Why do some people not wash their hands after using the bathroom?

[raccoon]

I don't get that.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

1. They don't want to get their gun wet.

[orpupilofnature57]

3. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good one !!!!!!!!!!

[Snotcicles]

161. To give DU something to talk about on a slow day. nt

[Mira]

169. ...

[hack89]

2. Because we don't piss on our hands?. nt

[Major Nikon]

19. You don't have to

Imagine scratching your armpits before eating. Now imagine that just as many, if not more, germies reside in your genital area due to the warm moist environment and often have the tendency to harbor the worst sort due to their real estate being located next to the worst neighborhood in the human body for such things. Now consider that urine is usually sterile when it leaves the bladder and only gets contaminated by the same place you just put your hand(s). It's then you realize it's not really about pissing on your hands.

[Honeycombe8]

179. What the heck are doing in the bathroom to put your hands all over your genital area?

Sounds like you're having a lot more fun that I have in the bathroom!

[Major Nikon]

184. I shake it more than twice

[A HERETIC I AM]

66. There is an old joke......

A Harvard man and a Yale man (Or an Army guy and a Navy guy, or an executive and a trucker or whatever) are both standing at the urinal. They both finish at the same time and the Yaley heads for the door and the Harvardite heads for the sink. The Harvard fella says in his most posh tone "You know, at Harvard, they teach us to wash our hands after using the facilities."

The Yaley says "Yeah? Well at Yale they teach us not to piss on our hands."

[smirkymonkey]

164. LOL!

[Ikonoklast]

106. Have someone take a swab from your hands, then get back to me.

We practiced HAACP certified safe food handling procedures, testing all equipment and surfaces for pathogens was a daily procedure.

Humans were the weak link in the chain.

If you ewere suspected of leaving a restroom without sanitizing your hands, you got tested.

One warning, then disciplinary action up to and including dismissal if employee didn't correct their behavior.

[itsrobert]

4. The public bathroom sink is one of the dirtiest places in the bathroom

It is filled with bacteria. Maybe one reason.

[chemp]

10. I was taught this early...

1. Grab towels from dispenser. Tuck under arm.
2. Wash hands well, dry with towels, turn off faucet with towel.
3. Open door with towels.
4. Toss towels in trash if in reach, default, floor.

[raccoon]

11. Great post. nt

[UnrepentantLiberal]

22. Are you Monk?

[12AngryBorneoWildmen]

75. Love it. :o) nt

[BigD_95]

42. I hear you

public bathrooms scare me

[Bonn1997]

45. Too much hassle. I'd rather just use my hand sanitizer

[riderinthestorm]

186. The hand sanitizer is hell on my dry, cracked hands. The alcohol in them makes it 10x worse.

When your hands are in my work rough condition, they are prone to more bacterial infections so I try not to do anything that dries them out more.

I wash but harbor no real hope that its doing anything. The bathroom sinks are disgusting just about anywhere you go so it feels moot. Most public washrooms have hand driers (even worse for my chapped hands) so the paper towel method of keeping hands clean is also never a real solution either.

[KitSileya]

50. Yes, yes, yes.

Or, alternately (where it is possible) use your elbow to turn off the faucet. Many places they no longer use paper towels. I also try to open the restroom doors as much as possible with my elbow, which is possible here in Europe where the handle is just that, and not a knob.

My pet peeve is the soaps they often have in public restrooms, to many of which I am allergic. When I forget to bring my own soap, I rinse my hands thoroughly.

[TxDemChem]

97. That's how I do it

But then again my stepmom is a surgical nurse. We also wash long enough to sing happy birthday all the way through. It's tedious but thorough. I hate when people don't even attempt to wash!

[abelenkpe]

101. That's the best way! Nt

[NCTraveler]

107. +1. Every time. nt.

[SMC22307]

115. Don't leave them on the floor...

that's rude. A cleaning person making *maybe* $8/hour has a tough enough job without picking up those cruddy paper towels. Other than that, agree with not touching faucets, and especially bathroom door handles...blech!

[uppityperson]

117. Thank you. Dropping them on the floor for someone else is rude and not necessary.

[AngryOldDem]

162. That is definitely not fair to the cleaning person.

They have a tough enough, and thankless enough, job as it is, and I will not add to it.

If there is not a trashcan near the door, then just hold on to the towel until you can find one, if you don't want to touch the door handle with your bare hands.

Total disregard/disrespect for office cleaning staff kind of pisses me off, because a lot of people are just total, disgusting slobs who think their mommies will still clean up after them, instead of a low-wage, hard working person who deserves just as much respect as the highest CEO in the building.

[yellerpup]

127. I learned that from my cousin with hepatitis

She came to visit while she was waiting on a liver transplant and I took her to the Metropolitan Museum. That is exactly what she did to keep herself safe from infection and I have practiced it every day since. Great advice!

[ZombieHorde]

128. I do that. nt

[trixie]

133. OMG

Mom is that you?


I do this too. At all times, in every situation. I can't stand the pigs around me who slop water everywhere and slop their soup and ........I can't go on.

[HiPointDem]

135. unlike the pigs that leave wet paper towels on the floor?

[trixie]

193. I do not leave wet towels on the floor

I DO NOT!

Just went and looked at original post - yikes! Did not see the part where you drop them on the floor. Well! For cripes sakes! No, no, no!

That last part ruined the whole thing.

[HiPointDem]

134. you were taught to throw your used paper towels on the floor if the garbage wasn't near the door?

to avoid touching a metal door handle?

lol/

[RKP5637]

151. Nothing worse than grabbing the door handle and then your prick and picking up

all sorts of topical skin diseases. And at the very minimal, do as you said. When I drive cross country anymore I carry a small bottle of hand sanitizer so I can do my hands before and after. The before part is the difficult part, doing it so you don't get weird looks at the urinal.

