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Home Body Fighting germs

Fighting germs

It doesn’t sound nice, but there are germs everywhere. These germs are so small that they can hurt your body without you even knowing. The word germ describes four different types of organisms: bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. These organisms can cause infections such as a cold. They can also cause infections that can put your life in danger, such as HIV. The good news is that there are steps you can take to try protect yourself.

What can I do to protect myself from germs?

• Wash your hands often: after using the bathroom, after blowing your nose or coughing, after touching animals, after gardening, before and after spending time with someone who is sick, and before and after preparing foods.
• Talk with your parents/guardian about making sure your vaccinations  are up-to-date. Immunizations protect you from diseases that are easily spread, such as the measles. Immunizations are usually given as a shot.
• If you are sexually active, condoms can help protect you from getting some diseases that are spread by sexual contact. Condoms do not protect against all sexually transmitted infections 100 percent of the time. The best way to protect your health is to wait until you are married to have sex. Condoms don't work for all infections and only lower your chances of getting others.
• Do not share needles used for drugs, tattoos, or pierced ears. Sharing dirty needles (you can’t tell it is dirty by looking) can give you HIV or hepatitis. If you do get a tattoo, make sure that the studio is clean and that all of their needles, gloves, and masks are thrown away after one use. The rest of their tools should be cleaned after every use. You can find out more about the color used in tattoos on our make-up page. State and local authorities oversee the practice of tattooing. To find out more about local tattoo studios, contact your local health department.
• Follow these safety tips to protect yourself from food that has gone bad because of germs:
  
  
  • Wash your hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds before and after you touch food.
  • Wash everything – cutting boards, the counter, and other utensils – before and after it touches food.
  • Use a separate cutting board for raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs.
  • Keep juices from raw meat, poultry, and seafood away from other foods. Clean the kitchen counter after any of these foods has been sitting on it.
  • Rinse fruits and vegetables under warm running water to wash dirt away. Use a produce brush if needed.
  • Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs can make you sick if not fully cooked. How do you know if they are cooked? Do not eat hamburger if the meat is still pink; your fish should flake when you dig a fork into it; and cooked egg whites and yolks are firm.
  • For more food safety information, call 1-888-SAFEFOOD (1-888-723-3366). You can also find more food safety information online.
  • Share these food safety tips with your family.

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Content last updated June 18, 2008

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