Ever since the outbreak of the global pandemic of the COVID -19 people are coming up with various suggestions on how to keep the deadly monster at bay. Suggestions coming in from scientists and medical experts which are also being endorsed by celebrities and influencers is to practice good hand hygiene and wear masks and other personal protective gear to minimize the risk of infection. We are being taught the right way to wash hands to wash and rub them clean for at least 20 seconds and so on, we have also been told to practice social distancing and wear masks to avoid airborne particles from any infected person, we are told not to shake hands and to avoid any personal touch due to the risk of an infection.
Most of us are taking extreme care to follow these instructions yet are we missing out on something very important ? Are we forgetting to look below at the soles of our shoes?
According to recent studies on how long the virus can live on different surfaces it was mentioned that there was a survival rate of 24 hours on cardboard, upto 3 days on steel and plastic, and a shocking 5 days on the soles of shoes which are either made of leather, rubber or plastic.
It is simple logic if you understand that the shoes are taken outside during our walks out of the house and they can tread on an infected person’s spit or an infected surface and the virus can be transferred onto the soles of those shoes which we then in our ignorance bring inside the house increasing the chances of contamination and infection inside the house.
Once we understand the potential risks there are simple precautions we can take such as:
- Removing shoes before you enter your house and leaving them outside
- Disinfecting the shoes by spraying them with a disinfectant spray
- Washing your hands and feet thoroughly a soon as you enter the house
- Shoes that are made of leather and can’t be washed lest they get spoiled can be wiped and with a disinfectant
Remember those shoes are meant for walking and that’s all they should, but if you forget to clean them they could prove to be very risky as a carrier of the coronavirus and other germs and bacteria for you and your family members……..
