Hand sanitizer.

Yes, good old hand sanitizer in a travel squeeze bottle is very important to have especially if you travel to different clients often. I have five kids and the thought of any of us getting sick brings fear and worry. Why? If one person gets sick, if what they have is transmittable it may take weeks to be eradicated from our house. It gets passed on from one person to another and may make a second trip around before it’s gone! And with our large family that can take a long time.

I don’t know which bacteria or viruses are transmitted by touch. But I don’t care. You touch something that may be infected, then rub your eyes, nose, or mouth – guess what!? You’re sick, my friend. Think about how many times you touch your face or rub your eyes during day. Yup, pretty often, right?

Now you can see the need for hand sanitizer. You ever use office or restaurant bathrooms and grab the door handle without using a paper towel? How about hand rails? Use those? Buttons on the elevator? Door knobs? Ever shake hands? So many opportunities for transfer. Have you ever seen anyone cough or sneeze into the palm of their hands then touch something you might touch later? Yup, transfer.

As an IT professional guess what we put our finger tips on a lot? Yup. Keyboards and mice. The same two things most of the computer using people in the world put their hands on. And if the person who sits at the desk has a little sore throat or sniffle, beware. Please use the sanitizer.

It’s especially critical to use it when it’s the cold and flu season. People cough and sneeze. They get the sniffles. They use their hands to wipe their noses and cover their coughs and sneezes, then they put there hands on something that you may touch and before you know it, you get the coughs, sneezing, and sniffles. (You know you should cough and sneeze into the inside of your elbow. Think vampire.)

I don’t know about you, but I hate getting sick. That’s why I’m cautious about touching my face and I always carry hand sanitizer with me and use it a lot. Can’t be too shy about using it. And if some clients have the pumps scattered throughout the office, use it! Why not?

Well, stay healthy and go pick up a travel sized hand sanitizer bottle. When you run out just refill it with the huge bottle you can pick up from your local super- or grocery store.