Well, mostly so everything you touch in between the bathroom (door handle, etc) and the deli isn't contaminated. Also, if sinks have on/off handles (a lot of restroom faucets have the buttons you push down that turn on the water for a set period of time or motion sensors, meaning you don't touch the on/off mechanism after washing), like a lot of deli sinks, you touch that handle with your contaminated hands. Then you re-contaminate yourself by touching the handle when you turn it off. Worse, you contaminate the hands of everyone who touches it after you.
I'm actually not a germophobe at all, and think most people panic far too much about microbes (and particularly about strange things with low risk, while ignoring things with high contamination risks), but if a deli has a policy requiring workers to wash their hands in a sink with a handle they have to touch to turn off, employees who don't wash their hands in the bathroom and then turn on the faucet are effectively making it so every employee that touches that handle to turn on the faucet is spreading the original bathroom germs.
Most places I've worked that have this type of hand washing requirement for food preparation have foot operated sinks. I also prefer foot operated door openers for the coolers and freezers so you aren't handling the door handles and food.
Last edited by Operator265; 10-02-2010 at 06:25 AM.
I am always aware of the possibility of picking up something nasty from toilet areas and will flush the toilet, wash my hands and then manoeuvre the door handle with my arm or wrist. Takes a bit of practice but I usually get there!
Reminds me of a young woman I knew some years back. As I was explaining to her the pros and cons of toilet hygene she then said " Perhaps thats why my friends little girl is always ill as she like playing round the toilet" - Her friend lived in a block of flats that had a communal toilet!
I don't always wash my hands in public restrooms. I had a sniffle last year, but other than that, I can't remember the last time I was sick.
Honestly, there are so many germs in the environment, that unless you're in a plastic bubble or constantly drowning yourself in antimicrobials, you aren't really protected from germs anyways. And if you do live in a bubble/constantly disinfecting, you're going to be 1) MUCH more vulnerable than people who allow their own bodies to build up some immunity and 2) contributing to the resistance problem of antibiotics.
If you wash your hands after you pee, you might touch the sink fauced to turn it off (even if you touch it with your wrist like some people, how soon is your hand or your face going to touch your wrist? lol). Then you might touch the door. Or a pen or pencil. Or a friend. Or pet a dog. Or touch absolutely ANYthing...and guess what? You'll be completely infected again...sorry. Bathroom bugs aren't any worse than any other kind of bug. It's just our own society's perception of ewww-gross-bathroom that makes us think we need to cleanse afterwards.
I always wash my hands before and after food preparation, and often times while during. I'll wash my hands if I know I touched something gross or was working with animals or outside (which is often for me). After chemical or microbio lab work, I wash my hands according to protocol. If the public restroom I'm using is especially nasty, I might wash my hands. Other than that, nah, not worth it. I'm definitely a pee and flee kinda person. Sometimes if I go to the restroom with a friend and she's washing her hands, I'll wash mine just to avoid the "ewww, you're gross!" awkwardness.
Your body is an impressive bug-fighting machine on its own. Allowed to do it's job, it will do it well.
I don't think there's any way one could complain about it but not washing your hands after using the bathroom is just gross. It's also irresponsible ~ how does one know what one's passing on to someone else and to someone else......
I've never yet peed on my hands - well, maybe when trying to catch a sample - but toilet paper doesn't have a barrier to it, I have no idea what germs might pass through and onto my hands. It's just unsanitary to then use those hands to - shake hands, pass money to a clerk, hold onto a bus rail. There are all sorts of people with poor immune systems, through illness or treatment; they have the right not to be compromised by my germs.
Today I had a couple come to see me for a marriage licence. The poor woman had been struck with a U.T. infection, and in the space of half an hour, visited my downstairs cloakroom 3 times. She and her fiance were graphic about what she was peeing as well as pee. At no time did I hear the tap water run. When I went in later, the liquid soap and towel were untouched. As they left, she shook hands with me. I used the hand sanitizer Very Well, and scrubbed the seat!
4) I know a doctor who does not wash his hands after visiting the restroom. How do I know this? The toilet is still flushing when he exits the bathroom. I don't work directly with him so I can only hope he does it when he gets back to his area and before he sees a patient.
Sometimes I wash my hands before I turn around and use my foot or paper towel to flush. So the toilet is flushing as I walk out, too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mkendrick
It's just our own society's perception of ewww-gross-bathroom that makes us think we need to cleanse afterwards.
I agree. I remember reading LONG ago that kitchen sinks often harbor more bacteria and nasty stuff than a toilet. But I've also read that poop germs can go through 6 layers of TP. So.. yeah.
I wash my hands more often than not. A lot of the time after a pee, i'll just use water and friction, and no soap. I wash my hands a LOT during food prep, and definitely a **** of a lot more since I prepare and eat meat now.
Well, I left a restroom at a college football game without washing my hands. There was one great big round trough with a bar of soap on a pedestal in the middle and all these women were sticking their fingers in that bar of mushy soap. No way in he** was I sticking my fingers in that! I know where my fingers have been, I can't say that for the rest of them. It grossed me out, all these women shoving their fingers in that icky, mushy soap.
Quite frankly in public restrooms, you're biggest threat is all the airborne germs floating around in one place. Coughing, sneezing, snot, etc.
