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A good friend of my family is currently dying of HA-MRSA he acquired during an emergency surgery in one of the best hospitals in Canada...it's a huge problem in North America and not something to take lightly.
I ran a health club and it's more common than you would think. There is a lot of great information found on the cdc web site regarding it. Here is a link if you need it. www.cdc.gov/mrsa/healthcare/index.html
Dear dear. That FDA. Granting authorisations. Withholding authorisations. There's just no end to their villainy, is there.
It was one single, very courageous, young and comparatively junior official at the FDA who prevented Distillers from getting a licence for thalidomide in the USA. No American should fail to give thanks for her; but neither should you imagine that hers was an isolated example. What she did is exactly what the FDA is doing effectively behind the scenes for the vast majority of the time, and it's because they're effective that you don't get to read about it.
Also, the traditional medical care system loves to put out spurious articles for the media to mindlessly regurgitate, focusing on the negative aspects of anything that lives outside of traditional medicine.
It is easy to confuse ingenuous people, who are not capable of educating themselves about the truth and thus blindly take any medical professionals pronouncements as gospel.
Some people, often through no fault of their own and lack of education, are also incapable of following the money trail regarding medical procedures and drugs that are too easily pronounced safe and effective by the FDA, when in fact they have been shown to cause great harm.
If you research the FDA, you will see that many people and organizations have shown them to cause harm to the public in many cases, due to their decisions to grant drug approval or WITHHOLD IT. Withholding a promising drug can do harm, too.
The FDA also takes money from pharmaceutical lobbyists, this takes away a large amount of their credibility because approval or disapproval of a drug is often associated with how much money is donated to a particular organization, rather than its actual benefit.
The medical profession also keeps a lot of people employed and thus many medical professionals have an incentive to NOT be a whistle blower and to keep the medical money machine rolling along, without contention.
There is no money to be made by the pharmaceutical industry on a non-patentable item or any natural remedy, such as Manuka honey or vitamin C for antibiotic resistant infections.
I am not opposed to antibiotic use. However, if it is NOT working, other remedies should be considered and not dismissed.
Everything has side affects, if used improperly. The dose may make the poison in many cases.
People can even die from an overdose of water. It's called water intoxication and can cause hyponatremia and death among other issues.
However antibiotics cause far more problems in users than does silver. Doubters need to research it and not only read articles published to discredit it. Read the other side, too.
Silver if used everyday could indeed kill off some good bacteria, so can eating too much of certain type of foods, without using probiotics or prebiotics, but Silver is not meant to be consumed everyday, nor in large quantities.
In reality, the medical profession in general in the USA causes far more deaths with prescription drugs or unneeded medical procedures, like stenting, which has recently been proved to be hugely ineffective.
Why is stenting still encouraged, over other forms of treatment that are less likely to cause harm? Well, because the surgery brings in lots of profit for general doctors, anesthesiologists, surgeon, nurses, aides and the hospital.
But in order to know this, a person, needs to be capable of doing the research into these issues that will allow them to think for themselves rather than mindlessly swallowing the dose of misleading publicity meted out by the FDA and the medical professionals in general.
MRSA has to be the most misunderstood thing ever. My mom had it in the hospital and was isolated, requiring us to change gowns if we left to go the bathroom, but an unprotected aide wheeled her down the hall for an MRI. My husband was diagnosed with it but they then never acted upon it or treated him differently. From these two extremes, I've decided, like herpes, it's something many carry in their blood, and something, stress perhaps, makes it active. A friend died a few days after a bunion surgery from a staph infection, and had felt fine until a few hours before her death, presumably from something she "caught" during surgery.
Colloidal silver IS effective and since It IS effective, it has a negative side to it. I used it to kill a resistant flu, and it called all the beneficial bacteria in my system too. It's been so long I don't remember the details, but be careful what you wish for. Once RZ realizes these things work and are low cost they will do what they to outlaw them to "protect" us.
