Viruses in Everyday Life

3/23/2020 (Permalink)

This time of year can be draining because of all the colds and sickness going around. It’s hard enough with the common cold, but add in the flu, RSV, and all the new strains of things…. It’s enough to make you want to stay indoors and away from the public!

It’s obviously very difficult to completely isolate ourselves. We do have lives after all! We go to work, to the grocery store, out to eat, to the bank, and maybe even have kiddos who attend school - which is just teeming with germs!

So, what exactly is a virus? That’s a long answer! The short answer: They’re like a parasite and can only survive long-term within a host. Viruses attach themselves to their host’s cells and begin replicating, and then (depending on the virus) the infection begins.

Viruses are spread through droplets from a cough, sneeze, or saliva of an infected person getting into another person’s mouth or being inhaled; and by touching a surface that has been exposed to the virus. Sometimes a person can be infected for a period before any symptoms arise (days even), making the chances of spreading the virus even more likely. As for surface areas, they can survive from a few hours up to a few weeks, depending on the virus. Yes, WEEKS!

Sounds awful right? Gives me shivers thinking about it! The key here is that viruses can only replicate within a host! Therefore, hand washing is a big deal and one of the biggest ways to help yourself avoid them. That’s only part of the picture though.

Imagine you’re going out for dinner. You take the precaution of thoroughly washing your hands. However, did you touch the door handle to enter/exit? Did you just spend several minutes flipping through the menu that countless others have touched that day? Still hungry?

Schools are even worse because you’re relying on young children to wash their hands properly, otherwise they’re easily spreading those germs as they walk down the hallways, trailing their hands along the wall after sneezing or coughing directly into them.

The point is YOU can wash your hands as often as you’d like (honestly any little bit helps), but our community and businesses also need to do their part and make a conscious effort in battling these nasty viruses. If we can decrease the surface contamination, cover noses and mouths when coughing or sneezing, and wash our hands regularly it will significantly decrease the chances of these viruses entering our bodies and causing more infections.

We hope that with how hard viral infections have been so far this year and this season, that businesses will increase their cleaning efforts.

We can help minimize the spread of germs with proactive cleaning! At SERVPRO, we’re trained to adhere to the highest cleaning and sanitization standards, making us the #1 choice for cleanup and restoration. Call 636-583-5200 to see how we can help clean your home or business.

Sources:

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/about/disease/spread.htm
https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/how-long-can-a-virus-live-outside-a-body/