I'm starting back teaching next week after summer break. I'm very concious of health and well-being (probably after working part-time in a pharmaceutical factory for a few years). I've always had hand sanitizer available in my piano studio for students to use, but this year I've sourced an alcohol-free, child-friendly sanitizer that I'm making compulsory for students to use before and after playing the piano at their lesson. I've notified the parents and so far nobody has complained.

Do you all think I'm mad? Or are other teachers taking precautions to help prevent the spread of flu/colds etc

You're not crazy. The CDC has suggested extreme caution this flu season, and I'll be wiping down the keyboard this year too.

I bought some small anti-bacterial hand sanitizers from Bath & Body. I keep one on each piano, and they have nice scents. Most students will put them on without me recommending it. I think they're used to being asked to do this in school. I also wipe down the keys, although I'm going to do it more frequently this year, maybe after each day instead of once in a week or so.

Since I play these instruments, I don't want to catch any colds or viruses! However, I really don't know how effective this stuff really is. I heard somewhere that since we are using so much of this stuff now that the colds are becoming resistant to it.

How much care do you exercise to ensure that the product doesn't introduce strange oils or solvents onto piano keys and piano finishes? The fact that they are scented would raise some flags with me, and many of the commercial products also like to double as hand moisturizers.

I have given no thought to it, actually. My keys are plastic, not ivory, and so I clean them with clorox wipes. I've been doing this along with the hand sanitizers for the past couple of years without any discoloration or wear on the finish. These do not have aloe in them or anything to moisturize the hands either.

I'm still investigating this myself. And yes, I will be sending a letter out to the parents letting them know that I will be washing the piano down after each student! And that this is going to take 5 minutes out of their lesson.

Am still trying to find what will be guaranteed to kill this virus if it does end up on my pianos!

Not easy to find out information, I have discovered, but I'm going to do everything I can so the parents know I'm going to make it as safe as possible for their kids!

Also, have heard that clorox is the only thing that will kill it 100%, but the alcohol in some hand sanitizers kills it too! The reason for my worry, is that a lot of summer camps were shut down here because of this thing!

My concern is that I just don't want to discolor, or bleach the keys on my piano! Especially the black ones!

Doing everything I can! Til I know more!

Yes, i've had a bottle of hand sanitizer on my piano, but rarely enforce its use - will be making sure all students wash hands before lesson or use sanitizer - plus cleaning the keys more frequently. Thank you HINI for encouraging me to finally clean. haha.

I think it would be reasonable to ask that every student simply give their hands a good washing before their lesson. With all the worry about what this flu season may be like I would think most parents and students would understand. The hand sanitizer is great, but good old washing doesn't need to kill the germs because it sends them on their merry way down the drain! Sanitizer would still be a good idea to use during a lesson after sneezes and coughs. Some of the teachers in my school district make it a class rule. If you sneezed or coughed and your hands were involved in any way use the sanitizer.

One can't be too careful when mega-staph and mega flu come to call. My policy is very stiff about illness - if you are ill in anyway, or your family is sharing a bug, do NOT come for lesson, I will NOT teach it. This is for my own auto-immune protection because I spent many years catching everything. Students do not do well at lessons when they are ill anyway. I think they should be spared the negative experience of the stress of it.

Don't forget to keep the knob on the front door wiped off and any other place that visitors (not just piano students) have visited. The bathroom is just as important because I ask my students to wash their hands first, then use the sanitizers too.

I'm not so sure about the use of clorox wipes as that is quite a bit of moisture to put on the keyboard, keys are wood with plastic tops these days. I would want to make sure the bleach was not left on the keys because of the students whose hands sweat too much. Wouldn't the chemicals transfer to the skin? And, clorox has never been advised to touch skin it's pretty caustic, I think.

Perhaps a piano tuner would contribute to this discussion about cleaning the piano, bench and keys, for bacteria and staph and prevention of communicable diseases.

Yes, I put a note over there (Piano Tuners Forum) and got some interesting responses!

It's under the The topic "h1n1 virus" (different name but same thing as Swine flu)!

Have a look! Not sure some are serious or not!

Should add that the Swine Flu DOES NOT come from pigs! The pig farmers are getting a bad wrap because of that! So they changed the name to H1N1 Flu!

There was a flu way back that took out a lot of people called the "Spanish Flu"? And it wasn't spanish at all, it came from CHINA!