Runaway, you are absolutely correct in your assessment of today’s medical care. The further you can keep your loved ones from doctors and hospitals the better off they will be. I for one spend countless hours on homeopathic remedies study since naturopaths are scarce where I live. Hospice killed my mother but not before the cancer docs pumped her full of poison and radiation. She was brainwashed like so many of the people I encounter today. She’s would not listen or take my advice because I didn’t have a useless MD behind my name. Which for me means “medicated death”. They truly think these doctors care about you! That is not so, sheesh they rarely know who you are these days, your nothing but a number to them. And they not interested in curing anything since there is no profit it that. For everybody do your research! The good Lord gave us absolutely everything we need in nature to heal ourselves. Big Pharma kills! As do doctors and hospitals. The only way I’d see a doc is if I broke a bone or a body part was hanging off otherwise I have no use for them. I do my research and take good care of myself and family by using natural remedies. Stay away from GMOS, prescription drugs actually any drugs and tap water, try to eat organic and get a good water filter. Like a Berkey. Colloidal silver is wonderful for MRSA as is mega doses of vitamin C. Two things I take everyday. If you do have POA stay with your loved one as long as you can at the hospital, nursing home etc make sure you let them know firmly what your wishes are and watch them like hawks until you can get your loved ones out of there. It’s not easy it’s hard, grueling and a thankless job. You’ll be ridiculed and treated like your some kind of nut. But if you love your family it’s worth every minute! So, runaway your are not alone there are many of us who despise today’s so called health care. In fact they really need to change the name to slow death care if you ask me.
You said: [ " definitely have absolutely NO RESPECT OR FAITH IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. I did entensive research and was alarmed how the healthcare industry is the ONLY industry that is allowed to operate without any accountability. So they can just kill folks and get away with it. " ]
Runaway:
What you said is sadly true.
Once you are in the hospital you are given drugs without permission. If you are too noisy they can tranquilize you are give you a sleep sedative, even if you do not want it.
It's almost as if you are a captive rather than a human being.
The doctors and hospitals only have to follow "standard of care." in order to avoid being sued or sanctioned by the state medical boards. Most state medical boards are very lax in overseeing doctors and rarely sanction them.
New York has a strong medical board that actually is more effective than those in other states such as Pennsylvania.
In the traditional medical system, the care does not have to be curative. They only have to try to cure, and they can not stray outside the standard of care because then they are more open to a lawsuit or a board sanction
Willienme1950:
There are natural remedies for antibiotic resistant infections such as those mentioned in these postings
Colloidal silver kills all viruses and bacteria. It can be swallowed or put on the skin. A holistic physician with an MD or OD can guide you in its proper use.
There is also a honey called Manuka honey with a high active UMF or MGO rating, that has been shown to cure antibiotic resistant infections, if used properly both orally and put directly on the infected area, it works.
There is an over the counter sterilized skin cream with Manuka honey from Australia called medi honey. It can be purchased online in the USA or from Australia.
Also, high intravenous doses of Vitamin C have helped cure resistant infections.
If the antibiotics are not working, what do the doctors have to lose, if they try alternative therapies?
A traditional doctor, however, will either not recommend these treatments because they are not standard of care, or they do not even know about them.
I had a dog with severe MRSA infection on his elbows after a University veterinary hospital stay. I used the medi-honey and covered it with bandages.
I also gave him 1000 mgs buffered vitamin c every four hours. The buffered prevents upset stomach.
The infected sores healed within two weeks.
The antibiotics did nothing but cause the dog to have bowel disturbances.
My mom got MRSA in the hospital and I guess because she was over 78 the doctor told me "oh what do you expect she is 78...really!! She got it in her blood which is not something you can get from being in the general public...once in the bloodstream it is very difficult to treat. If treated properly yes the patient will survive, but in my mom's case they did not care about curing her as much as they cared about getting paid. They KILLED HER and there was nothing we could do because the evil healthcare folks drugged her when they knew I was coming to get POA so she never was able to sign the form and so they put a bunch of LIES in her files and would not release anything to me who was the person giving all the permission for all healthcare treatment.
I definitely have absolutely NO RESPECT OR FAITH IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. I did entensive research and was alarmed how the healthcare industry is the ONLY industry that is allowed to operate without any accountability. So they can just kill folks and get away with it.
Hey, folks, we all carry assorted staphylococcus bacteria in our bodies, skin, etc without trouble. But MRSA is specifically staph-aureus that has acquired immunity to a specific antibiotic and then multiplied. We do NOT all carry MRSA, though once someone has been sick with it they will often not be able to get rid of it for a long time if ever, and may 'carry' it without becoming ill again.
