OTT IMO.

That would never occur to me LOL.  
We were the first trick or treater's in our neighborhood, so even in retrospect I didn't have to worry about it.  My kid's hands were the first in the bowl :-)
I always give out handfuls myself, rather than have the kids do it.  I tend to give more than they take on their own....and I always buy too much.

MommyAngela wrote:Wow. I just don't have that much time on my hands. And I'm just not that paranoid.
 
And, let's say that there did happen to be germs on a package. Let's say my son touched it 12 hours later, when he ate that particular piece. How long do germs live on a surface? (I'm really not trying to be a smart aleck...I'm truly wondering, as I have no medical background.)

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My parents had my son overnight so I just did it as I sanitized the rest of our open surfaces. He's not quite 2 so we didn't have very much

it did occur to me that TOTing wasn't the most sanitary thing with the flus going around. but no I didn't Lysol the candy or anything.

Wow. I just don't have that much time on my hands. And I'm just not that paranoid.
 
And, let's say that there did happen to be germs on a package. Let's say my son touched it 12 hours later, when he ate that particular piece. How long do germs live on a surface? (I'm really not trying to be a smart aleck...I'm truly wondering, as I have no medical background.)

MommyAngela wrote:Wow. I just don't have that much time on my hands. And I'm just not that paranoid.
 
And, let's say that there did happen to be germs on a package. Let's say my son touched it 12 hours later, when he ate that particular piece. How long do germs live on a surface? (I'm really not trying to be a smart aleck...I'm truly wondering, as I have no medical background.)

  
CONGRATULATIONS ANGELA! I so totally missed that you were pregnant. :-D


As to viruses' lifespans after being away from the host, it varies. Can be a few seconds to a few days for the more common ones, depending on the virus. Most are around 24hrs max, IIRC. It varies depending on the type of surface, the moisture content, etc. If it's too dry, they can't live on it at all.


Even as someone who gets sick from *everything*, I think cloroxing the kids' candy is a little over the top. Consider that your kids are now going to be handling wrappers with bleach residue on them and then eating from that without washing their hands. Not really a preferable alternative, IMO.


I prefer a few relatively non-dangerous bacteria to a crapload of chemicals any day.

**Forgot to add that bacteria can live a lot longer because they can go 'dormant.' Viruses, to the best of my knowledge, have no dormant state.

MommyAngela wrote:Wow. I just don't have that much time on my hands. And I'm just not that paranoid.
 
And, let's say that there did happen to be germs on a package. Let's say my son touched it 12 hours later, when he ate that particular piece. How long do germs live on a surface? (I'm really not trying to be a smart aleck...I'm truly wondering, as I have no medical background.)

  
Congratulations, Angela!!  I'm so happy for you!
ETA not happy about the way you feel about sanitizing candy (FWIW I agree) but happy about your pregnancy! 

I wiped my DD's candy with a damp paper towel. I didn't want Clorox so close to food. She's been sick so we only went one block, got about 10 pieces of candy.

do you disinfect your groceries after bringing them home because I'm pretty sure some people shop sick and might have coughed on the boxes and then you tough them and then touch your child and WHOA there you go.
Really.. I mean think this through.  Your mail might be carried by an infected mail carrier, Lord knows what's going on at your childcare provider's residence or centre, you or you DH might bring home any number of germs or bugs from the office.
Take a deep breath, kill whatever germs are in your tummy with a nice shot of vodka and calm down before you catch yourself lysoling your apples.

Julie Bo Boolie wrote:do you disinfect your groceries after bringing them home because I'm pretty sure some people shop sick and might have coughed on the boxes and then you tough them and then touch your child and WHOA there you go.
Really.. I mean think this through.  Your mail might be carried by an infected mail carrier, Lord knows what's going on at your childcare provider's residence or centre, you or you DH might bring home any number of germs or bugs from the office.
Take a deep breath, kill whatever germs are in your tummy with a nice shot of vodka and calm down before you catch yourself lysoling your apples.

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Actually, I rinse off my apples in the sink.
Thanks for the blunt snark.

glenns1girl wrote:I wiped my DD's candy with a damp paper towel. I didn't want Clorox so close to food. She's been sick so we only went one block, got about 10 pieces of candy.

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That's a good idea. I can't edit but I didn't use Clorox. We use Lysol wipes (bleach free)

I didn't.
I actually don't worry about day to day germs like that.
My kids wash their hands before they eat, and when they come home from school. I don't use hand sanitizers on a regular basis - I keep it in my purse for emergencies though.

