No one wants to have to look at a dirty keyboard. Too often, people don’t bother to wash their hands after eating or using the restroom. Not only is this unhealthy for you in many ways… it can also end up causing you to fall ill with QWERTY Sickness. That illness is actually quite real, and is a coined phrase for a common form of food poisoning. Yes… you really can get sick from your keyboard – VERY sick.

Your keyboard is a hotbed for germs and other particles. The oils from your skin rub off onto the keys. Crumbs and droplets spill onto (and into) the data input device every time you nom at your desk. When you don’t wash your hands after using the bathroom and then return directly to your computer, where do you think those germs now reside? A standard keyboard can be up to five times dirtier and germier than a toilet according to recent studies.

You can take the time to clean your keyboard often, or you could choose to purchase a silicone keyboard cover. Those are fairly inexpensive and will save you a lot of headaches… and possibly some unwanted tummy symptoms. You can quickly wipe them down in under twenty seconds without ever having to remove it.

I don’t want to know what’s lurking on and beneath the keys. I now have my box of sanitary cleaning wipes close at hand to use several times a day.

A Cleaning a Day Will Keep the QWERTY Tummy Away

The other morning, I must’ve had some yogurt that was a bit past its prime. Tasted a bit tangy, but it’s yogurt – so I figured that was somewhat normal. Eh? Apparently, not-so-much. I’m guessing that was the culprit (still not sure).

What followed at a point thereafter was a somewhat-familiar bout of dizziness and what had to be one of the more violent series of regurgitations of my adult life. I’ve had food poisoning a couple times before (once, as a teenager – and once, not long after Ponzi and I met). If you’ve ever had food poisoning, you know what I’m talking about. It’s no picnic.

I’m feeling okay now – but I’m also feeling absolutely ROTTEN. I was supposed to speak at the DoItWithDrupal.com conference, as I had teased a few times before. Flight was booked, stage was set, and I was packed to go at 5am on Wednesday. My body was starting to clock out on Tuesday evening, and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to make it. Unfortunately, I didn’t make it – and spent seemingly as much time in the bathroom as I did in the bedroom.

Since Kat watches my schedule, she was able to get ahold of Jeff from Lullabot.com to let him know what was going on. I wasn’t sure how long it would last, but held hope that I could at least participate virtually. They were able to cover for me (much like I was able to cover for Giovanni at PodCamp a couple months back).

I’m sure the last of it left me yesterday afternoon. My body is on the mend, and I’ve been taking it slow with the food stuffs. I wanted to formally apologize to the Drupal community and for the attendees and organizers of the “Do It with Drupal” conference. It’s in their name that I’ll be donating a few hundred dollars worth of groceries to a local food bank tomorrow. No yogurt, though.

Food Poisoning Leading to Food Donation