In the hospital where I trained we did routinely screen for MRSA on admission. If the patient tested positive, we used full contact precautions to avoid passing it from one patient to another.
If your family member tested positive on admission, you might consider asking to be screened yourself.
Sometimes called staff. I’ve had several family members come in contact with MRSA. An infectious disease doctor told me it could be picked up from a shopping cart. It’s very contagious. My MIL had it after a surgery and could not be transferred to a NH until it was cleared up. Be very careful. My husband got it. We aren’t sure how. I had to dress his wound three times a day. Very detailed instructions. It worked out but you don’t want to take any chances. Your mother got it from someone. Some folks are carriers. One of my cousins was on dialysis. He said they were routinely given nasal swabs to see if they had the germs. Not sure if they do that at NHs. People think they have a spider bite but it’s usually MRSA. I hope your mom is better soon.
While it is true we all carry bacteria in our nasal passages according to the CDC "Studies show that about one in three (33%) people carry staph in their nose, usually without any illness. Two in 100 people carry MRSA"
We all carry MRSA in our nasal passages and on our skin. It's beneficial to us because it gets rid of foreign bacteria we come in contact with. However, with people whose health is compromised they can be vulnerable to the MRSA and become infected by it.
People in hospitals and other facilities are also prone to MRSA because these facilities go to such lengths to keep everything clean that the MRSA has to get stronger in order to survive this environment and when the MRSA gets stronger it can also pose a problem to humans.
MRSA is not an airborne infection. It's transferred from one person to another by sharing razors or towels or coming into skin to skin contact with someone who has it and the person coming into contact with it, in order to catch it, has to have an open sore on their skin. I've heard that the easiest way to catch it is from a nurse or other hospital personnel who carry it from one patient to another.
I've had it twice and I've never been so sick in my life.
The facility should provide personal protective equipment (PPE) outside your mom's door. Disposable gowns and gloves that are dumped in a special bin after the visit.
I do know that patients being admitted to hospital are swabbed to see if they are carriers of resistant infections, including MRSA. If this, or something like it, is how your mother was found to be carrying MRSA then it is only something you need to be aware of and to report to any people providing her with medical, nursing or personal care. It's a matter of infection control; the MRSA won't in itself make her ill unless it gets in to some part of her body or her system where it shouldn't be.
If she is actively infected - for example, if she has had surgery and it has been found in a wound - then it will need treatment; and you must discuss the plan with her doctors.
My father had hospital acquired MRSA (Methicillin resistant staph aureus infection) twice, and VRSA (Vancomycin resistant staph aureus) once. As explained by medical staff, MRSA is resistant to Methicillin, and was treated with another antibiotic: Vancomycin.
Vancomycin was the harder infection to treat b/c, at that time, it was apparently the only other drug used to treat these resistant strains.
He acquired each of them while in a hospital. The onset was very quick; with the VRSA, I had been visiting him, he was doing well, but by the time I got home about 45 minutes later, BP had crashed and he had to be immediately transferred to ICU.
Your mother should be isolated and not in a room with anyone else, to protect her as well as another patient and any visitors.
Buzzy offers good advice to keep visiting her, taking the necessary precautions. Isolation can be frightening, unsettling, and Mom needs a lot of support now. With the VRSA, my father was more or less in and out of a coherent state; I'm not sure he even knew I was there.
So I took a bunch of "thinking of you" cards and left them in his room, asking the staff to give them to him if he woke up while I was gone. He could read them over and over and could remember that he might be isolated, but he wasn't forgotten or alone and was always in my thoughts.
Sometimes I just wrote short comments on the weather, what I was doing...not so much the standard "get well" b/c that seemed somewhat generic if not ineffective.
As Buzzy states, you need to protect yourself as well as him; if I remember correctly, I had to "glove and gown" when I visited.
In our situation, I think a big factor was an already compromised immune system and other serious health issues.
These are very serious infections, but they can be cured.
If it was 'caught' in a hospital, it is called HA-MRSA. But basically can be picked up from various things.
If you are visiting, make sure you disinfect your hands before and after visit. All clothing and bedding should be washed and disinfected.
If you are offer a plastic pinny then use it. Plastic gloves (the very thin type) would also be a good idea. Better be safe than sorry with this one.
