One of the bitter realities of communal living is the unintentional transmission of illnesses. Ouch! All of those introductions and handshakes spread around more than cheer and good wishes, we get other peoples germs in the process. The single most effective method of getting though the first week in good health is simply washing your hands. Yep, it really doesn’t take much more than that, but don’t wait until the end of the day, wash your hands right after you’ve made contact with someone else.
Also you need to learn to not put your fingers in your mouth - ever. Don’t lick a finger to turn a page in a book or remove a smudge from the screen of your laptop. Also don’t rub your eyes. Yes, it sounds a little strange, maybe paranoid but the goal is to get to the end of the semester in good health.
Washing you hands is all about soap, warm water and lathering it all up and rubbing for slightly longer than you might imagine. How long does it take to sing the whole Star Spangled Banner? That’s how long you need to wash your hands. It’s all about flushing away the germs and bacteria, not killing them. Soap doesn’t kill germs, it allows you to flush them off of your skin with water. It’s mechanical more than chemical. The more you try to kill bacteria the more resistant they all become and that’s a really bad thing. Really bad.
Yes, you should eat well and get enough sleep too, but soap and water applied in a timely fashion are your friends. Be good to yourself and each other.