I work for a veterinarian, and we handle all kinds of feces and urine all day long. We check it for parasite eggs, bacteria, sugar, etc. Most bacteria we find in feces are related to gastro intestinal problems, but can't be caught from the feces, they are just an indicator of what kind of bacteria is causing the upset. I've never caught anything but ringworm. The biggest day to day threat for us is cat bites. Those things are nasty. We disinfect those like crazy!
I have a friend in the Marines, who washes his hands *before* he goes to the bathroom, he says he knows where his privates have been, but can't be sure what he might have gotten on his hands.
I'm not a big germophobe. Water, friction and a good vigorous towel drying are the best bet.
I actually was very anti-germaphobe, and really almost never got sick, until I started working from home. It cemented my perception and yours that your immune system needs practice to work properly, but since I don't get regular exposure to coworkers/commuters and just go out for limited errands and sometimes with friends, my immune system has very little practice. So now I'm a bit more germaphobic, because if I am not, I get sick far more than I used to (still not a lot, but definitely more)
I am also really careful about handwashing in public because I have several immunocompromised people in my life (cancer, kidney transplant) and they've raised my awareness that if I'm out in a crowd, even if I won't get sick from me not washing my hands, they or someone else immunocompromised might if I'm touching anything they touch after me. So I actually wash my hands way less frequently when I'm at home than in public, where my lack of handwashing could put someone else at risk.
Many women use the bathroom where I work and MANY don't believe in washing or using soap, they think running water on their fingers for 2 seconds is enough and THEN touching the paper towel dispenser or door handle on the way out ICK !!!!
So what we did was put up a few signs such as "The CDC recommends using SOAP" and a few biohazard signs.
I wash my hands all the time at work and when I am out in public and use my elbow to get the paper towels out of the dispenser. I am not one to be obsessive over it but just the thought of some people touching their privates, especially when Aunt Flo is visiting and not washing their hands just skeeeeeeves me out !
Everyone's worried about the germs on our hands from wiping or flushing...but what about all the stuff positively SPEWED into the air when you flush? Is it not true that you should never, ever leave toothbrushes on the counter, or anything like that, because of the particles that come up from a toilet upon flushing? Aren't we also breathing in the stuff we're washing off our hands?
I'm like mkendrick...I wash sometimes, not others. If that makes me gross, so be it. I wash my hands before, during and after food preparation, before eating, after cleaning and touching animals and after coming into contact with someone I KNOW is sick. I have been sick, with mild colds only, TWO times in THREE years.
I don't get the whole anti-washing hands thing. People use the excuse that it's soap, bleach, and antibiotics that's making the bacteria/viruses worse. However, it's people that are not taking the antibiotics like they should that's making it so much worse (I do agree that too many people are taking antibiotic when not needed, and there are too many antibacterial soaps out there when regular soap does just fine). Also remember what was the average life expectancy before when there was no soap and antibiotics, and how many outbreaks of gastrointestinal infections there were. Babies do get sick because their mothers don't wash their hands after changing them. And people do get e coli and hepatitis (just to name a couple) from others not washing their hands. So just because you're not sick now doesn't mean anything. It's like playing russian roulette with your health as well as others, including babies (extreme comparison, but couldn't think of another one). I always wash the faucet handle with soap, even at home. Also I wash once for #1 and twice for #2.
Oh, BTW I also rarely get sick. Maybe once a year I'll get a slight cold only after my bf gets one, and his lasts a lot longer.
Last edited by den29; 10-04-2010 at 10:35 AM.
Reason: wrong word
For the record I am NOT a germaphobe, I simply believe in the sanitary practice of washing my hands after using the washroom. It is PROVEN to reduce the spread of viruses and germs and that is enough for me. I only use the sanitizer after being in the washroom because I know other people don't wash their hands, otherwise I don't use it very often.
I am well aware I can't live in a bubble and avoid all germs and I don't intend to try. But with the proven facts I think it's wise to do a simple thing to avoid germs that can make you ill.
I don't really like the idea of calling someone out, I think that's rude and there are more effective ways to get my point across. I do like the idea of speaking to HR although there are already signs up encouraging the washing of hands. We have a new health and wellness person for our area... I think as soon as I remember her name I'll send her a note.
wow, defensive. I was just stating what I've been taught and what I've learned in school, just like you were stating your opinions. Yes, in your posts you seemed very anti-handwashing. And just because your urine is "clean" doesn't mean I want it on things that I touch, just like I wouldn't want someone to put their hands on/in their privates or nose (or anything else I think is gross) and touch things I touch. Cleanliness and general hygiene is important especially when a simple handwashing can keep the bad germs (I do know they're not all "bad") away. This is my last reply as it seems you don't get my point. I just wanted to let others know, if they didn't already, that it's not about preference, it's about being hygienic and keeping epidemics at a minimum. I personally don't want gastroenteritis or hepatitis, so I wash my hands and hope others would be nice enough to do the same.
okay, one more post. I was talking about washing peoples hands after using the toilet, whether it be peeing or defecation. And my statements weren't just to you but as a group as a whole. You can get hepatitis and gastroenteritis from not washing your hands, I thought it was obvious I was talking about #2 in regards to these infections---there are scientific research on these infections and their causes. The first section of my last post was talking about the urine. And I don't do the last thing you wrote, because it's gross, in my opinion.
I can be a little OCD, but I don't expect everyone to do the same things I do, but I do hope others would generally be the "normally accepted" things, like washing hands after using the restroom.
Last edited by den29; 10-04-2010 at 08:46 PM.
Reason: add
