Worried About Germs? Follow These Tips!

On average, most Americans fill up their gas tank once a week and many more do so at least twice a month. How many times a month do you visit a gas station? A trip to the gas station can take as little as 5 minutes, which is more than long enough to pick up nasty cold or flu germs from the pump handle. 

We all know bacteria is everywhere. In fact, there are 10 bacteria living on our bodies for every one cell we have. Considering that we have about one hundred trillion cells, that is a lot of bacteria. Some of the bacteria are in us and some are on us, some are good and some are bad. The things that we do daily or weekly, like pumping gas, spread bacteria all over anything and everything we touch.

Studies show that one of the worst offenders for breeding germs is the gas pump, followed by public mailboxes, escalators, ATM machines, parking meters and crosswalk buttons. The level of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) found on gas pump handles was high enough to trigger disease transmission. A level of 300 or higher indicates the presence of contamination. All surfaces listed above received a rating over 300, with gas pump handles having the highest. 

The good news is that by following a few basic hygiene principles, you can greatly reduce your exposure to and germs and prevent spreading them as well. When you visit the gas pump:

Don’t Wipe Your Hands on Your Face: Be very careful not to touch any part of your face with your hands during or after pumping your gas. According to researchers at California Berkley, most people touch their face on average about 16 times in an hour. Touching a contaminated surface and then wiping our face allows germs to enter your eyes, nose or mouth.

Don’t Talk on the Phone: How many times do you pump gas and talk on the phone? Americans are no strangers to multitasking, however, talking on the phone after you have touched the gas pump handle allows germs to be transferred to your phone where they can stay alive for a very long time, unless you disinfect your phone. In fact, according to microbiologists, bacteria responsible for the stomach flu can live anywhere from a few days to a few weeks on a surface.

Don’t Touch Anyone Else: Before you get a chance to disinfect your hands, don’t touch anyone else after pumping gas, especially children. It may seem innocent enough, you finish pumping gas and reach back to hand something to one of your children.

Once your hand comes in contact with your child’s hand, the germs are on the move. Children, especially infants and toddlers, are notorious for putting their hands in their mouth.

What to Do

The best line of defense against germs is to wash your hands well and often. Since it may not be feasible,however, to wash your hands immediately after pumping gas, there are a few things you can do until you can get to a sink, some soap and warm water.

Firstly, always carry a container of disinfectant wipes with you and before you pick up the gas pump handle, do your best to wipe it down. You can even hold the handle with the wipe as opposed to actually touching it. You should try to do this wherever you are, especially during cold and flu season.

Although some people may shoot you a sideways glance, there is no shame in wiping down the ATM machine, the grocery cart handle, the elevator buttons or even the gas pump before touching.

After you have finished pumping your gas, cover your hands well in antibacterial gel. Keep a small container with you at all times. As soon as you have the opportunity, wash your hands with soap and warm water.

Washing hands regularly can eliminate the spread of germs by up to 77 percent; wiping ‘hot spot’ surfaces such as doorknobs, gas pumps, keyboards and phones can also kill lurking germs before you touch the surface. In addition, using hand sanitizer has been shown to reduce sick time by 21 percent.

For the small amount of time and energy it takes, the effort to protect yourself and others is well worth it.