It's about the germs on the buffet utensils...

I've been sick this week. It started with a sore throat on Tuesday morning. By Wednesday morning, it was a severe sore throat. 

Oh no, I thought, is this strep? 

But, I didn't have a fever, so I figured it was just a virus. Then the long-absent-from-my-life asthma flared up. Not able to breathe, I sent my husband into my office for my inhaler. He found it and I used it. No real relief. Then I discovered it expired early in 2014. Yikes.

I called my doctor and she immediately called in a prescription for a new inhaler. Then I ran into a whole insurance mess, which I won't go into here... just know that I would NEVER recommend Highmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield to anyone. They are a bunch of idiots in the billing department.

Finally, after an hour on the phone with Highmark, they called the pharmacy to straighten out the mess and I was able to get my inhaler and breathe again. It was scary and I cannot believe I had to go through all of that. The whole incident made my blood pressure hike and exhausted me. I went to bed by 9 and woke up 12 hours later, although my husband said I coughed all night. I believe him, due to the feeling of bruised ribs on both sides. Now when I cough, I hold on to my ribs, just to ease the pain a little bit.

The next morning, I woke up with a fever. My sore throat was better, but the cough and chest pain had me thinking pneumonia. Maybe I should go see the doctor. As my fever went up, I actually started to feel better, so I held off. After all, it would have been another insurance nightmare and I didn't have it in me to deal with it.

I'm using my inhaler every 4 hours, as directed, and am feeling much better (except for those doggone ribs). In the meantime, my daughter was experiencing similar symptoms (sans asthma), which started on Tuesday as well. 

We looked at commonalities. We were both as a book festival on Saturday, church on Sunday, and then out to lunch after church. We went to a buffet... wait... we went to a buffet. Bingo. 

Have you ever thought about all the germs on the serving spoons and tongs on a buffet? YUCK. I'm pretty well convinced that we both picked up something from the utensils at the buffet. So what do we do from here on out? After all, we like Sunday brunch buffets? It's quite simple, actually. We just have to have hand sanitizer (non-toxic, of course) at the table and insist that everyone, including my 6-year-old granddaughter, use it after each trip to the buffet table/salad bar. Make sense? 

I hope all of us can avoid getting sick from germs on the utensils simply by following this little bit of advice. It's like washing your hands before you eat. But in the case of a buffet, you have to "wash" them over and over again.

Keep it healthy, folks!

What do baby showers, hand sanitizers, and stupidity have in common?

Want to hear something horrifying? In 2008, my daughter, Bethany, and I threw a baby shower for my youngest daughter, Jessica. This was before I became a grandma, much less Green Grandma. Of course, we used all the wasteful paper and disposable shower products. It looked cute, but I cringe at the wastefulness of it all.

But here's the worst part. Do you know what we gave as favors? Bath & Body Works purse-sized hand sanitizers!! Seriously. We did. With them came the admonition that everyone better use them before touching the baby once she got here. After all, we wanted the baby to be safe from germs. 

Isn't that hideous?!

We also gave full-size bottles of Bath & Body Works liquid hand soap... you know the stuff loaded with triclosan and a bunch of other carcinogens and toxins.** Yikes!

My daughter filled out a form for Laura's school -- she's now in kindergarten -- stating that Laura is "chemical sensitive." The teacher is not to use the school's hand sanitizer on Laura, nor is Laura to use the soap in the restroom. She carries her own sanitizer and soap. 

Is Jessica being overly cautious and a bit ridiculous? Do others have a valid reason to roll their eyes at her or to blame her wacko tree-hugging mom? I don't think so.

How about checking out this excellent article by Kirsten Hudson, which appeared last year on the website, Organic Authority. If you're wondering what the big fuss is about hand sanitizer, this is the one to read. Click here to read: Not So Handy: The Dangers of Using Hand Sanitizer.

Maybe you'll be able to skip a similar embarrassing story from your past!

Sharing the good, the bad, and the ugly,

** Rumor has it that Bath & Body Works has removed triclosan from its hand sanitizers and soaps, but I could not confirm this. As always, read the labels!

Pass me the hand sanitizer...NOT!

Don’t you love those purse-sized hand sanitizers? Ever since the threat of H1N1 hit the news, more and more people have been relying on them to keep their families germ-free. Coupled with anti-bacterial soaps, we’re all feeling a bit more secure.

But did you know that one of the common ingredients in hand sanitizers and anti-bacterial soaps can cause damage to your liver and kidneys? Not only that, but triethanolamine may also be a culprit in the rise of super-strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Not good. Not good at all.

Triclosan is another ingredient you want to avoid, as it’s been linked to the dioxin, a highly carcinogenic chemical that can lead to a variety of health problems, including:

• Decreased fertility
• Altered sex hormones
• Birth defects
• Cancer

In addition, exposure to triclosan can actually weaken the immune system, making you, and your little ones, more susceptible to infection.

This discovery is seriously bumming me out. I, personally, love the little hand sanitizers from Bath and Body Works and use them religiously. I even handed them out as a favor at my daughter, Jessica’s baby shower. And my currently pregnant daughter, Bethany, is always popping a bottle out of her purse to ward off the germs.

What should you do? Well, once again, I’m going to steer you toward essential oils for a natural alternative to chemically-laden anti-bacterial products, some of which are showing promising results at fighting off germs and killing off bacteria, viruses and staff.

Shop for soaps that contain essential oils, yet do not have the terrible Ts (triethanolamine and triclosan) listed with the ingredients. Here I go again, touting the benefits of eucalyptus oil, but its antimicrobial properties are natural and effective. Look for citrus oils, cinnamon leaf, clove bud, lavender, peppermint, rosemary, tea tree and/or thyme.

The key to killing germs is frequent hand washing and it’s never too early to teach your children that.

For a list of brand name products containing triclosan, visit Grinning Planet. This comprehensive list includes not only soaps, but children’s toys, kitchenware and more.

Keeping it green and healthy,

Hana

There are some companies who produce hand sanitizers without the use of the triclosan or triethanolamine, such as Purell. However these use alcohol which can be drying to the skin (beats damage to the liver). Don't confuse tocopheryl acetate with the terrible Ts...it's just a fancy name for Vitamin E!