More reasons to wash your hands

[Hibbyradge]

I remember I raised some controversy when I criticised men for not washing their hands after going to the toilet.

"I don't pee on my hands" and "The door handles are dirty" are a couple of arguments used to justify what, in my opinion, is just laziness.

The door handles wouldn't get dirty if folk washed their hands.

Anyway, this article might add some more fuel to the debate!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15284501

[matty_f]

I remember I raised some controversy when I criticised men for not washing their hands after going to the toilet.

"I don't pee on my hands" and "The door handles are dirty" are a couple of arguments used to justify what, in my opinion, is just laziness.

The door handles wouldn't get dirty if folk washed their hands.

Anyway, this article might add some more fuel to the debate!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15284501

I can't understand why anyone wouldn't wash their hands in this day and age. Laziness is probably the most accurate thing to sum it up, I suppose.

[lapsedhibee]

I remember I raised some controversy when I criticised men for not washing their hands after going to the toilet.

"I don't pee on my hands" and "The door handles are dirty" are a couple of arguments used to justify what, in my opinion, is just laziness.

The door handles wouldn't get dirty if folk washed their hands.

Anyway, this article might add some more fuel to the debate!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-15284501

The article's more about pooing than peeing, I think, as e.coli does not (I think) generally live in the willie. I'm not too lazy to wash my hands but I draw the line at singing two verses of Happy Brithday while doing it, as the medic recommends.

Did it do Sarah Miles any harm to drink pish? :dunno:

[vein]

My Dundonian brother in law was drinking in the Haymarket bar with his Dundonian mates after a Hearts Dundee Utd game. One of his pals came back out the toilet and says "Here Frank, the folk in here are awfy snobby are they not". My brother in law asks why he thinks that and his pal replies "There all washing there hands in there after a pish". :greengrin

[Hibrandenburg]

Jobbies on their mobiles! Maybe that just comes from talking ***** all the time?

[joe breezy]

I try and not touch toilet door handles either by elbowing it open or covering my hand wi my shirt or jumper.

Might sound a bit Michael Jacksonesque but I sometimes use my finger to rub my eye and seeing surveys re people no washing hands makes me I dinnae want ***** near my eyes or on my hands.

[Hibbyradge]

I try and not touch toilet door handles either by elbowing it open or covering my hand wi my shirt or jumper.



I do likewise.

If I have a short sleeve shirt on, I'll try to use my little finger to open them instead.

There are loads like us. :agree:

[Hibrandenburg]

I do likewise.

If I have a short sleeve shirt on, I'll try to use my little finger to open them instead.

There are loads like us. :agree:

I use my boaby to open the doors to stop my hands getting dirty or smears on my shirt.

[lapsedhibee]

I try and not touch toilet door handles either by elbowing it open or covering my hand wi my shirt or jumper.

Might sound a bit Michael Jacksonesque but I sometimes use my finger to rub my eye and seeing surveys re people no washing hands makes me I dinnae want ***** near my eyes or on my hands.

Shirley the logic of not touching anything with your own clean hands that others have touched with their dirty hands dictates that after you have thoroughly washed and rinsed your hands you leave the taps running. Do you? :dunno:

Unless obviously they're the sort of taps you can knock closed with your sleeved elbow.

[Hibrandenburg]

Shirley the logic of not touching anything with your own clean hands that others have touched with their dirty hands dictates that after you have thoroughly washed and rinsed your hands you leave the taps running. Do you? :dunno:

Unless obviously they're the sort of taps you can knock closed with your sleeved elbow.

Do that with my boaby as well and there's more of us out there :-)

[derekHFC]

If they have them, i always take a dry papertowel with me, use that to open the door and then bin it - OCD :agree:

I also carry hand gel with me sometimes with one in the car and one in my sports bag.

[Jay]

I am a compulsive hand washer too. Public toilets give me the boak and and are my worst nightmare. I only use them if I really really have to. Touching the flush is the worst thing about it all, I normally do this with toilet roll which has been taken from a bit untouched by human hands :greengrin

After I wash my hands I touch nothing else until I am out, if I have to open the door it is done with my jacket sleeve.

I usually have gel handwash in my pocket anyway.

