Friend or flu?

A friendly handshake can spread germs fast and furiously. Although it is common to shake the hand of someone you meet, if that person has just sneezed or coughed into his hand, the germs are now on your hand. Germs can pass through handshakes repeatedly all day long. If you shake someone's hand, do not touch your face until you can wash or disinfect your hand.

This is a two way street so if you sneeze or cough into your hand, immediately wash your hands with warm water and soap or at the very least, rub some antibacterial solution on them. This way, when you shake hands, you are not spreading germs. Most everyone finds the practice of sneezing into your elbow proper etiquette.

Unfortunately, many antibacterial soaps, sprays and wipes contain an ingredient called Triclosan. Although it is a great germ killer, it is actually kind of a "microbial"pesticide and not something I would want to rub on my skin or my children's skin. Imagine rubbing your hands off with these wipes and then rubbing your eye! Ouch.

Fold some paper towels (recycled of course) neatly into a Ziploc bag and spritz with some water and lemon juice. Keep these handy in your purse or your child's backpack. After you shake hands with someone or sneeze, wipe your hands off with your "green" wipes. This will help all of us stay a little greener, a little cleaner and a lot healthier.

For more green tips and recipes on making soaps, cleaners, etc. from natural products instead of chemicals, click on the link to visit: http://www.thejoyofgreencleaning.com/ or follow them on twitter: @greenyourclean