Germs and Hygiene (Print Version)

When you cough or sneeze, you send tiny germ-filled droplets into the air. Colds and flu usually spread that way. You can help stop the spread of germs by

Covering your mouth and nose when you sneeze or cough
Cleaning your hands often - always before you eat or prepare food, and after you use the bathroom or change a diaper
Avoiding touching your eyes, nose or mouth

Hand washing is one of the most effective and most overlooked ways to stop disease. Soap and water work well to kill germs. Wash for at least 15 seconds. Disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers also work well.

Start Here

Ounce of Prevention Keeps the Germs Away: Seven Keys to a Safer Healthier Home(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/ounceofprevention/docs/oop_brochure_eng.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/ounceofprevention/docs/oop_brochure_esp.pdf
Understanding Microbes in Sickness and in Health(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) - Large PDF file - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/microbes/PDF/microbesbook.htm

Overviews

Stopping Germs at Home, Work and School(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/home_work_school.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/es/home_work_school.htm

Latest News

Keep the Germs Away: Tips for Staying Healthy(11/03/2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/Features/FightGerms/
Regular Hand-Washing Can Prevent Against Colds, Flu(09/24/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_69677.html

Prevention/Screening

Giving Germs the Slip: Soap and Shots Can Protect Your Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://newsinhealth.nih.gov/2007/October/docs/01features_02.htm
Hand Washing: An Easy Way to Prevent Infection(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/hand-washing/HQ00407/METHOD=print

Specific Conditions

Biological Threat: Symptoms and Hygiene(Dept. of Homeland Security) - http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/biological_symptoms.html
Hand Hygiene After a Disaster(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/handhygiene.asp
Healthy Swimming Frequently Asked Questions(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/healthyswimming/q_and_a.htm
Stopping the Spread of Germs at Work(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/germstopper/work.htm

Videos

Clean Hands Save Lives(Healthy Roads Media) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.healthyroadsmedia.org/english/Files/flv/engcleanhands.htm
Put Your Hands Together(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/CDCTV/HandsTogether/

Games

Food Detectives: Fight Bac(Partnership for Food Safety Education) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.fooddetectives.com/
Scrub Club(NSF International) - http://www.scrubclub.org

Clinical Trials

ClinicalTrials.gov: Communicable Diseases(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Communicable+Diseases%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Handwashing(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Handwashing%22
ClinicalTrials.gov: Hygiene(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Hygiene%22

Journal Articles

References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

Article: Compliance with hand hygiene guidelines: where are we in 2008? - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18664758&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Integrated disinfection by-products research: assessing reproductive and developmental risks posed... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18636394&tool=MedlinePlus
Article: Integrated disinfection by-products research: salmonella mutagenicity of water concentrates disinfected... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18636391&tool=MedlinePlus
Germs and Hygiene -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=(virus+diseases/pc[mh]+OR+bacterial+infections/pc[mh]+OR+communicable+disease+control[mh]+OR+disease+transmission+OR+communicable+diseases/pc)+AND+(disinfectants[mh]+OR+handwashing[mh])+NOT+(infection+control[mh]+OR+occupational+exposure[mh])+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus

Organizations

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - http://www.cdc.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://www.cdc.gov/spanish/
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases - http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/

Children

What Are Germs?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/germs.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/preguntas/germs_esp.html
Why Do I Need to Wash My Hands?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/kid/talk/qa/wash_hands.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/kid/en_espanol/preguntas/wash_hands_esp.html
Why Is Hand Washing So Important?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/sick/hand_washing.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/parent/en_espanol/general/hand_washing_esp.html

Teenagers

Hand Washing(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/skin_stuff/handwashing.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/handwashing_esp.html
Why Should I Care about Germs?(Nemours Foundation) - http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/health_basics/care_about_germs.html
Also available in Spanish http://kidshealth.org/teen/en_espanol/cuerpo/care_about_germs_esp.html

You may also be interested in these MedlinePlus related pages:

Common Cold - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/commoncold.html
Flu - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/flu.html
Infection Control - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infectioncontrol.html
Infections - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/infections.html
Skin, Hair and Nails - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/skinhairandnails.html

Germs and Hygiene - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/germsandhygiene.html