On Board and Germs

[jis]

I think the point has been made about HIV and the fact that it is, in fact, very difficult to transmit. Of all the things to worry about from incidental human contact, that is not one of them. Lets move on from that.

I certainly do not belittle those who take steps to prevent contact with infectious agents, but short of going full Howard Hughes (and a lot of good it did him), in the end I think it is a futile effort. I do the best I reasonably can, and then trust the immune system to do its job. By and large, it seems to work. I just survived a two day encounter with my two-year-old grandson. There may not be a bigger germ carrier than a little kid who spends the day with a bunch of other little kids in daycare. I seem to have escaped unscathed.

It is actually very important for kids to be exposed to some amount of germs so as to train their immune systems about them. This ability to get trained slowly goes away as one reaches mid-teens. It is much harder for the immune system to handle completely unfamiliar class of germs after that. This is the reason that those of us who suffered through various tropical diseases during our childhood generally handle them, or their cousins, much more effectively than those did not. There is a marked difference in the severity of stomach infection attacks between those who grew up in an endemic environment from those that did not.

 

[Lonestar648]

It is interesting that Doctors have now determined that over protectiveness of your children is the cause of many allergies and diseases. As mentioned above, the very young immune system needs to build up resistance to these. If it never sees any then it can not build its resistance. The same applies to allergies like peanuts. Research has found that infants not consuming foods like peanuts can make them highly allergic by the time they enter school. Therefore, living in a totally sanitary environment may mean the child as an adult could be open to more issues. Grandfather used to tell my mother that girls do not eat enough dirt. Boys are always dirty, with dirty hands in their mouth, when I was young.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

I did not overprotect my kids, but they may have been overprotected by the staff at daycare & school.

Then again, being in daycare from very young ages, they’ve probably have been exposed to most germs.

They are pretty healthy, but I think both have mild digestive allergies.

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[NW cannonball]

Reply to Jis, Lonestar648, Amtrakblue

For sure, kids need exposure to bacti and viro toxins to build their immune defenses.

And, yes, surfaces and sneeze drops are risk factors.

The dreaded norovirus on cruise ships is way less factor on Amtrak because in an hour or two, or even a day or two on LD sleeper gives not enough time for the virus to attack and multiply among the passengers and get them to spread their fecal grunge all around. The trains get steam-cleaned more often than the cruise ships. Maybe the virus gets itself to a few passengers but can't multiply to more hosts.

My own kids, and now grandkids, get the best infant protection there is -- breast milk !!!

Nothing is sure, there's germs everywhere, one in a million is pathogen --

The pathologists I used to work for, one of them kept his lunch in the corpse and specimen cooler. He never got sick, cause he never tasted the corpses or specimens.

If you want to "disinfect" good. But the "germs" won't jump from a surface to your lungs, naah.

Wash hands, don't lick the toilet seat.

If your'e not immunocompromised, no worries

 

[NW cannonball]

Apolgize for crudity .

Factually, most "wipes" have zero (science - based - (sorry for the badword) ) evidence for preventing anything.

Killing some percent of "germs" don't mean diddly

The "Science-based" people know there's different ways the damn "germs" attack us, but superstition confuses viruses, bacteria, measles vs aids.

Too complicated for prime time.

Me, My kids and grandkids get all their immus.

I don't wipe every place on public transit.

I don't even worry that the last person that slept in my Amtrak or Super-Hotel bed was sick They or it was.

 

[WindyCityTexan]

I take a can of disinfectant spray from Dollar Tree on my LD trips. First thing before we even leave the station I spray EVERYTHING down, even the fabric on the seats and the curtains. Not only does it kill the germs, it also completely freshens the room. And that fresh scent lasts the entire trip, especially since I also have a clip fan running.

 

[railiner]

.

Factually, most "wipes" have zero (science - based - (sorry for the badword) ) evidence for preventing anything.

Killing some percent of "germs" don't mean diddly

.

Clorox Hydrogen Peroxide Cleaner Disinfectant Wipes are bactericidal, virucidal, and tuberculocidal.....

I use them to completely wipe down my cabin when boarding cruise ships, including places like the inside of safe, that might be missed by crew...

"An ounce of prevention, is worth a pound of cure".....

 

[jis]

Different people just have more intense different phobias, and it is OK for them to address those to their satisfaction as long as they do not get into others way.

