Keeping Your Spa Safe During Cold and Flu Season
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Did you know what a coronavirus was before 2020? If not, don’t worry – you’re not alone! While many people became familiar with this word as the pandemic struck, coronaviruses have always been part of our lives. While a new coronavirus, called SARS-CoV-2, causes COVID-19, other coronaviruses are common culprits behind the common cold. Colds can also be caused by other viruses, such as rhinovirus or enterovirus. As our annual cold and flu season is fast approaching, now is not the time to declare victory in the fight against infection. Understandably, a lot of focus has gone into providing a safe reopening from your clients in the wake of the pandemic, but how can we keep other infections at bay?
Back to the Basics
We all know firsthand how awful a bad cold or flu can be, and this is a fact of life every year when the season rolls around. Let’s take a closer look at these infections, and how they can wreak havoc on your business:
- Influenza (flu) is caused by influenza viruses. These viruses can spread throughout your spa or salon through droplets from coughs, sneezes, and even talking, which can land our mouths or noses. These droplets can also land on surfaces, and the virus can be picked up by the next unsuspecting victim who touches it. When you contract the virus, you’ll usually experience symptoms within a couple days, and you’re most likely to spread the virus in the first 3-4 days of the illness. A study from the CDC estimated that on average, the flu will make about 8% of the U.S. population sick every year.
- The common cold is caused by a variety of different viruses, including rhinovirus, coronavirus, enterovirus, and adenovirus, among others. Cold viruses cause many of the same symptoms as influenza but are typically milder. Like the flu, cold viruses can be spread through your facility through respiratory droplets, either directly or using surfaces to get from one client to the next. While generally less severe than the flu, all it takes is one sick client to wipe out your entire team.
Same Game, Same Rules
For many of us, COVID-19 provided an opportunity to step up our game when it comes to infection prevention. And it worked: the 2020-2021 cold and flu season was very mild, likely due to pandemic protocols.
The basic rules of infection prevention apply no matter what The virus we’re dealing with.
This includes client communication and screening for infection, good hand hygiene, and routine disinfection of commonly-touched surfaces. This cold and flu season is hard to predict – as more and more businesses and communities return to normal, our long-time enemies may be waiting to strike again. Maintaining our focus on infection prevention will help ensure that your clients and team stay safe no matter what lies ahead.
Is Your Spa Disinfectant Up to the Challenge?
You likely know whether or not your disinfectant can kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. But can it kill the viruses that cause cold and flu? As disinfecting high-touch surfaces is an important step in preventing the spread of these seasonal infections, it’s important to make sure your disinfectant is ready for the task. Many cold and flu viruses are harder to kill than SARS-CoV-2; just because a disinfectant claims to kill SARS-CoV-2 does not mean it can also kill cold and flu viruses!
To make sure your disinfectant has you covered during cold and flu season, look for a label claim against Poliovirus, Rhinovirus, or Norovirus.
This will tell you that it is effective against hard-to-kill viruses, and will be expected to kill other viruses as well.
You’ve worked hard to reopen after the pandemic – don’t let cold and flu season catch you off guard. By continuing to practice good infection prevention and using an effective disinfectant, you can rest assured that these viruses are no match for your business.