The thought of not washing my hands with my own dirt on is bad enough but when its other peoples too is just beyond thinking about. :boo hoo:

[calumhibee1]

I lick my hands clean.

[heretoday]

Fair enough I suppose but do you ever hear of anyone suffering from a complaint associated with touching toilet door handles etc? Aren't we all well resistant to these sort of germs by now? You can't avoid things like the flu just by washing your hands.

I'm minded of that Aggie woman on TV who says "this oven contains ten thousand different types of bacteria". Yeah? Well how come everyone's not dying of sickness then?

My bathroom is spotlessly clean by the way. I often eat my dinner off the floor in there.

[lapsedhibee]

My bathroom is spotlessly clean by the way. I often eat my dinner off the floor in there.

Same here. I've kept a couple of drinking straws handy throughout the trauma of the trams roadworks, so that whenever Scottish Water have had to temporarily shut off the water supply, I've been able to drink out of the bowl. :agree:

[SkintHibby]

I try and not touch toilet door handles either by elbowing it open or covering my hand wi my shirt or jumper.

Might sound a bit Michael Jacksonesque but I sometimes use my finger to rub my eye and seeing surveys re people no washing hands makes me I dinnae want ***** near my eyes or on my hands.

OMG I do that as well lol!

I pull my cuff over my hand then open the door.:agree:

[Dinkydoo]

The funny thing is, these non hand washing types touch other things such as bar stools, chairs, pool cues, pub door handles - not just toilet ones - yet I bet nobody is worried about the potential for contamination there (and neither they should be).

If some sicko has shat up the cubical wall and over the floor - always wondered how the **** that can happen by accident btw :greengrin: - or if a toilet generally looks quite chatty, then I'll pay particular attention to where I'm standing and remain cautious when touching door handles....etc.

I suppose there is a fine line between being careful and obsessing when it comes to being wary of 'germs'.

Our bodies are after-all, reasonably equipped to deal with small quantities of harmful bacteria.

[Hibbyradge]

The funny thing is, these non hand washing types touch other things such as bar stools, chairs, pool cues, pub door handles - not just toilet ones - yet I bet nobody is worried about the potential for contamination there (and neither they should be).

If some sicko has shat up the cubical wall and over the floor - always wondered how the **** that can happen by accident btw :greengrin: - or if a toilet generally looks quite chatty, then I'll pay particular attention to where I'm standing and remain cautious when touching door handles....etc.

I suppose there is a fine line between being careful and obsessing when it comes to being wary of 'germs'.

Our bodies are after-all, reasonably equipped to deal with small quantities of harmful bacteria.

"Hand washing types". :faf:

I wouldn't call taking a few seconds to wash your hands after using the toilet as obsessive.

By the sounds of it, there are folk who go from the start of the day to the end without washing their mits. Longer if you add in the folk who didn't bother with a shower when they got up. Yuck.

There are no circumstances under which washing your hands can be detrimental and, despite all the spurious arguments as to why it may not be necessary, the only reason people don't is because they can't be bothered.

[Hibbyradge]

Fair enough I suppose but do you ever hear of anyone suffering from a complaint associated with touching toilet door handles etc? Aren't we all well resistant to these sort of germs by now?



Did you read the article above?


You can't avoid things like the flu just by washing your hands.


In fact, it's the best way to avoid flu.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/4291124.stm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHISh559oho&noredirect=1

[Dinkydoo]

"Hand washing types". :faf:

I wouldn't call taking a few seconds to wash your hands after using the toilet as obsessive.

By the sounds of it, there are folk who go from the start of the day to the end without washing their mits. Longer if you add in the folk who didn't bother with a shower when they got up. Yuck.

There are no circumstances under which washing your hands can be detrimental and, despite all the spurious arguments as to why it may not be necessary, the only reason people don't is because they can't be bothered.

I think you'll find I said, "non hand washing types" :greengrin:

I wouldn't call taking a few seconds to wash your hands obsessive either, I was referring to shielding your hands by use of a sleeve or piece of toilet paper when using door handles and taps.....etc.

