as you can see didn't end too well . Happy Saturday everyone!
d47a4fcea7c7875a1cdedeb0ad73e3a8.jpg


So I just went to the gym to try to work it off
Sent from my SM-N960U using Autogeekonline mobile app
 
57Rambler said:
A couple of notes ...

1. Hand sanitizers are not effective against viruses, only against certain bacteria. The FDA just cracked down on Purell for making bogus claims about its effectiveness on viruses.
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I never use these. In most cases, I'm close enough to running water and soap that I'll make the effort to wash my hands before using the hand sanitizer option.

Another technique I use when washing hands is to get my paper towels FIRST. Some bathrooms, like the bathrooms at SEMA - you have to wind a plastic handle to get the towel to come off the roll and downward where you can grab it.

I figure the plastic handle/knob is disease invested. So I get my paper towels first - and then wash my hands. This way I don't have to touch the towel dispensing knob AFTER I've removed all the germs from my hands.

You shake a lot of hands at SEMA



57Rambler said:
The basics of washing your hands and keeping your hands away from your mouth and nose still make the most sense.
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Agree.



57Rambler said:
And if you choose to wear a mask when flying, make sure that mask can capture/contain something as small as a virus (microns in size). Call the mask manufacturer when in doubt.
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I hope the Coronavirus risk dissipates before I have to fly next. A couple of days before I wrote this article the wife and I stocked up on 3M N100 masks, not the perfect solution but it's something.

One of the things I and everyone I know hate the most about flying is the person on the flight with a cold or worse and their never-ending cough. And it seems like this person never has the common courtesy to cough into their hand, arm, or something. Nope - just let her fly....


:dunno:
 
I struggle to NOT wear gloves 24/7 and a mask.
Didn't think of this before Mike... thanks!
 
Mike Phillips said:
How to avoid germs - Gas Station


I hate getting sick. Most of you feel the same way. I especially hate getting sick when I’m responsible for teaching classes that have paying customers and have also been scheduled far in advance.

Besides not wanting to let anyone down, it’s simply no fun to put on a high-energy class without the energy. :dunno:


So I’ve learned to be a germaphobic. Especially when traveling due to the volume of people you will come into contact with. Besides the people you will come into contact with there all the people you will not come into contact with BUT you will come into contact with the things these people will have touched.


Here’s where I start when I'm traveling.

Getting gas for my car

Instead of throwing caution to the wind, here’s a simple way to avoid all the germs at the Gas Pump. Keep disposable nitrile gloves in your car.

Then do this, put one glove on the hand you will use. Only use this hand to touch everything.


The numbers on the keypad

Germs_01.jpg





The selector button

Germs_02.jpg




The gas nozzle handle and squeeze trigger

Germs_03.jpg




Fill your gas tank - PROTECTED

Germs_04.jpg





And think about this, if you fill all the way to full, you'll make less visits to the gas station and thus reduce the number of times you touch anything at the gas station.

Germs_05.jpg





Use your clean hand to pull the glove off by the tip of the cuff where there was no surface contact with anything and dispose of at the gas station.

Germs_06.jpg





Think about it...

If you don’t wear disposable gloves - you touch all the components at the gas pump to fuel up your car.


Next you get back into your car and grab and hold the steering wheel. The steering wheel becomes a Petri dish where the warmth and moisture from your skin will now create a perfect environment for germs to grow. Maybe your driving for a few minutes, maybe hours. Maybe after you are done driving - now your getting on a Jet. An enclosed environment.


How many people “touch” the surfaces on a gas pump?

I normally wouldn’t share this type of how-to info but in light of the Coronavirus in the news - it’s timely.


The thin disposable black nitrile gloves are inexpensive in context of your health and the health of all those around you. I don’t care where you buy your gloves but if your already placing an order for some car wax - add a box of these to your order and be pro-active about prevention.



Disposable Black Nitrile Gloves - Sizes: Medium - Large - X Large - XX Large



Stay safe my friends...

:)


p.s.

If this Coronavirus is not contained and gets out of control in the United States, you're going to want a lot of gloves for everything and anything you have to do in public. Let's hope and pray it doesn't become a problem.


:bolt:
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And here I thought I was the only one that does this! Good to see I am not alone. I read about a study somewhere that E. Coli is commonly found on gas pump nozzles. That got my attention to say the least.

Hand sanitizer is effective against some viruses, notably cold viruses and "some" flu viruses. They are not effective against the norovirus (aka "stomach flu"). You have to follow the directions too by using a small amount and rubbing your hands together until they are dry.