I think kids need *some* exposure to everyday germs in order to build up a resistance and stimulate their immune system. I fear that constantly sanitizing everything leaves them more vulnerable to a serious flu if their body hasn't had 'practice' warding off other less serious types of germs.

Quite honestly, my kids are extremely healthy and rarely get sick, even with a cold. The one time they did get really sick was the year I had gotten them a flu shot - so never again.
j.

Congrats Angela! I didn't realize you were pg either!
 
As for sanitizing candy..nope....we already had the flu so we can't get it again, making the point rather moot. Not to mention we go to the park, we read at the library, and my kids are often in direct contact with all the other lil germ farms so if they're gonna get sick, they're gonna get sick.

I'll be honest, the thought never even crossed my mind once to sanitize the candy. I know you felt Julie was being snarky, but the honest truth is, we don't know who touches anything we come in contact with. For example, rinsing an apple in water - does that really kill germs? Wouldn't there need to be soap? I just don't stress that much over germs.

Julie Bo Boolie wrote:do you disinfect your groceries after bringing them home because I'm pretty sure some people shop sick and might have coughed on the boxes and then you touch them and then touch your child and WHOA there you go.

Julie Bo Boolie wrote:Really.. I mean think this through.  Your mail might be carried by an infected mail carrier,

Julie Bo Boolie wrote:Lord knows what's going on at your childcare provider's residence or centre, you or you DH might bring home any number of germs or bugs from the office.

 Groceries- maybe, but the store employees should be keeping their hands clean. Most groceries around here have santizing wipes at the door, you can wipe your hands when you leave without sticking your hands in your child's mouth. Also, not every grocery on the shelf has been touched by a shopper. However, the OP saw the neighbors touch her child's candy. 
Mail- We don't put mail in our children's mouths.
Childcare /work- So? we have to be careful there too, That doesn't mean she doesn't have to be careful w/ Halloween candy.

I have to LOl because my neighbors and I were just discussing this one on Friday!  We were mostly joking about it, but I think one actually was planning on it.  Most thought it was way OTT, especially the PICU nurse who lives down the street.

mayarose885 wrote:. Is that really weird or do other people sanitize after ToTing?

 

um...yes that is really weird...i've heard of checking the candy for poison, but this is a whole new level of 'odd' for me...

i would love to have the time to sanitize candy, but i'm too busy raising four children...and laundry, and housekeeping...and paying the bills...

LOL no.

Rachele_butterflidrm wrote:Congrats Angela! I didn't realize you were pg either!
 
As for sanitizing candy..nope....we already had the flu so we can't get it again, making the point rather moot. Not to mention we go to the park, we read at the library, and my kids are often in direct contact with all the other lil germ farms so if they're gonna get sick, they're gonna get sick.

 
How do you figure you can't get the flu again?  There are a number of different strains/mutations of the influenza virus.  I got the flu twice one winter (obviously different strains).

Uhhhh . . . over the top, completely!  Heck, we were all eating the candy as we went last night!  LOL

personally i think that is ott. ash went tot this year and most houses handed out little plastic bags already filled with goodies but the ones the werent i didnt wipe or anything. i think people are so afraid of germs these days its getting rediculous. germs are everywhere you can avoid them. in any case i wouldnt want to, being in contact with germs, even getting sick can help make you healthier. you build up resistance. ash was never around kids till she went to preschool. she had never been sick, never had an antibiotic. she has now been sick on and off since sept. everytime someone gets sick she catches it. my dr said this is very common for kids who havent really been sick at all.

i understand why you'd do this (wouldn't do it myself). but wouldn't it be easier to just unwrap what they were going to eat, and then wash your and their hands before they ate it?

Meg-a-la-Mama wrote:OTT IMO.

 

What is OTT?

mayarose885 wrote:  Actually, I rinse off my apples in the sink.
Thanks for the blunt snark.

  
Just FYI rinsing them doesn't even get pesticides off that regular growers use.  You need warm water and soap. My uncle has over 2000 apple trees, and my mother in law works in the pesticide industry and both warned me BIG TIME when I started having kids. 
 
I did not wipe off the candy wrappers, but I sure thought about it. There was a case of H1N1 in my dd's class though so I am hoping we all got exposed in small incriments, and if we didn't yet, that we will. I am not too freaked out and we're in So Cal about 45 min from the boarder so I think we are getting our minimal exposure at walmart etc.