The point I was trying to make is that there are other things such as pool cues and bar stools which are probably just as "dirty" as the toilet door handle yet people generally choose not to think about that - really just trying to turn the point on its head.

For what it's worth, I wash my hands after going to the loo.

[bawheid]

I think you'll find I said, "non hand washing types" :greengrin:

I wouldn't call taking a few seconds to wash your hands obsessive either, I was referring to shielding your hands by use of a sleeve or piece of toilet paper when using door handles and taps.....etc.

The point I was trying to make is that there are other things such as pool cues and bar stools which are probably just as "dirty" as the toilet door handle yet people generally choose not to think about that - really just trying to turn the point on its head.

For what it's worth, I wash my hands after going to the loo.

This is the correct answer. You cannot go through life shielding your hands from the surfaces of objects just so that you can avoid germs.

Wash your hands after you go to the toilet. Wash your hands before eating food.

[Peevemor]

Having worked on a drawing board from the age of 16 (those were the days) I became almost obsessive about keeping my hands clean to avoid getting greasy pawprints on my drawings. This is a habit that has stayed with me even though I've been computerised for years. However, there are some pub toilets where I simply don't want to wash my hands after having a slash - manky washbasins, no soap, crap hand drying facilities (1. Shake excess water from hands. 2. Rub hands briskly in "warm" air flow and 3. Wipe still soaking hands on your jeans).

If all bogs had these Dyson airblades or the like (they really are the dug's baws :agree:), then I think the world would be a cleaner place.

[Hibbyradge]

I think you'll find I said, "non hand washing types" :greengrin:

I wouldn't call taking a few seconds to wash your hands obsessive either, I was referring to shielding your hands by use of a sleeve or piece of toilet paper when using door handles and taps.....etc.

The point I was trying to make is that there are other things such as pool cues and bar stools which are probably just as "dirty" as the toilet door handle yet people generally choose not to think about that - really just trying to turn the point on its head.

For what it's worth, I wash my hands after going to the loo.

:greengrin Sorry, I mis-read your post. My screen is so dirty! :wink:

I only use my sleeve to open public toilet doors and I only do that because I've just seen some staggering drunk simply "pish & go".

Also, when I see someone go straight out after being in a cubicle, I try to convince myself they weren't having a dump.

They were just doing a line or two.

[lapsedhibee]

This is the correct answer. You cannot go through life shielding your hands from the surfaces of objects just so that you can avoid germs.

Wash your hands after you go to the toilet. Wash your hands before eating food.

:agree: but add (3) Wash your hands before shaking hands with anyone else, in case you give them the flu.

[SaulGoodman]

I only cover my hands when lifting the toilet seat or pressing the flush button in public toilets. I don't cover them when opening doors though.

[One Day Soon]

I just want to congratulate Hibbyradge on starting what is, for me, one of the top ten Hibs.net threads of all time. Some impressively strange responses.

And its good to finally know you are not alone in an OCD kind of a way in not touching toilet handles, door handles etc with bare flesh.

I wonder what kind of contribution to public health would be made by making compulsory the fitting of automatic flushing toilets, automatic start/stop taps and proper air hand driers in every public toilet? Surely that's a post graduate study waiting to happen if it hasn't been done already?

[Scouse Hibee]

I just want to congratulate Hibbyradge on starting what is, for me, one of the top ten Hibs.net threads of all time. Some impressively strange responses.

And its good to finally know you are not alone in an OCD kind of a way in not touching toilet handles, door handles etc with bare flesh.

I wonder what kind of contribution to public health would be made by making compulsory the fitting of automatic flushing toilets, automatic start/stop taps and proper air hand driers in every public toilet? Surely that's a post graduate study waiting to happen if it hasn't been done already?

Not as much as parents teaching handwashing from an early age, checking if the soap or basin is wet is a parenting skill that has been sadly lost.:greengrin

[lapsedhibee]

And its good to finally know you are not alone in an OCD kind of a way in not touching toilet handles, door handles etc with bare flesh.

