I love WNYC. But Leonard Lopate is the worst interviewer. In fact, that's a stretch. It is so formula, it's like he searches through Wikipedia and Google before his guest come on and ask these reverse questions that he already knows the answer to. He is so predictable, and uninteresting. But the way he ask questions with a quasi aggresive affect is too much to take. He seems so disinterested and so going through the motions. The fact that someone gets paid to do this is unbelievable. WNYC needs to 21st century their schedule especially during fund raising times. Brian is not much better. I'm in my 60's and these 2 are so dated like they are stuck in the 70's.

Thank you Leonard. I was just about to chomp into a lobster salad sandwich on a fresh Kaiser roll; not anymore!

What a totally disgusting and truly helpful segment!

jenny from greenpoint: no--lupus usually makes people more susceptible to noro and other virus. it's usually recommended that sufferers are prioritized for flu vacccines, etc.

If you want to protect from the "toilet sneeze", cover your toothbrush. There's a great new product out called a Tooth Brush Shield. I found it at my local pharmacy. It works at home and keeps my brush safe when I travel. Check it out!!

...if you can smell it, IT'S ON YOUR TOOTHBRUSH!

there have been recalls on the alcohol wipes used before injections, they were contaminated, About a month later there was a recall of Provo-iodine swabs that had something pn them that would be fatal to the elderly and young children. This was all in the past year. A lot of these wipes and swabs are in injection kits. I was never notified and one of my kits had the alcohol wipes. Also in a injection kit or procedure kit if the individual component are not marked sterile, they are not, The alcohol wipes are not sterile on most shelves. unless marked sterile, most are 71% alcohol I agree with the solution the doctor recommends, you need to use the disinfect solution,not the sanitize mix. The disinfect i think is 10 parts water to 1 chlorine, hydrogen peroxide is also a good disinfectant the one on the store shelf is 3% which is good for spraying on counters and refrigerator door handles. The big mistake most people make including the alcohol gels and Lysol , disinfectant sprays is that they must be left wet to dry, the label will tell you how long to kill the virus, some have to be left wet for 10 minutes, and rewetted if it drys out to fast. same with the alcohol hand gels, they must be allowed to dry on the hands, using a paper towel to dry ,weakens their effectiveness, which from the get go is not that good. It is impossible for someone with contaminated hands to put on gloves without contaminating the gloves, this is why proper hand washing with an individual labeled with name , personal use only, nail brush has to be used and explained to the food handlers. Many times i see the person handling the food with gloves also touch the money or/and cash register = Fail. The FDA has free mailing list that inform you of thee recalls, i usually know about them before the pharmacist. Also the scary thing is the longer opened up in OR the greater the rate of infection, i was told this while i was on the table and in a awake but pain killed state.
ig they changed the air in the or with an O2 water spray, that may help. listeria can live on frozen food for over a month. i like to juice and i hate to buy stuff at the markets even if organic, unless it is local farmer market.
there is a solution that you can use to soak the spinich and leafy vegetables. i am not sure of the strenth yet. 12% food grade hydrogen peroide can be bought at health food stores, 30% can be found but are extremely caustic ,many water supplies uses hydrogen peroxide rather than chlorine.
shaking hands has to be phased out of society,even i must get use to a fist bump.

Try using a product called Vital Oxide for all sanitizing. They spray cruise ships with it before you get on. Newark airport is treated with it, I think, every few days. It's non-toxic, NSF certified, and kills germs to 99.999%, a log reduction more than Lysol. It's main ingredient is stabilized chlorine dioxide. I use it throughout my home, even fog with it, and I've noticed that my family has remained illness free since I started. Best of all, germs cannot mutate as a result of its use. Standard chlorine products use a chemical reaction to "cook" germs from the outside. That's why the label calls for rinsing, which few people do. This product does not. Check it out. It's awesome. Yes, you can sanitize your hands with it. It's that gentle.

www.vitaloxidedirect.com

Holy crap! This was a great segment. I almost choked when they described the toilet sneeze and "fecal flora!!!!" Wow! I learned something today. Not sure I wanted to know it, but glad I do now.

Thanks for explaining!

@lizzmo:
Not sure you should let anything be added to your child's bath if you don't know what it is.
Dunno, but superficial Dettol web search indicates risk of toxic exposure.

Hello,

Can an immune disorder like lupus (a disorder that causes a hyperactive immune system) prevent someone from being susceptible to noro and other viruses?