The infected area/s MUST be kept clean and covered.
I used to work in a hospital and any patient with this was isolated.
It is a little bit of a scary one but can be managed with careful procedures.
I expect your mother will be feeling a little scared and lonely, so make sure you follow ALL procedures but keep up the visits. I have put the recommended hand cleaning at the bottom for you.
Good luck
Wash your hands. Careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 62 percent alcohol for times when you don't have access to soap and water
By proceeding, I agree that I understand the following disclosures:
I. How We Work in Washington.
Based on your preferences, we provide you with information about one or more of our contracted senior living providers ("Participating Communities") and provide your Senior Living Care Information to Participating Communities. The Participating Communities may contact you directly regarding their services.
APFM does not endorse or recommend any provider. It is your sole responsibility to select the appropriate care for yourself or your loved one. We work with both you and the Participating Communities in your search. We do not permit our Advisors to have an ownership interest in Participating Communities.
II. How We Are Paid.
We do not charge you any fee – we are paid by the Participating Communities. Some Participating Communities pay us a percentage of the first month's standard rate for the rent and care services you select. We invoice these fees after the senior moves in.
III. When We Tour.
APFM tours certain Participating Communities in Washington (typically more in metropolitan areas than in rural areas.) During the 12 month period prior to December 31, 2017, we toured 86.2% of Participating Communities with capacity for 20 or more residents.
IV. No Obligation or Commitment.
You have no obligation to use or to continue to use our services. Because you pay no fee to us, you will never need to ask for a refund.
V. Complaints.
Please contact our Family Feedback Line at (866) 584-7340 or ConsumerFeedback@aplaceformom.com to report any complaint. Consumers have many avenues to address a dispute with any referral service company, including the right to file a complaint with the Attorney General's office at: Consumer Protection Division, 800 5th Avenue, Ste. 2000, Seattle, 98104 or 800-551-4636.
VI. No Waiver of Your Rights.
APFM does not (and may not) require or even ask consumers seeking senior housing or care services in Washington State to sign waivers of liability for losses of personal property or injury or to sign waivers of any rights established under law.
I agree that:
A.
I authorize A Place For Mom ("APFM") to collect certain personal and contact detail information, as well as relevant health care information about me or from me about the senior family member or relative I am assisting ("Senior Living Care Information").
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APFM may provide information to me electronically. My electronic signature on agreements and documents has the same effect as if I signed them in ink.
C.
APFM may send all communications to me electronically via e-mail or by access to an APFM web site.
D.
If I want a paper copy, I can print a copy of the Disclosures or download the Disclosures for my records.
E.
This E-Sign Acknowledgement and Authorization applies to these Disclosures and all future Disclosures related to APFM's services, unless I revoke my authorization. You may revoke this authorization in writing at any time (except where we have already disclosed information before receiving your revocation.) This authorization will expire after one year.
F.
You consent to APFM's reaching out to you using a phone system than can auto-dial numbers (we miss rotary phones, too!), but this consent is not required to use our service.
Here is a link if you need it.
www.cdc.gov/mrsa/healthcare/index.html
It was one single, very courageous, young and comparatively junior official at the FDA who prevented Distillers from getting a licence for thalidomide in the USA. No American should fail to give thanks for her; but neither should you imagine that hers was an isolated example. What she did is exactly what the FDA is doing effectively behind the scenes for the vast majority of the time, and it's because they're effective that you don't get to read about it.
I agree with all your points.
Also, the traditional medical care system loves to put out spurious articles for the media to mindlessly regurgitate, focusing on the negative aspects of anything that lives outside of traditional medicine.
It is easy to confuse ingenuous people, who are not capable of educating themselves about the truth and thus blindly take any medical professionals pronouncements as gospel.
Some people, often through no fault of their own and lack of education, are also incapable of following the money trail regarding medical procedures and drugs that are too easily pronounced safe and effective by the FDA, when in fact they have been shown to cause great harm.
If you research the FDA, you will see that many people and organizations have shown them to cause harm to the public in many cases, due to their decisions to grant drug approval or WITHHOLD IT. Withholding a promising drug can do harm, too.
The FDA also takes money from pharmaceutical lobbyists, this takes away a large amount of their credibility because approval or disapproval of a drug is often associated with how much money is donated to a particular organization, rather than its actual benefit.
