I've been a germaphobe for a little over 13 years. My oldest son died when
he was seven from pneumonia, and that's what caused me to be a germaphobe.
I was devastated, angry, and I kept thinking how germs killed him. It really
messed with my head; it still does. I've tried to tell myself...Germs are normal.
Germs build our immune systems. When I was little I touched germs all the
time and I survived. But telling myself these things doesn't work.
Now that coronavirus is here, everything I've been doing to combat germs for
the last few years doesn't seem extreme anymore. Some people think that be-
ing a germaphobe is a mental illness, and maybe it is, but I think the precau-
tions I've been taking to stay healthy make perfect sense.
It's interesting how coronavirus is making everyone rethink germs. If you
clean stuff the way I do, it will help you stay healthy from multiple illnesses,
not just coronavirus.
When I get home from the grocery store I put all of the bags on the floor. I
wash my hands and I clean almost every item with antibacterial wipes before
I put them away. I don't clean egg cartons, frozen dinner packages, bags of
fresh produce, or raw meat packages. If I buy cheese sticks, I drop them out
of the package on to my clean kitchen table, and then put them in a sandwich
bag to store in the clean part of my refrigerator. I consider the two bottom
drawers in the refrigerator dirty, and that's where I keep eggs, vegetables,
and thawing meat. I have a clean shelf in the freezer for cleaned off ice cream
containers and ice packs.The rest of the freezer is dirty.
When I travel, I sanitize everything that I believe should be germ-free.
- all of the light switches
- the kitchen faucet
- kitchen counter
- the dining room table and chairs
- lamp switches
- refrigerator handle and shelves
- microwave handle and turntable
- the cooking range handles
- toilet seat and handle
- the bathroom vanity and faucet
- the tub faucet
- every door handle
We should all try to be germ-conscious, and not because the news tells us to.
Our health and the health of everyone we care about is in danger if we don't.
