Wash your hands, kids :)

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I once had a microbiologist tel me that she most likely washes her hands before going to the bathroom and with all the stuff I am exposed to I agree before and after LOL
 
I'm glad they point out that nothing there was really nasty. I once saw a piece of 'journalism' on the bbc about the 5-second rule, that if you pick up fallen food before a certain amount of time it would be okay. They did this test with food that was on the floor for 5 seconds and food that was just touched to the floor.....of course, both had some bad stuff going on. What they didn't do, though, was food that hadn't been on the floor, so there was no control sample and it irritated me much more than it ought to have done!
 
I already new this (as a nursing student) hehe. :) I'm not a kid but this is quite fun and educational.
We did something similar last year in the lab class, we cultured our hands, armpits and I chose to culture my glasses and car keys. To my surprise worst offender were my glasses, I counted more than 20 different colours of bacteria and fungi.
We also cultured our noses to see who has Golden staph, I was one of the lucky ones without it.
The smell that came out of those dishes was really funky.
We also did one experiment were we dipped our hands (gloved) in the solution of E.coli, while covered in toilet paper, simulating well know action. Unwashed hands grew tons of it, while hands washed in normal liquid soap (syndet but still soap) grew almost none. Food for thought there...
 
I am obsessively washing my hands, and I can not understand how other people in office do not. How I know it; they told me they use hand sanitizer and look at me like I am crazy washing my hands so often. eh
 
What a neat experiment. A picture really is worth a thousand words. I love that the CDC recommends washing hands with soap and water, and using alcohol based cleansers if soap and water are not available. Regular soap, not anti-bacterial soap. The wonderful stuff we make is the best defense against all the nasties. Thanks CDC!
 
I worked for several years in a micro lab and I still obsessively wash my hands. I hate touching washroom doors on the way out as I know how many people don't wash their hands. The other day a lady went to walk out of the public loos without washing her hands. She saw my look of disgust and horror reflected in the mirror and came back to wash them. A little pointless though considering she clearly doesn't bother normally!
 
When I was an engineer in a large Kansas City firm there was a male engineer with a company wide reputation as an OCD hand washer. Each time he washed, the process took 10-15 minutes with lots and lots of soap and paper towels. He felt compelled to wash each arm multiple times from hand to above the elbow.

Poor guy ... I don't know what happened to him in the long run, but even I could tell from his behavior outside the rest room that he had some serious emotional issues. (Not being a guy, I never personally saw his hand washing routine.)

That's going a little too far in the name of good hygiene!

Working in industry and as an instructor at the local community college, I realized that good handwashing habits did keep me from getting colds and the flu as much. That alone is argument enough for me to wash well, but I don't feel nutty about it. Just sensible. If at all possible, I also use my paper towel to open the door when leaving the rest room rather than touch the handle with my hands. Many businesses are now putting trash bins close to the exit door to make it easier to properly discard the towel as one leaves -- I appreciate that!
 
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I won't call myself a germaphobe, but do take hand washing seriously. I saw something a long time ago on Oprah about the proper timing for handwashing (basically you sing the Happy Birthday song twice). I know I take longer than most people when I visit public restrooms while humming the song. At home, I like to admire my own soap so take even longer!

I also like to use the paper towel to open things... so many women don't wash their hands at all (ick!). I hear even fewer men wash. They actually, umm, touch things. Ewww!
 
In Philippines we wash our hand with just a normal soap we're not a fan of anti-bacterial soap. We're not so obsess of washing hand as much as people in UK. But we're more healthier than people from western world. Believe me we are clean people but we don't use anti-bacterial stuff.
 
My sister is a biologist and drilled it into my head to not use antibacterial soaps as their use creates resistant bacteria strains. Regular soap is the best choice and if in a pinch a high alcohol based gel is ok but not better than soap. I trust her and we stay pretty healthy so must be doing something right.
 
Depending on which building you are in at my school, some of the bathrooms are "touchless". Pressure plates at the doors open the door, auto urinals, movement sensing sinks, soap dispensers and paper towel dispensers or dryers. It's kind of cool to be able to take care of business with out having to touch a single common surface.
Except the floor which by the way guys, You've got around 3 square feet of urinal to hit from a very close range. Why the hell are you peeing on the floor?!
 
Grossed out and satisfied that I clicked the link. Must be morbid curiosity. Also, I don't think hand-washing is being addressed to kids nowadays, they're more interested in handheld games and/or selfies right now.
 
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