The medical profession also keeps a lot of people employed and thus many medical professionals have an incentive to NOT be a whistle blower and to keep the medical money machine rolling along, without contention.
There is no money to be made by the pharmaceutical industry on a non-patentable item or any natural remedy, such as Manuka honey or vitamin C for antibiotic resistant infections.
I am not opposed to antibiotic use. However, if it is NOT working, other remedies should be considered and not dismissed.
Everything has side affects, if used improperly. The dose may make the poison in many cases.
People can even die from an overdose of water. It's called water intoxication and can cause hyponatremia and death among other issues.
However antibiotics cause far more problems in users than does silver. Doubters need to research it and not only read articles published to discredit it. Read the other side, too.
Silver if used everyday could indeed kill off some good bacteria, so can eating too much of certain type of foods, without using probiotics or prebiotics, but Silver is not meant to be consumed everyday, nor in large quantities.
In reality, the medical profession in general in the USA causes far more deaths with prescription drugs or unneeded medical procedures, like stenting, which has recently been proved to be hugely ineffective.
Why is stenting still encouraged, over other forms of treatment that are less likely to cause harm? Well, because the surgery brings in lots of profit for general doctors, anesthesiologists, surgeon, nurses, aides and the hospital.
But in order to know this, a person, needs to be capable of doing the research into these issues that will allow them to think for themselves rather than mindlessly swallowing the dose of misleading publicity meted out by the FDA and the medical professionals in general.
Big Pharma kills! As do doctors and hospitals.
The only way I’d see a doc is if I broke a bone or a body part was hanging off otherwise I have no use for them. I do my research and take good care of myself and family by using natural remedies. Stay away from GMOS, prescription drugs actually any drugs and tap water, try to eat organic and get a good water filter. Like a Berkey.
Colloidal silver is wonderful for MRSA as is mega doses of vitamin C. Two things I take everyday.
If you do have POA stay with your loved one as long as you can at the hospital, nursing home etc make sure you let them know firmly what your wishes are and watch them like hawks until you can get your loved ones out of there. It’s not easy it’s hard, grueling and a thankless job. You’ll be ridiculed and treated like your some kind of nut. But if you love your family it’s worth every minute!
So, runaway your are not alone there are many of us who despise today’s so called health care. In fact they really need to change the name to slow death care if you ask me.
You said: [ " definitely have absolutely NO RESPECT OR FAITH IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. I did entensive research and was alarmed how the healthcare industry is the ONLY industry that is allowed to operate without any accountability. So they can just kill folks and get away with it. " ]
Runaway:
What you said is sadly true.
Once you are in the hospital you are given drugs without permission. If you are too noisy they can tranquilize you are give you a sleep sedative, even if you do not want it.
It's almost as if you are a captive rather than a human being.
The doctors and hospitals only have to follow "standard of care." in order to avoid being sued or sanctioned by the state medical boards. Most state medical boards are very lax in overseeing doctors and rarely sanction them.
New York has a strong medical board that actually is more effective than those in other states such as Pennsylvania.
In the traditional medical system, the care does not have to be curative. They only have to try to cure, and they can not stray outside the standard of care because then they are more open to a lawsuit or a board sanction
Willienme1950:
There are natural remedies for antibiotic resistant infections such as those mentioned in these postings
Colloidal silver kills all viruses and bacteria. It can be swallowed or put on the skin. A holistic physician with an MD or OD can guide you in its proper use.
There is also a honey called Manuka honey with a high active UMF or MGO rating, that has been shown to cure antibiotic resistant infections, if used properly both orally and put directly on the infected area, it works.
There is an over the counter sterilized skin cream with Manuka honey from Australia called medi honey. It can be purchased online in the USA or from Australia.
Also, high intravenous doses of Vitamin C have helped cure resistant infections.
If the antibiotics are not working, what do the doctors have to lose, if they try alternative therapies?
A traditional doctor, however, will either not recommend these treatments because they are not standard of care, or they do not even know about them.
I had a dog with severe MRSA infection on his elbows after a University veterinary hospital stay. I used the medi-honey and covered it with bandages.
I also gave him 1000 mgs buffered vitamin c every four hours. The buffered prevents upset stomach.