 

[KmH]

. . . Factually, most "wipes" have zero (science - based - (sorry for the badword) ) evidence for preventing anything.

Killing some percent of "germs" don't mean diddly. . .

Yep.

The makers of the 'disinfectants' and 'antibacterial' wipes have done a good job of advertising and profit on general ignorance regarding bacteria, viruses, and other 'germs'.

Basically they sell products that provide little, if any, benefit.

 

[tricia]

I take a can of disinfectant spray from Dollar Tree on my LD trips. First thing before we even leave the station I spray EVERYTHING down, even the fabric on the seats and the curtains. Not only does it kill the germs, it also completely freshens the room. And that fresh scent lasts the entire trip, especially since I also have a clip fan running.

Kindly consider that "that fresh scent" is obnoxious or toxic to many of your fellow passengers.

 

[WindyCityTexan]

I take a can of disinfectant spray from Dollar Tree on my LD trips. First thing before we even leave the station I spray EVERYTHING down, even the fabric on the seats and the curtains. Not only does it kill the germs, it also completely freshens the room. And that fresh scent lasts the entire trip, especially since I also have a clip fan running.

Kindly consider that "that fresh scent" is obnoxious or toxic to many of your fellow passengers.

It's unscented. I too am sensitive to perfume scents.

 

[jis]

I take a can of disinfectant spray from Dollar Tree on my LD trips. First thing before we even leave the station I spray EVERYTHING down, even the fabric on the seats and the curtains. Not only does it kill the germs, it also completely freshens the room. And that fresh scent lasts the entire trip, especially since I also have a clip fan running.

Kindly consider that "that fresh scent" is obnoxious or toxic to many of your fellow passengers.

It's unscented. I too am sensitive to perfume scents.

Wait! So the phrase "fresh scent" that you used in your first post then is false? I am trying to understand what "unscented fresh scent" is, so please bear with me.

 

[WindyCityTexan]

I mean that the air just smells cleaner, not musty from the previous occupants. Simple disinfectant spray also kills airborne germs and odors.

 

[pennyk]

I take a can of disinfectant spray from Dollar Tree on my LD trips. First thing before we even leave the station I spray EVERYTHING down, even the fabric on the seats and the curtains. Not only does it kill the germs, it also completely freshens the room. And that fresh scent lasts the entire trip, especially since I also have a clip fan running.

Kindly consider that "that fresh scent" is obnoxious or toxic to many of your fellow passengers.

It's unscented. I too am sensitive to perfume scents.

It contains chemicals (to which many of us are allergic) that are dispensed by the aerosol spray. By spraying the curtains and seats, you may be putting the next occupant at risk for an asthma attack (or worse). I hope that I never occupy a room after you have "sprayed" everything down.

 

[Green Maned Lion]

My wife suffers such asthma attacks. My wife has actually built a nice little business cleaning houses, advertising that she does 99% of the cleaning using three agents- 40% solution of alcohol in water (I.e. cheap vodka), a solution of pure detergent in water, and a little Dawn dish soap in water- all unscented.

A side benefit of that solution is she has very little expenses, as those items cost bupkis compared to all the crap from P&G. Killing 99% of 2 billion bacterial and viral agents in your room leaves the 1% most virulent 20 million organisms alive to kill you.

Then again, I find myself in the business of selling the same cleaning agents my wife avoids. So disregard that- buy that stuff, it kills the other 1.98 billion things! Thats a lot of dead organisms!

 

[chakk]

Remember the old Commercials: "Use Ivory Soap, its 99 and 44/100% Pure!"

Whatever floats your boat ...

(and Ivory Soap floats)

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[Asher]

I'm thinking disposable gloves and a mask with a long sleeved upper garment DUCT TAPED at the wrist. Ivory soap and a scrub brush along with a supply of vodka and a spray bottle. A full on series of prevent shots and a nasty disposition towards any contact with other passengers. At a minimum for coach travel. Overnight in a roomette requires some serious thought.

 

[railiner]

I'm thinking disposable gloves and a mask with a long sleeved upper garment DUCT TAPED at the wrist. Ivory soap and a scrub brush along with a supply of vodka and a spray bottle. A full on series of prevent shots and a nasty disposition towards any contact with other passengers. At a minimum for coach travel. Overnight in a roomette requires some serious thought.

Good Grief ! Why not a full hazmat suit and respirator?

 

[jis]

Some people are just hyper-paranoid [emoji12]

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