We are living in the midst of a pandemic and it never gets easier. We may be locked inside our homes and making sure that social distancing is practiced, but there will always be a need for us to go out and get essential items from the grocery store.

What’s even more frightening is that whenever we go out to buy necessities, we don’t only run the risk of exposing ourselves but also the people we get home to. There is always a possibility that the surfaces of the items we bring home might have the deadly virus and this might be transferred if we are not careful enough.

It’s a good thing that experts are quick to let everyone know that there are ways to disinfect grocery items properly. Their recommendations are effective ways to protect you and your family if you only follow these pieces of advice.

Always consider if you really need to go out for grocery shopping

Whenever you need to go out, make sure that it is something that you have to do because you are running low on groceries, not just because you are bored out of your mind and would like to leave the house for a few hours. Jaimie Meyer, MD, from Yale Medicine advised, “Consider whether online ordering and delivery or curbside pickup might be an option.” You should aim to minimize your exposure as much as possible.

If you are sick, let someone else do the shopping

You may be the best person to send to the grocery store because you know everything that needs to be considered but keep in mind that you should never go out if you are feeling under the weather. If online shopping is not possible, let someone else do the task for the time being until you are fully recovered.

Bleach wipes should always be in your bag

The shopping cart or baskets definitely needs to be sanitized before going around the store to purchase your needs. Make sure that you have a bleach wipe handy so you can clean the cart, particularly the handles.

Just relax

Grocery shopping in the midst of a pandemic is not easy, but that does not mean you should panic. It’s always best to keep your cool and focus on the task at hand. You must remember to minimize your exposure to the virus which means lesser instances that would require you to go out of the house. Ensure that all of the items in your list are down in your cart so you won’t have to return to the grocery store sooner than you should.

Schedule your shopping time wisely.

Always prepare before going grocery shopping. List everything that you need, double check your list and schedule your visit to the store wisely. You may want to go to the store during off-peak hours or days to make sure that there are lesser shoppers who will be at the store with you.

Choose self check-out, if possible.

Some grocery stores have the option for their customers to do self check-out. You might want to choose this option, if available. This will allow you to handle your grocery check-out while maintaining a safe distance from grocery staff. Be sure to bring gloves as you handle the store’s machines.

Always wash your hands

Wash your hands the proper way as soon as you get home. It is definitely a must and something that you should never, ever skip. While using sanitizers is an effective way to kill germs after going out of the store, it is still advisable to wash your hands thoroughly at home.

Disinfecting your groceries

It is a must to disinfect your groceries before putting them on storage. For non-perishable items, wiping their inedible containers or packages with disinfectants is a great way to to make sure that any traces of the coronavirus is removed from their surface, as recommended by Lauren Bryan, RN, an infection prevention expert at UCHealth Yampa Valley Medical Center in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

On the other hand, any kind of fresh produce is not advised to be disinfected with cleaning agents.

“Please don’t scrub your pears with Lysol. If you do, there’s a higher chance of getting sick from ingesting [chemicals] rather than from COVID-19,” said Dr. Meyer.

Clean and disinfect your countertop

Do not forget to clean and disinfect your countertop thoroughly as soon as you clean everything and put them in storage. This will make sure that any traces of the virus left, if there is any, gets fully eliminated. In fact, this is something that you should do every now and then, whether you went to the grocery store or not.

Finally…

If you want to see the proper way of disinfecting your groceries firsthand, then this informative video of Dr. Sanjay Gupta demonstrating the right steps to wipe down groceries or take-out items is the one you need. Press play in the video below and keep yourself and your family safe from the coronavirus.

Please SHARE this with your friends and family.

Source: CNN, USA Today, Health