Go figure! People should think before they give it a name!

My ideal piano studio would have a sink for handwashing.

last year I insisted students use sanitizer before and after lessons. I felt that it did cut down on the colds and flu.

Here in Australia we've had a few cases of humans giving it to pigs!

As for the anti-bacterial stuff - H1N1 is a virus, is it not? They've been telling us here that soap and water is the thing.

I have a sink for handwashing right near the front door (powder room) and this year I have invested in individual fingertip towels so they are single use. I also have hand sanitizer on my desk by the piano. I was careful last year to wash my OWN hands between students and I had a very healthy season!

Science teacher's trick to staying healthy: Wash your hands frequently and KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF YOUR FACE! The primary way a virus gets into your body is through your mucus membranes, i.e., eyes, nose or mouth. If you forget and rub an itchy eye, put a pencil in your mouth or touch your nose, you are opening yourself to sickness. I see 140 kids a day and I rarely get sick.

So far this virus doesn't seem any worse that the yearly flu we see every year. This one is just getting more media attention. Hand washing with soap and hot water is the best. 15 seconds minimum. Many sanitizers/disinfectants cause bugs to morph into stronger bugs.

Send sick kids home and like someone said don't touch your face. Get the flu shot. Eat well get rest and don't stress out on this flu...

Makes sense, soap and water is the way to go. I have several students out sick right now, and one is a confirmed case of H1N1. We have several confirmed cases of it at our local high school.
I will send each kid to the bathroom to wash hands before every lesson. Stanny's idea of having the disposable towels is good.
I should have been doing this all along...

Hygiene would seem prudent, whether there is a potent virus or not. From what I've read, teachers over 60 already have an immunity to this particular virus, thanks to the crud we suffered with as children.

That aside, I find it rather interesting that while in college and doing my military service, where immunizations were mandatory, I got the flu with clock-like regularity. I mean, the real McCoy.

Since then, I've managed to avoid the flu shot line, and have not had a case of flu since. Whether this is serendipity or the threat is overblown, I do not know. I do know that our current political situation capitalizes on and and all possible scares.

So my humble advice is to be prudent, don't touch membranes without first washing your hands - which any physician will tell you anyway - and clean your keyboard daily.

My daughter's college sent this:

Practice good hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing. Alcohol-based hand cleaners also are effective. Hand sanitizer stations have been distributed at the entrances to residence and dining halls.
Practice respiratory etiquette by covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your elbow or shoulder, not into your hands. Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth; germs are spread this way.
Know the signs and symptoms of the flu. A fever is a temperature of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius. Look for possible signs of fever: if the person feels very warm, has a flushed appearance, or is sweating or shivering. Symptoms of flu include fever or chills and cough or sore throat. In addition, symptoms of flu can include runny nose, body aches, headache, tiredness, diarrhea, or vomiting.
Stay home if you have flu or flu-like illness for at least 24 hours after you no longer have a fever (100 degrees Fahrenheit or 38 degrees Celsius) or signs of a fever (have chills, feel very warm, have a flushed appearance, or are sweating). This should be determined without the use of fever-reducing medications (any medicine that contains ibuprofen or acetaminophen). The flu may last up to 7 days. Don’t go to class or work if you’re ill. Ask a friend to bring meals to your room.
Talk with your health care providers about whether you should be vaccinated for seasonal flu. Also if you are at higher risk for flu complications from 2009 H1N1 flu, you should consider getting the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. People at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 flu complications include pregnant women and people with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, heart disease, or diabetes). For more information about priority groups for vaccination, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm <http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm> .

And by the way, concerning pigs:

flu.gov says this:

John, what you are saying makes absolutely no scientific sense, but it seems to be true for me too. I've only had the flu once - during the year I had my one and only flu shot. Go figure. I can't explain it either.

By the way folks. It's just a plain old flu. Not a dramatic civilization ending epidemic that the media is trying to make you believe it is. The risks are like any other flu - meaning highest for the elderly, very young and immunocompromised. If you get sick, you'll feel crummy for a few days and then you will get better!

With the media reporting death tolls you would be forgiven for being alarmed - until, like me, you looked at the mortality rate for any of the normal seasonal flu strains. So far this winter (yeah, it's winter here ) we're not even close to those figures.

I had the Hong Kong flu in 1969 - not nice!

