Home  Environment Workplace tops public restrooms in survey of Americas germiest places
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Workplace tops public restrooms in survey of America’s germiest places
Survey conducted by booth research also reveals Americans’ preference for natural remedies to prescription medications for cold symptom relief.
 Is your office making you sick? In a recent survey of American adults conducted by Booth Research, one in four respondents (25 percent) pointed to their office as “the germiest place” they are exposed to on a regular basis. Shedding more light on how Americans view the office; the top “germiest” response was selected more frequently than public restrooms and schools (19 percent and 17 percent respectively).What do you take if you do catch a cold? In what appears to be a trend among American consumers, the survey reveals that nearly three out of four respondents (71 percent) prefer taking natural remedies to prescription medication as a way to deal with the common cold. Of these respondents, an overwhelming 85 percent take vitamin C or Ester C, followed by zinc and echinacea (tied at 32 percent).
On a positive note, the majority (62 percent) of individuals polled believe most colds are preventable. Frequent hand washing and taking immune-boosting vitamins were cited as common preventive measures. Cleanliness ranked as the top preventive measure, while use of vitamin C and multivitamins were the products most frequently mentioned for illness prevention. Lack of sleep (83 percent) and stress (81 percent) were cited as likely causes of colds.
Also of interest, nearly two-thirds of respondents volunteered that they catch a cold once or twice annually. Less than one quarter said they rarely or never catch one. After catching a cold, the majority of respondents said they drink lots of fluids (79 percent), get plenty of rest (71 percent) and take over-the-counter medications (68 percent). Taking vitamin C was the strategy cited by 42 percent of respondents—especially by those ages 25 to 34; followed by taking multivitamins (31 percent), zinc (15 percent) and echinacea (11 percent). Only 14 percent said they visit a doctor after catching a cold.
“I’m encouraged that Americans believe colds can be prevented, and that they employ strategies, including cleanliness, nutritional support for immune health and getting adequate periods of rest,” said Mark A. Moyad, M.D., MPH, University of Michigan Medical Center, and a practicing physician.
“Studies indicate that hand-washing frequency, good sleeping habits and consumption of key nutrients, such as vitamins C from food and/or supplements will significantly increase an individual’s chance of staying healthy during cold and flu season,” he added. Dr. Moyad’s recently published review article on vitamin C suggests that vitamin C-containing metabolites (Ester-C) may provide better tolerance, immune enhancement ofgreater duration and a lower risk of side effects compared with vitamin C alone.
The survey was conducted by Booth Research of 1005 U.S. adults with a sample reliability of plus or minus 3.1 percent. All interviews were conducted via the Internet during September 2007. Qualified respondents were males and females at least 18 years of age. The sample for this study was provided by Global Market Insight and was a national sample of online panel respondents. Data were weighted by sex, age and region to produce nationally projectable sample proportions.
Females accounted for 51.3 percent and males 48.7 percent; the South accounted for 36.7 percent, tied with the Midwest and West at 22.3 percent and the Northeast with 18.7 percent.
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