Winter is Coming! Wash Your Hands!

While “Winter is Coming” may mean different things to different people (I’m with you fellow Game of Thrones fans!) we can all agree that to promote health and stop the spread of infectious disease during winter, we need to keep washing our hands. To prevent a seasonal epidemic, protect our vulnerable populations and be an all-around clean person, hand hygiene is a responsibility for all to share.

Wash your hands! How often did we hear that when we were kids? How often do we say that to our kids or grandkids? You’re a pretty normal parent or grandparent if you admit you say it all the time. There is a great reason for this being a part of our vocabulary. Hand washing plays a significant role in stopping the spreading of infection. Grocery carts, doorknobs, escalators, oh my! If you’re a germaphobe like me, the disinfecting wipes and hand sanitizer stay pretty close-by.  

Employees must wash hands before returning to work! Geez, I hope so. I actually get a little spooked when I read those signs in restaurants or grocery stores. Are there people who actually don’t wash their hands after using a restroom? Ugh! Seriously? The sign is there for an unfortunate reason. A scary, germy, gross reason. Wet hands, apply soap, rinse well, dry hands. It’s not that hard.

But, unfortunately, people don’t always wash their hands and “Winter IS Here” as Game of Thrones only has six episodes left for their final season. Anticipate the destruction of treacherous Queen Cersei! Fight the Night King and the White Walker invasion! Beware the Ice Dragon and its magical zombie breath! Impart strength to our beloved characters and two remaining dragons as they battle to save humanity! But in the meantime, what will happen with the wild romance of our gorgeous power couple, Daenerys and Jon, especially since the viewers know the blunt facts of Jon’s parentage? So you ask me, what do dirty hands and Game of Thrones have in common? Not much, except there isn’t a whole lot of hand washing going on in Game of Thrones. In their defense, it was a tough time to live so I’ll cut them some slack. But I won’t cut you any slack!

The game-changing twists are what have kept us tuning into Game of Thrones. Thank goodness our personal winter doesn’t have to be a complex weave of story line with a huge cast. And although I’d love my boring Michigan winter to be spent in breathtaking locations such as where Game of Thrones was filmed, I’ll ultimately be happy to get through the winter without getting sick. I’ll also be watching Game of Thrones reruns in the comfort of my warm home in my favorite chair with a lit candle and glass of wine…with clean hands.