What is Healthing and How Do I Prevent Germs?

In the month of March, we had more sickness than usual in our house.  Pierce came down with strep throat, and Reid got a really nasty stomach bug.  One of my main concerns in illness is prevention, of course, but after that, trying to control contamination so the other kids don't catch it.  I have the kids frequently wash their hands (as I do as well) and use Lysol disinfecting wipes to wipe down surfaces that might be prone to germs - I even wipe down our leather couches with them!  I love Lysol wipes because they clean AND disinfect (99.9% of germs).  In addition I will scrub the bathroom, launder all bed linens, and sometimes throw away toothbrushes and replace them with new ones if a virus is particularly bad.  Did you know that Lysol has a new campaign out called Healthing - which incorporates health into every aspect of daily living - from healthy eating to cleaning and eradicating germs in your house. 

It's a great idea, because germs are rampant.  Let's examine a typical germ fest exposure.  I never make the boys skip fun community events just because they could catch illnesses there - I just try to take proactive steps as much as I can.  We took the boys to an Easter egg hunt at a small local church recently.  We brought our own baskets, but the eggs in the hunt had likely been handled by many others, and potentially had germs.

Then, there was a wonderful snack prepared for all the children.  Of course, other kids went first through line, and several times I saw children touch snacks that they didn't actually take.  More germs!

Now what do you think Reid is going to do after eating this cupcake?  Lick little chocolately fingers of course.  Good thing we cleaned them before eating our snack.

The grand finale of the Easter hunt was a chick pinata.  The kids all loved beating the little chick with a stick, but the stick was passed from child to child.  By the end, that piece of wood had to be loaded with a wide variety of contaminates!

We made sure that we cleaned off hands before allowing candy to be eaten on the car ride home.  The boys had a wonderful time, and I felt better knowing that we had taken extra steps to minimize germ exposure.  I do think the little things we do each day to stay healthy can make a big difference, and we've had enough sickies in our house lately!  This Spring, Lysol is promoting healthing by visiting YMCAs and teaching people how to improve hygiene habits in their homes.  Visit Lysol for more ideas on how to look beyond cleaning for a healthier lifestyle or to read their guidebook. 

Disclaimer:  I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for LYSOL^®. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating.”.