The devil's in the detail of your statement here, imo - "etc". If what you OCDers are trying to do is avoid touching anything that a dirty unwashing person has touched after he's visited a lavatory, then you shirley need to apply your techniques not just to handles but to everything in the (say) pub that he might have touched (tables, chairs, etc)? What if you're in a busy bar, three deep trying to get served, you eventually get served and somebody wedged at the bar helpfully passes you your pint/round? He will touch it, then you will touch it, with bare hands, non? He may have washed his hands, like a normal, but then, not being an OCDer, touched the door handle on his way out of the toilet, and so now you're in hospital.

Follow right through the logic of this not-touching-things-that-other-people-have-touched and you would end up never leaving your home, or letting anyone else in it!

[Jay]

Having worked on a drawing board from the age of 16 (those were the days) I became almost obsessive about keeping my hands clean to avoid getting greasy pawprints on my drawings. This is a habit that has stayed with me even though I've been computerised for years. However, there are some pub toilets where I simply don't want to wash my hands after having a slash - manky washbasins, no soap, crap hand drying facilities (1. Shake excess water from hands. 2. Rub hands briskly in "warm" air flow and 3. Wipe still soaking hands on your jeans).

If all bogs had these Dyson airblades or the like (they really are the dug's baws :agree:), then I think the world would be a cleaner place.

I dream of having one of those in my house! What a christmas present that would be :greengrin

[lapsedhibee]

I dream of having one of those in my house! What a christmas present that would be :greengrin

Dyson certainly think they're very hygienic - but then they would, wouldn't they? Here's the other side's claims:

"In 2008, an unpublished study was conducted by the University of Westminster, London, for the trade body, European Tissue Symposium, to compare the levels of hygiene offered by paper towels, warm air hand dryers and the more modern jet-air hand dryers.[13] The key findings were:

after washing and drying hands with the warm air dryer, the total number of bacteria was found to increase on average on the finger pads by 194% and on the palms by 254%
drying with the jet air dryer resulted in an increase on average of the total number of bacteria on the finger pads by 42% and on the palms by 15%
after washing and drying hands with a paper towel, the total number of bacteria was reduced on average on the finger pads by up to 76% and on the palms by up to 77%.
The scientists also carried out tests to establish whether there was the potential for cross contamination of other washroom users and the washroom environment as a result of each type of drying method. They found that:

the jet air dryer, which blows air out of the unit at claimed speeds of 400 mph (≈640 km/h), was capable of blowing micro-organisms from the hands and the unit and potentially contaminating other washroom users and the washroom environment up to 2 metres away
use of a warm air hand dryer spread micro-organisms up to 0.25 metres from the dryer
paper towels showed no significant spread of micro-organisms."

[bawheid]

The devil's in the detail of your statement here, imo - "etc". If what you OCDers are trying to do is avoid touching anything that a dirty unwashing person has touched after he's visited a lavatory, then you shirley need to apply your techniques not just to handles but to everything in the (say) pub that he might have touched (tables, chairs, etc)? What if you're in a busy bar, three deep trying to get served, you eventually get served and somebody wedged at the bar helpfully passes you your pint/round? He will touch it, then you will touch it, with bare hands, non? He may have washed his hands, like a normal, but then, not being an OCDer, touched the door handle on his way out of the toilet, and so now you're in hospital.

Follow right through the logic of this not-touching-things-that-other-people-have-touched and you would end up never leaving your home, or letting anyone else in it!

:agree:

Just bought a sandwich for my lunch. The woman who prepared my sandwich did so wearing disposable plastic gloves she collected from a box under the counter. However, she picked up the gloves from the box with her bare hands. What if she's been to the toilet today and/or touched something that might be dirty, or shaken hands with a non-OCDer? Surely she has contaminated the outside of the gloves, and therefore my sandwich? She placed the prepared sandwich in a brown paper bag. I have no idea where the bag originated, or whether a non-OCDer has come into contact with it during or since its production.

Should I starve myself this lunchtime, or take my chances??

[derekHFC]

I think some people have taken this a bit too far with some of their examples :greengrin:

I may be wrong (i normally am), but what the OP was suggesting was that should everyone wash their hands after having a number one or two, then things like doors in toilets, bar stools, etc would not have these germs in the first place.

Of course there'll be germs all over the place which are outwith our control, but considering that it takes ten seconds to wash your hands after using the loo, its just laziness for people who dont.

