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Our personal battle on germs

It’s been ten years for our family. Ten years since we started on our journey as a “medical family.” A few months after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy and the real estate market imploded, our second son was born.

We quickly learned that he was medically complex and his complicated case left many doctors scratching their heads. If we hadn’t been blessed with our wonderfully hard-to-figure-out son, I would never have become the mother and the woman I am today.

Over the past ten years, I have first-hand seen the miracles that medical advancements make every single day. I understand the value of the words “sterile,” “sanitary” and “germ-free.” For several years, we lived in a proverbial “bubble” with our son, protecting him from the most common germs, as any exposure could easily derail his slowly improving health.

I have, what you would call a phobia towards germs. Dirty places make my skin crawl and public places visited by many kids are in particular high on my list of things that make me nervous. Thankfully, our kids have grown to learn and respect my constant reminders for them to wash their hands, change their clothes and just generally “stay clean.”

When I recently read historical facts about Johnson & Johnson and their mission to improve global public health through education and reducing the spread of germs, I may have gotten a bit teary-eyed. If there’s anything that makes my heart swell with happiness, it’s when others share in my mission to reduce germ exposure.

I have come to realize, we all have our favorite causes and missions in life, the fight on germs is definitely my life’s mission and apparently one I share with Johnson & Johnson. .

Johnson & Johnson’s battle on germs

Some of the greatest pioneering medical advancements we can attach to the Johnson & Johnson name are:

• In 1888 Johnson & Johnson published a guide: “Modern Methods of Antiseptic Wound Treatment.” The book taught doctors how to perform antiseptic wound treatment and the importance of such practices.
• Also in 1888, the Company made a First-Aid Kit available to the hard working laborers, prone to serious injuries on the job sites. Later the First-Aid Kits became a household product.
• Thanks to the sterile surgical products introduced by Johnson & Johnson, doctors no longer performed surgeries in their street clothes without washing their hands. (The mere thought of this sends shivers down my spine!)
• In 1916, Johnson & Johnson published another revolutionary book: “Household Hand Book.” This handy guide contained valuable information on how to recognize disease symptoms, the importance of keeping a clean home and hygiene in order to prevent the spread of illness and germs.

Image Courtesy: Johnson & Johnson Archives

• In 1918 when the great Influenza Pandemic hit, Johnson & Johnson created face masks made out of gauze to prevent the public from spreading and catching the often deadly influenza virus.
• In modern day medicine, Johnson & Johnson is focusing much of its research efforts on preventing the spread and treating such illnesses as HIV/ AIDS and Tuberculosis.
• In 2014 when Ebola broke out in West Africa, Johnson & Johnson, in true form, stepped up to the plate by educating the local medical professionals on how to properly handle contaminated areas using sterile medical products created by the Company. Johnson &  Johnson also immediately started developing an Ebola vaccine. The vaccine will be available for distribution if/ when there’s another Ebola outbreak.

It is clear that over the past 130 years, Johnson & Johnson has made it their mission to educate the public as well as the medical community on how to prevent the spread of diseases. Johnson & Johnson has also empowered doctors worldwide with the proper tools and medicines to aid in their mission to stop germs in their tracks.

As we slowly emerge from our family’s germ-free bubble, it’s always nice to know that advances are being made daily to keep communities everywhere healthier and stronger. Thank you, Johnson & Johnson, for sharing in this mom’s phobia of germs!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of CLEVER and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.