the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommends using hand sanitizers only when you do not have access to soap and water. The CDC says that soap and water are far more effective at eliminating germs like Cryptosporidium, norovirus and Clastridium difficule. The key reason the old way of cleaning your hands is more effective, one word, water. Water is a more effective medium to move the harmful germs and bacteria off your skin and down the drain.

This is not an attack on hand sanitizers just a helpful reminder to not panic if your local grocery store or pharmacy runs out of rubbing alcohol or hand sanitizer. Soap and water are still the best method for keeping clean and germ free.. 

According to the CDC antibiotic resistance is "one of the biggest health challenges or our time." It wasn't long ago that the word "Superbug" appeared in the news as doctors around the country were fighting a new foe right within walls of hospital emergency rooms. Oddly enough, physicians were prescribing antibiotics to fight against viruses which are not bacteria to begin with. The theory put out by the medical field, there were too many patients being prescribed antibiotics. Just like farming where using the same herbicides and pesticides over decades created new generations of weeds and insects that were immune to human made chemicals, new versions of infection causing bacteria were finding a way to survive a two week dose of antibiotics. 

What does the CDC recommend? Practice prevention. For starters, soap and water. Wash your hands after playing with your pet When preparing food the CDC plainly states "Clean your hands, cooking utensils, and surfaces. Separate raw meat from other foods. Cook foods to safe temperatures. Chill leftovers and other foods promptly." 

SPEAKING OF PREVENTIVE CARE:

Masking up against the flu season? Dr. Fauci,in an NBC interview noted that the flu season infection rate was the lowest it's been in a long time, "It is conceivable that as we go on, a year or two or more from now, that during certain seasonal periods when you have respiratory-borne viruses like the flu, people might actually elect to wear masks to diminish the likelihood that you’ll spread these respiratory-borne diseases," says Fauci. Imagine instead of taking over-the-counter (OTC) flu medications or getting a vaccine you mask up and stay socially distant at the height of the flu season you mask up.