I can see a poll coming on to see who does and who doesnt. :agree:

[Jay]

:agree:

Just bought a sandwich for my lunch. The woman who prepared my sandwich did so wearing disposable plastic gloves she collected from a box under the counter. However, she picked up the gloves from the box with her bare hands. What if she's been to the toilet today and/or touched something that might be dirty, or shaken hands with a non-OCDer? Surely she has contaminated the outside of the gloves, and therefore my sandwich? She placed the prepared sandwich in a brown paper bag. I have no idea where the bag originated, or whether a non-OCDer has come into contact with it during or since its production.

Should I starve myself this lunchtime, or take my chances??

Personally I would go hungry :wink:

[bawheid]

Personally I would go hungry :wink:

It's all gone I'm afraid. I feel fine too!

[RyeSloan]

Dyson certainly think they're very hygienic - but then they would, wouldn't they? Here's the other side's claims:

"In 2008, an unpublished study was conducted by the University of Westminster, London, for the trade body, European Tissue Symposium, to compare the levels of hygiene offered by paper towels, warm air hand dryers and the more modern jet-air hand dryers.[13] The key findings were:

after washing and drying hands with the warm air dryer, the total number of bacteria was found to increase on average on the finger pads by 194% and on the palms by 254%
drying with the jet air dryer resulted in an increase on average of the total number of bacteria on the finger pads by 42% and on the palms by 15%
after washing and drying hands with a paper towel, the total number of bacteria was reduced on average on the finger pads by up to 76% and on the palms by up to 77%.
The scientists also carried out tests to establish whether there was the potential for cross contamination of other washroom users and the washroom environment as a result of each type of drying method. They found that:

the jet air dryer, which blows air out of the unit at claimed speeds of 400 mph (≈640 km/h), was capable of blowing micro-organisms from the hands and the unit and potentially contaminating other washroom users and the washroom environment up to 2 metres away
use of a warm air hand dryer spread micro-organisms up to 0.25 metres from the dryer
paper towels showed no significant spread of micro-organisms."

So the conclusion is that Paper towels are the only hygenic way to dry your hands and using warm air to dry your hands only increases the bacteria present?

However if this is correct then I assume that the act of washing your hands in the first place has signifcantly reduced the bacteria that is then increased by the warm air......

[lapsedhibee]

So the conclusion is that Paper towels are the only hygenic way to dry your hands and using warm air to dry your hands only increases the bacteria present?

Would surmise that it'd be best to have WCs, including wash-hand basins, outdoors so that whatever germs exist would be the more easily dispersed, by the wind, to 'safety'. Obviously no doors should be involved, as that would entail door-opening of some sort and therefore a risk of coming into contact with dirty handles/whatever.



However if this is correct then I assume that the act of washing your hands in the first place has signifcantly reduced the bacteria that is then increased by the warm air......
Would further surmise that the act of wetting, without thoroughly washing and then drying, the hands would help the spread of beasties, as many beasties thrive in wet, and particularly warm and wet, conditions.

Probably safest never to go to a toilet or, if you must, carry your own around with you like Wacko.

[Hibbyradge]

I don't know anyone who would be happy to eat in a restaurant if it was known or seen that the chefs didn't wash their hands after using the toilet.

Why would that be if there's no need to do so, or it's somehow more hygeinic to avoid soap and water?

[lapsedhibee]

I don't know anyone who would be happy to eat in a restaurant if it was known or seen that the chefs didn't wash their hands after using the toilet.

Why would that be if there's no need to do so, or it's somehow more hygeinic to avoid soap and water?

First thing I do when I go into a restaurant is check whether the chef's being treated at the Royal Ed for OCD. Once I'm assured that he is, I can relax and enjoy my meal. :wink:

[Hibbyradge]

First thing I do when I go into a restaurant is check whether the chef's being treated at the Royal Ed for OCD. Once I'm assured that he is, I can relax and enjoy my meal. :wink:

Good man. You just can't be too careful.

I was in a restaurant at the Shore, Leith which I won't name, when a chef came out of the cubicle and made to head straight out of the door.

When he saw me, he back tracked and went to the sink to wash his hands.

I won't eat there again.