The infected sores healed within two weeks.
The antibiotics did nothing but cause the dog to have bowel disturbances.
I definitely have absolutely NO RESPECT OR FAITH IN OUR HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. I did entensive research and was alarmed how the healthcare industry is the ONLY industry that is allowed to operate without any accountability. So they can just kill folks and get away with it.
In the hospital where I trained we did routinely screen for MRSA on admission. If the patient tested positive, we used full contact precautions to avoid passing it from one patient to another.
If your family member tested positive on admission, you might consider asking to be screened yourself.
My husband got it. We aren’t sure how. I had to dress his wound three times a day. Very detailed instructions. It worked out but you don’t want to take any chances. Your mother got it from someone. Some folks are carriers.
One of my cousins was on dialysis. He said they were routinely given nasal swabs to see if they had the germs. Not sure if they do that at NHs.
People think they have a spider bite but it’s usually MRSA.
I hope your mom is better soon.
People in hospitals and other facilities are also prone to MRSA because these facilities go to such lengths to keep everything clean that the MRSA has to get stronger in order to survive this environment and when the MRSA gets stronger it can also pose a problem to humans.
MRSA is not an airborne infection. It's transferred from one person to another by sharing razors or towels or coming into skin to skin contact with someone who has it and the person coming into contact with it, in order to catch it, has to have an open sore on their skin. I've heard that the easiest way to catch it is from a nurse or other hospital personnel who carry it from one patient to another.
I've had it twice and I've never been so sick in my life.
The facility should provide personal protective equipment (PPE) outside your mom's door. Disposable gowns and gloves that are dumped in a special bin after the visit.
I do know that patients being admitted to hospital are swabbed to see if they are carriers of resistant infections, including MRSA. If this, or something like it, is how your mother was found to be carrying MRSA then it is only something you need to be aware of and to report to any people providing her with medical, nursing or personal care. It's a matter of infection control; the MRSA won't in itself make her ill unless it gets in to some part of her body or her system where it shouldn't be.
If she is actively infected - for example, if she has had surgery and it has been found in a wound - then it will need treatment; and you must discuss the plan with her doctors.
Vancomycin was the harder infection to treat b/c, at that time, it was apparently the only other drug used to treat these resistant strains.
He acquired each of them while in a hospital. The onset was very quick; with the VRSA, I had been visiting him, he was doing well, but by the time I got home about 45 minutes later, BP had crashed and he had to be immediately transferred to ICU.
Your mother should be isolated and not in a room with anyone else, to protect her as well as another patient and any visitors.
Buzzy offers good advice to keep visiting her, taking the necessary precautions. Isolation can be frightening, unsettling, and Mom needs a lot of support now. With the VRSA, my father was more or less in and out of a coherent state; I'm not sure he even knew I was there.
So I took a bunch of "thinking of you" cards and left them in his room, asking the staff to give them to him if he woke up while I was gone. He could read them over and over and could remember that he might be isolated, but he wasn't forgotten or alone and was always in my thoughts.
Sometimes I just wrote short comments on the weather, what I was doing...not so much the standard "get well" b/c that seemed somewhat generic if not ineffective.
As Buzzy states, you need to protect yourself as well as him; if I remember correctly, I had to "glove and gown" when I visited.
In our situation, I think a big factor was an already compromised immune system and other serious health issues.
These are very serious infections, but they can be cured.
If it was 'caught' in a hospital, it is called HA-MRSA. But basically can be picked up from various things.
If you are visiting, make sure you disinfect your hands before and after visit. All clothing and bedding should be washed and disinfected.
If you are offer a plastic pinny then use it. Plastic gloves (the very thin type) would also be a good idea. Better be safe than sorry with this one.
The infected area/s MUST be kept clean and covered.
I used to work in a hospital and any patient with this was isolated.
It is a little bit of a scary one but can be managed with careful procedures.
I expect your mother will be feeling a little scared and lonely, so make sure you follow ALL procedures but keep up the visits. I have put the recommended hand cleaning at the bottom for you.
Good luck
Wash your hands. Careful hand washing remains your best defense against germs. Scrub hands briskly for at least 15 seconds, then dry them with a disposable towel and use another towel to turn off the faucet. Carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer containing at least 62 percent alcohol for times when you don't have access to soap and water