Another good practice is to maintain your Vitamin D levels by taking a vitamin D3 supplement during the winter when you can't get any sunlight exposure. Why do more people get colds/flu during the winter? They're inside in close spaces with a lot of people and they aren't getting any Vitamin D from the sun. Once I started taking a vitamin D supplement, I hardly ever get sinus infections.

RamAirV1
 
I never thought about sunlight and getting sick. Here, fortunately, we have it pretty much all year long and I noticed I haven’t gotten sick since moving here.
 
DetailKitty said:
I struggle to NOT wear gloves 24/7 and a mask.

Didn't think of this before Mike...

thanks!
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No problemo....

I filled up with gas the other day ago, as is my habit, wore a glove for the transaction.

Germs_07_.JPG



Was watching the news last night and checking on some news related websites. I hope our country is able to miss out on this or at least most of it. That said, nothing wrong with taking a few precautions.

I don't like catching a cold or the flue and I certainly don't want this virus in me.


Like a good Boy Scout, be prepared.



:)
 
I tried shopping for surgical masks to have to avoid the virus and even here in Florida where there are no cases yet, they are all sold out at my local drug store. Gonna have to order online and quickly!
 
I can't believe all of the knee-jerk reactions over this topic. Unless you're a sickly type, have general health issues, or air travel often, the risks posed by the current corona virus outbreak are practically nil at this point in time. And take away any threat from the current virus and look only at the generic threats out there everyday and your risk is even less.

Do what you may to feel safe, that is your choice. For me, I have never worried about anything like this and I'm sure not starting now.

My only concern is from a financial perspective. I've lost a lot of money over the last three days.
 
2black1s said:
I can't believe all of the knee-jerk reactions over this topic.
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Just to note - I put the gloves-at-gas-station "best practice" a few years ago when traveling. Long before this most recent virus issue.

When I'm traveling teaching classes, and before that shooting a TV show, it's no fun to do these sick and there's too much money already invested to simply call in sick.

I hope for the best and in the next few weeks if there is going to be an "issue" here in America it will start showing up. If nothing rears it's ugly heard, then we can count ourselves lucky.


Still doesn't hurt to stay informed and be prepared.


:)
 
The U.S. couldn't be more ill-prepared for this.

In 2018, the NSC’s entire global health security unit was shut down, calling for reassignment of Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer and dissolution of his entire team inside the agency. The month before, Ziemer’s DHS counterpart, Tom Bossert, was pressured to resign along with his team. Neither the NSC nor DHS epidemic teams have been replaced. The global health section of the CDC was so drastically cut in 2018 that much of its staff was laid off and the number of countries it was working in was reduced from 49 to merely 10.

Now today, we learn of this ...

"Federal health employees interacted with Americans quarantined for possible exposure to the coronavirus without proper medical training or protective gear, then scattered into the general population, according to a government whistle-blower.

In a portion of a complaint filing that has been submitted to the Office of the Special Counsel, the whistle-blower, described as a senior leader at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the team was “improperly deployed” to two military bases in California to assist the processing of Americans who had been evacuated from coronavirus hot zones in China and elsewhere.

The staff members were sent to Travis Air Force Base and March Air Reserve Base and were ordered to enter quarantined areas, including a hangar where coronavirus evacuees were being received. They were not provided training in safety protocols until five days later, the person said.

Without proper training or equipment, some of the exposed staff members moved freely around and off the bases, with at least one person staying in a nearby hotel and leaving California on a commercial flight. Many were unaware of the need to test their temperature three times a day."


The above sounds like something right out of a bad Hollywood movie (Outbreak, etc.) and you couldn't possibly dream up a worse scenario.
 
57Rambler said:
The U.S. couldn't be more ill-prepared for this.

In 2018, the NSC’s entire global health security unit was shut down, calling for reassignment of Rear Adm. Timothy Ziemer and dissolution of his entire team inside the agency. The month before, Ziemer’s DHS counterpart, Tom Bossert, was pressured to resign along with his team. Neither the NSC nor DHS epidemic teams have been replaced. The global health section of the CDC was so drastically cut in 2018 that much of its staff was laid off and the number of countries it was working in was reduced from 49 to merely 10.

Now today, we learn of this ...

"Federal health employees interacted with Americans quarantined for possible exposure to the coronavirus without proper medical training or protective gear, then scattered into the general population, according to a government whistle-blower.