My first letter home to the parents this year has the following:

 Stay home if you’re sick.
 Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
 Wash your hands often.
 Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
 Cover your mouth or nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing.
 Try to stay in good general health.
 Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food.
 Try not to touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus.

I also told students they were to wash their hands at my house before starting their lessons. I have paper towels for them to use. One mom, who is a nurse, thinks it is a good idea.

I know, it's really weird, but my wife can attest to this. I wonder if it's just the body developing enough of an autoimmune system by the time you reach your mid-life or what.

A virus can only be caught once by a person. Then we become immune to it. That is why vaccines for things like chicken pox work. So as we age, we get sick less often because we have developed immunity to certain pathogens. The exception is that some viruses, like the common cold, mutate often, so they can be passed back and forth a few times, slightly different each time, but enough to get around our immunity. That is why scientists have not been able to come up with a vaccine for the common cold.

Because children have not had the chance to build up immunity, they get sick more often. And people who work with children - medical, teachers, etc, therefore get exposed to more things.

(In my former life, I was in the health field.)

Sorry to nitpick but you can catch a virus more than once if you don't get a bad enough case of it and your immune system is not activated enough. My brother had chicken pox 3 times and my dad had it twice. As far as the chicken pox vaccine working, it does but we don't yet know how long the vaccine works so there is some speculation that booster shots may be necessary. Also chicken pox vaccine has been implicated in adult shingles.

On a happier note, it looks like old codgers of my generation may still have immunity against small pox from the vaccine we all got as babies.

You are correct about the ease at which viruses mutate but sometimes the mutuation is slight enough that the old antibodies are still effective. And you are correct that as we age we have been exposed to more sicknesses so we have better immunity. I read a study that stated that children who are exposed to more sickness (e.g. day care, play dates) or dirt (e.g. farms) have stronger immune systems than children kept in very clean homes away from of other kids' runny noses and fevers. These children also have a lower incidence of lymphoma. So all that "rolling around in each other's germs" actually makes kids stronger. (Yes, this is a perfect excuse for not cleaning your house.

Just be warned that if you are a new teacher, you can expect to get sick a lot so it is especially important for you to wash your hands and piano keys. After raising 3 kids and teaching public school for 10 years I'll occasionally get swollen glands when a virus is making the rounds at school, but a good night's sleep puts me straight and I very rarely (knock on piano) get sick.

(In my present life I'm a science teacher and in my former life I was in a health field too.)

In addition to good hygiene, I would suggest that you must invest in a regular supply of Purell or similar alcohol based sanitizers. Each student should be asked to use some before touching your keyboard. You ought to use some a few times a day yourself, especially after manipulating a child's belongings, e.g. pencils / books etc.. Minimize contact (hugs, handshakes etc). Do not teach a child (or adult) with open flu-like symptms (ie sneezing, coughing etc).
It is true that, for most people, the swine flu manifested in an indistinguishable fashion from any other upper respiratory virus. But it is also undeniable that some people young and old got very ill or died. No matter the statistics, one should not take chances or be too cavalier about simple preventive measures...

Fortunately, I have a sink in my classroom so I encourage hand washing. Soap and water are actually better than Purell as demonstrated by hospital nurses who use hand sanitizer in most rooms, except those of contagious patients. There they use soap and water.

Another important tip: Make sure your students (piano or otherwise) dispose of their dirty tissues outside your studio or classroom. Sitting next to a trash can filled with dirty tissues is a sure way to get sick.

Actually hospitals have switched largely to alcohol-based solutions, although detergents including soap and water, are not discredited. Pre-operative hand scrubbing by surgeons and other personnel was also changed to a simple application of alcohol based sanitizers without any brushes. Multiple studies have shown the superiority of alcohol based products and their greater acceptability (and thus compliance) rates.
Of course, "soap and water" is also good, when and if it is available. You will need to provide disposable hand towels with that, preferably..

That's odd. When my son was recently in a children's hospital he was put in temporary isolation until they ruled out contagious diseases. The nurses explained to me that soap and water is best and the doctors and nurses all abandoned the hand sanitizer, donned gowns and washed their hands with soap and water before leaving his room.

Actually, the towels are not disposable....they are cloth, but they are one use towels and will be placed in a bin under the sink after use. I ordered 24 of them, so will need to wash them each week.