A solution to the dreaded "toilet sneeze" - close the lid before flushing.

Very informative, I loved this!

I would like to know how much handbags (women's purses or computer bags) can carry germs from being placed on a variety of surfaces? Perhaps you can also mention how much our coins & currency present contact with germs. Thanks

I've been in the hospital a lot for the past month and the doctors don't wash their hands, they use sanitizer.

UVc light?

Our babysitter adds "Dettol", a topical antiseptic, to our children's bath. She also suggested that I add it to our washing machine when doing laundry. Do you know of this product and do you recommend it used this way?

Many countries require toilets to be separate from the bath room. In France toilets in hotel rooms must by law be separat from the bathroom. should we consider this in the US?

barbara: the answer is YES!

Could you please provide the"toile sneeze" visual that Dr. Margolin mentioned was somewhere online.

...up or down, seems all the same at my house.

whew!

Is it possible for a person to "SELF-contaminate" by failing to properly hand-wash and then accidentally transferring his or her own fecal material to his or her own mouth ? Or is a person immune to virus in his/her own intestinal tract ?

Can your guests talk about how common the bacterial parasite Blastocystis Hominis is, and if it qualifies as a neurovirus? I have been afflicted with it for the last five years, and the lack of awareness of it in the medical community is quite shocking. Any information about it would be very appreciated.

Jenna from UES-

Do we REALLY need to ask?!?!?

So gross!!

Are there anti-toilet sneeze toilets?

can you talk about how these viruses affect the immuno-compromised?

I have an infant at home - everyone we know who has children has come down with this virus. How concerned should I be?

Can they quickly answer how long the common cold would last on food kept in the fridge (like a bowl of grapes) touched by someone with a common cold. Wondering if it's safe to eat the grapes from my recovering dinner guest of 2 weeks ago, thanks!!

The flushing thing is scary! I wonder how often people get contamination from the lockroom toilets?

What about airplane bathrooms?

how should one clean their toilet-is one in danger of simply breathing in the virus when cleaning.

Didn't bird poo get into the NYC water supply through an open grate causing some trouble? That was maybe 15 years ago?

..."keep our"... not "keep out"!

sorry,

I had the thought just the other day that businesses ought to be able to fire people who don't wash their hands after using the toilet...although I recognize the problems of how they would find out....

They ARE in effect putting their co-workers at risk of infection, and no one has the right to do that. We DO owe our fellows a degree of respect and sanitation, after all.

Is it possible to be too clean.

Isn't some contamination keep out antibodies "up"??

Would it reduce the chances of spreading the virus if one put down the lid of the toilet before flushing?

...POOP!!

A good reason to close the lid on a toilet before flushing when we are done.

I am amazed at how common it is for people to leave the lid open....besides the health reasons, who wants to look inside a toilet?

Why do people suppose they have lids in the first place -- to leave open?

Not to mention, why risk the chance of something falling into an open toilet when you can lower that chance by almost 100%....

Simple when you think about it, but it still seems to be beyond most people....they're just lazy I guess.

... in a separate, dedicated apartment!

That's the purpose of the toilet lid. It should be closed before flushing to avoid the spraying of its contents.

So with all this doom and gloom and contamination all around us, How come we are not all dead or that the very least very sick?

...to the kitchen!!

...i'm moving my toothbrush!!!

..."toilet sneeze"???

WHAT???

do things like lysol spray kill these viruses? also does flushing the toilet with the seat down help prevent the spread

in terms of spreading viruses is it ok for medical personnel to wear their working cloth in public. everyday i see doctors and nurses in the subway.

...How many of us are just back from washing our hands?

Is there such thing as "over-sanitization" ? Ie the less harmful things the body consumes, the weaker it is to fight them?

Does chlorine in pool water protect against these viruses????

Whoa...Lenny... dude!!!

I'm tryin' ta eat my LUNCH, here!!!

Why can some animals consume fecal matter without getting sick?
Do humans just have weak guts?

This just blew through my whole family but one. When are we contagious? Before we are sick, during, after, all and how long?

Has your guest ever heard of any evidence which states that the pandemic of the bubonic plague in Europe might be attributed, in part, to groups of anthrax epidemics ?

Can you ask the physicians about the recent outbreaks on the cruise ships? I found some information on the CDC website from this link below but I'm very concerned about traveling on a cruise.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/public/public.htm