In a portion of a complaint filing that has been submitted to the Office of the Special Counsel, the whistle-blower, described as a senior leader at the Department of Health and Human Services, said the team was “improperly deployed” to two military bases in California to assist the processing of Americans who had been evacuated from coronavirus hot zones in China and elsewhere.

The staff members were sent to Travis Air Force Base and March Air Reserve Base and were ordered to enter quarantined areas, including a hangar where coronavirus evacuees were being received. They were not provided training in safety protocols until five days later, the person said.

Without proper training or equipment, some of the exposed staff members moved freely around and off the bases, with at least one person staying in a nearby hotel and leaving California on a commercial flight. Many were unaware of the need to test their temperature three times a day."


The above sounds like something right out of a bad Hollywood movie (Outbreak, etc.) and you couldn't possibly dream up a worse scenario.
Click to expand...

15,000+ flu deaths in US since October 1 2019 thru February 1 2020 and we are worried about corona? Reality check time.

So far, 16,000 people have died and 280,000 people have been hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC

So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.Feb 11, 2020

While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus.

"As a side note that's almost 10% of the entire US population catching the flu"

And:

While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year. CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.


That's the real story.

And Covid 19 is creating a buying opportunity in the stock market.
 
The trend here as of late, at work, gas pumps, grocery stores has been hand sanitizer gel and wipes stations. Good thing. I use them often.
 
There are many reasons Covid-19 is worse than influenza and will have an effect at least as bad as the Spanish Flu of 1918.

Influenza has a mortality rate of 0.13%, Covid-19 has a mortality rate of 2% and could go up. It is 20 times more deadly than flu.

Influenza infects 1.28 people per patient and Covid-19 infects 2.24-3.58 per case. Covid-19 is perhaps 3x more contagious than flu. On the cruise ship, each patient infected 14 others. 20% of Covid-19 patients need hospitalization versus less than 1% for influenza. Our health system is not prepared for those numbers, so just getting treatment might be a challenge.

There is no natural immunity to Covid-19 and of course no one has had a vaccination. Also, once a patient has had Covid-19, they can get it again as has happened in 14% of the China cases.

Sources for these facts are given in this Reddit post. Reddit is NSFW overall and I'm not even sure we are allowed to link to it from here, but this particular thread is useful because of the sources given.

Some of those sources are these (in case that link gets moderated) :
Disease Burden of Influenza | CDC
https://www.who.int/docs/default-so...-rresser-unog-29jan2020.pdf?sfvrsn=a7158807_4
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19): The epidemic and the challenges. - PubMed - NCBI
14% of recovered coronavirus patients in China's Guangdong tested positive again, East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times

Measuring "total deaths so far" is not a good way to assess the impact of Covid-19 because it is just getting started. A third of the people you know will get this and have symptoms. Most cases are mild (yay) but it is still 20x more deadly than the flu.

Now I'm just wondering if McKees37 Total Interior Cleaner kills the virus or if I need to use Clorox wipes in my car...
Chris


custmsprty said:
15,000+ flu deaths in US since October 1 2019 thru February 1 2020 and we are worried about corona? Reality check time.

So far, 16,000 people have died and 280,000 people have been hospitalized during the 2019-2020 flu season, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC

So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.Feb 11, 2020

While everyone is in a panic about the coronavirus (officially renamed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization), there's an even deadlier virus many people are forgetting about: the flu.

Flu season is hitting its stride right now in the US. So far, the CDC has estimated (based on weekly influenza surveillance data) that at least 12,000 people have died from influenza between Oct. 1, 2019 through Feb. 1, 2020, and the number of deaths may be as high as 30,000.

The CDC also estimates that up to 31 million Americans have caught the flu this season, with 210,000 to 370,000 flu sufferers hospitalized because of the virus.

"As a side note that's almost 10% of the entire US population catching the flu"

And:

While the impact of flu varies, it places a substantial burden on the health of people in the United States each year. CDC estimates that influenza has resulted in between 9 million – 45 million illnesses, between 140,000 – 810,000 hospitalizations and between 12,000 – 61,000 deaths annually since 2010.


That's the real story.

And Covid 19 is creating a buying opportunity in the stock market.
Click to expand...
 
good idea,,gloves and mask can only help,,I also try to take supplents such as vitamin C and elderberry to boost my immune system the best I can.
When it comes to a virus such as Corona (covid 19) there is no perfect plan I imagine,we just do the best we can
 
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