Clean Freaks (catching Germs)

[arissa]

I have always tried to be a clean freak to keep the germs away but lo and behold I have picked up some child germs. It seems there is a nasty bug going around my daughter's school and it has landed on me. Do we have any others here that tend to avoid the germs as much as I do? I was reading a story a few weeks ago talking about how many people opt between the hand dryers in public bathrooms over the normal papertowels. Which do others here use? Do you see any difference in the two to keep the germs from spreading?

Edited April 7, 2014 by arissa

[Buffy]

Ever thought about the handle on the door of the bathroom that you have to touch on the way out? 90% of bathrooms seem to require pulling on the way out. This prevents injury's from doors swinging into hallways (the conventional wisdom that drives this), although pretty dangerous in a fire, but of course the main thing is that it's loaded with germs. I knew a woman who always used a towel to open the door on the way out.

 

Hand dryers save trees and supposedly energy, but as to which is better for fighting germs, I doubt there's much difference (and you don't have a towel to open the door with!).

 

The other thing to realize is that a tremendous number of bugs are transmitted through the air, but I think you do want to continue to breathe when you're at school to pick the little one up. In our society at least it's bad form to wear a mask (actually illegal in some jurisdictions), but it caught on in Asia with SARS.

 

Fact is that exposure doesn't always make you sick, and it builds resistance, so finding out how to eliminate it may be a lot of work and do you more harm in the long run.

 

 

Life is a fatal complaint, and an eminently contagious one, :phones:

Buffy

[arissa]

I prefer the towel route for touching the door too. I know some people who don't care but if for any reason I am leaving a place that forces you to use the dryer, you can beat I am grabbing some hand sanitizer on the way out too. I know Mythbusters touched on this a while back too. Anyone catch the episode?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QzE9onQXSw

[Mars1]

A little bit of germs builds a stronger immunity.  You'd be surprised how many people use the paper towel trick,  I use the handle then use hand sanitizer.  Even the shopping cart handle at the grocery store is full of germs.

[labelwench]

Germs are a normal part of the environment and a healthy immune system has the resources to deal with them. One of the simpler preventions is good hand washing and I prefer paper towels precisely for opening the door of public facilities as others have mentioned. Still, there are countless surfaces which we touch everywhere we go and no way to avoid them all. Door knobs and handles, shared keyboards and tools, gym equipment, handrails, grocery carts, elevator buttons and on and on.

 

The more important consideration is to keep your hands away from your eyes and mouth and remain upwind of those who are spewing the germs of upper respiratory diseases which abound during the months when people congregate indoors.

 

One of my pet hypotheses is that a diet rich in simple carbohydrates (white flour, sugar, processed foods) turns the human body into a nutrient media which acts as an excellent incubator for many bacteria and viruses. I am far from being a 'health nut' yet I have observed over nine years at the same job, that more illness is experienced by persons who indulge in such a diet.

 

I enjoy helping people shop for the last hour of my shift when the store has opened and they almost always reflect the contents of their shopping baskets and carts.

Edited April 9, 2014 by Under the Rose

[Fractal]

...Even the shopping cart handle at the grocery store is full of germs.

This freaks me out even more than the "how do you dry your hands in the bathroom?" question. My preferred grocery store has hand wipe dispensers available in the lobby where you pick up your carts. If by some chance the dispensers are empty, I get a little panicky -- although I've never actually walked out of the store and refused to shop...

[CraigD]

I’m a computer programmer for a healthcare organization. I never interact with patients. Still, every year, I’m trained to wash my hands correctly, and otherwise have good antiseptic technique.

 

The main learning most non-clinical folk like me take away from this training is that while washing hands often is important, washing them well is also, and most of us tend not to, by not spending enough time doing it.

 

Rather maddeningly, we’re trained to use a brush to clean under our nails, but as our office is supplied per office, not clinical standards, the only time we see nail brush is during the training. We’re taught in these circumstances to use a technique of grinding our nails and fingertips into out palms, but it’s obvious this doesn’t work as well.

 

If you’re not only a clean freak, but also a technique and measurement freak, I highly recommend getting a handwashing training kit that includes a powder or gel you put on your hands, attempt to wash off, then check using a blacklight.

 

A key hygiene knowledge is that handwashing is effective not because it prevents germs from remaining on your hands, but because it prevents them from being transferred by your hands to your mouth, nose, and eyes. So, if you’re in a situation where your hands must get dirty – say, cleaning up after filthy animals, or pushing those shopping carts everyone seems so wary of – be mindful not to let your hands stray to your face. If you’ve been trained in sterile technique, you’ve disciplined yourself not to let a gloved hand stray below chest level. I find a sort of “reverse sterile technique” discipline useful, where if I know my hands are dirty, I don’t let them stray above chest level.

[arissa]

Mars1 I can agree with that, it is actually part of the reason we went through the process of trying to decide if we wanted to vacinate our kids or not, it was a very long and lively debate too. Hand washing is a big issue, just running a little water over your hands is not going to cut it.

 

CraigD I never knew the name for that but I like the way you put it. This is how I have been since I was a teen and also how we raise our kids. Thanks for the nickname!

[Fractal]

I have to tell you this story: many years ago when my son was a little kid, he had a terrible fear of germs and nothing I said could convince him not to go running into the bathroom to wash his hands a gazillion times a day.

 

Fearing he would become OCD, I decided to take an extreme approach. I sat him down, took a quarter out of my wallet and placed it in my mouth right in front of his horrified eyes. I then removed it and said, "See, I didn't die."

 

I observed a noticeable decrease in his hand-washing behavior after that...

 

Of course, now I cannot even believe I did that!!!

[Laci]

I never had a fear of germs until I went to school to study for a career in the medical profession. There are germs everywhere. You cannot escape them. Your first line of defense against them is good handwashing. The experts do say that being around so many germs builds your immunity towards those germs. My best advice is to remember to wash your hands with soap and water. If you aren't able to do that you can use hand sanitizer. Carry one in the car and in your purse. That is really all that you can do.