[appleannie1]

153. Exact. Taught kids that too. One of the reasons I hate dryers, but use tp if no towels

[Jenoch]

154. The problem with your steps

Is that you are grabbing the paper towels with unwashed hands. I turn on the faucet, wash hands, grab towels, dry hands, use one towel to turn ofd the water and another to open tbe door. I get some strange looks occasionally, but I have not had influenza in many years. I wish I could say the same about colds.

[Scuba]

160. Bingo. That's my default setting. I've been in lots of public bathrooms that are ...

... far dirtier than my genitals.

I keep a squirt bottle of Purell in my truck for situations where there are no towels.

[WinkyDink]

168. "default, floor"? Oh, yeah; you were taught REAL well.

[alphafemale]

172. ...the floor???

wow. You are just a walking way of everlasting sunshine...Aren't you?

How about carrying said paper towel with you for 50 feet or so?

Drop it on the floor?

Because the person that has to lean down and pick up your scurvy moltings is a lower caste than you?

[lumberjack_jeff]

190. "The floor"? Taught by whom? n/t

[intheflow]

35. And using soap on your hands wouldn't help ward off that bacteria at all.

[RC]

53. Oh yes it does!

Soap makes water wetter. It is the mechanical action of washing your hands with soap that gets rid of the germs.

[pnwmom]

58. Then don't touch the sink. And if no paper towels are available for

turning faucets off, then do it with only one hand.

[valerief]

83. Yes, that's why I just piss in my work cube.

[randome]

84. I don't think the sarcasm tag was needed.

[valerief]

86. Nowadays with all the right wingers here, you never know! nt

[pasto76]

92. that's dimestore intellectual bullshit dude

the sink is not any more dirty than anything else in that latrine. but say that you are correct, then the proper thing to do is wash, grab towel, turn off faucet with towel so you dont touch the knob. Open door with towel. Dispose of towel.

but lets get back to reality. the prevalence of hands free sinks, towel dispensers or dryers and no doors on bathrooms means that basically there is no excuse. And it is the #1 cause for illness. everytime you get a "stomach flu" or "stomach virus", it is oral-fecal contamination.

[pasto76]

99. Have any of you taken bacteriology. this is what we learned the first week

first day we went all over campus. "go ahead, swab whatever you think _wont_ be contaminated" says Prof.


a week later, 100.0% of the cultures had fecal flora in them. Doorknobs, light switches, all the usual suspects were hit as well.

So you might think "see, there is no point to washing your hands"

but the reality is, if everybody washed their hands, it wouldnt be everywhere.

Regular college students handle pathogens everyday in labs. But somehow, with basic 'aseptic' techniques, we dont contaminate ourselves and spread the bacteria all over our lives. Its a miracle. Not really.

Pay attention to what you touch. If you touch a public surface, sanitize or wash your hands.

I see guys come out of the portajons at work everyday, then go grab their sandwiches. Disgusting. And Im not kidding, at least one person (often the same person) goes home once a week with a "stomach bug". oral-fecal contamination.

that path of illness also took out 28 of 36 soldiers in my platoon in Iraq for a week. Nothing like having explosive diarrhea AND be stuck in Iraq.

[shanti]

131. exactly

and when you go out shopping, on public transportation, etc., always WASH YOUR HANDS when you return home, and don't touch your face until you do so.

and carry hand sanitizer!

[HiPointDem]

136. Funny, I did the same exercise in Bac & the results were quite different. Your college must have

had a very high traffic bathroom.

[bettyellen]

119. Norovirus spreads quickly through aerosolized (sic) vomit

They used to think it was only oral/ fecal but it spreads fast and wide as micro particles from vomit can travel far in the air and stay contagious for many days.
That's why the outbreaks are so hard to prevent.
Says the lady who spent Xmas vomiting.

[shanti]

132. *shudder*

sorry to hear that! i hate to vomit more than just about anything!

[Honeycombe8]

180. I've read the germiest place in the bathroom is the floor. Don't put your purse on the floor! nt

[In_The_Wind]

5. Could it be because their hands are cleaner than the faucet handles.

I'm a big fan of the public bathrooms with motion sensors that turn the water on so you don't need to touch anything.

[liberal N proud]

24. I see it where there are automatic faucets as well.

[In_The_Wind]

28. Sheesh . . . I don't touch the door if I can find a way to avoid it.

Tissues are your fiend. [img][/img]

[liberal N proud]

61. For sure

Always walk out of the restroom with a paper towel to open the door.

[wildeyed]

68. Yes!

And then a door that opens out so I can push it open with my hip or back out and not have to touch anything or mess around with grabbing knobs with paper towels.

So far this year, we have had pneumonia and a stomach flu so violent that one of my children was admitted overnight for observation. We have not had the regular flu or strep that has been going around. I am trying to keep it that way! If more hand washing means fewer doctor visits, I am onboard.

[In_The_Wind]

78. We haven't been sick this winter.

I'm hibernating.
I shopped at BJ's between Christmas and New Year.
I go through the drive thru at CVS and my bank.
We carry hand sanitizer in both cars.

Lots of schools in New York are closing due to the flu.

So sorry that you and your children have been sick.

[wildeyed]

85. Just hoping to make it through the rest of the sick season unscathed.

We are doing sanitizer like crazy people too, and I have stepped up the nutrition considerably. Lots of fresh fruit, juice and smoothies.

[In_The_Wind]

88. Apples, oranges, bananas in abundance.

We are in the old folks category.
We talked about getting flu shots and decided against it.
My husband works part time as a caregiver for a disabled young man.
It's lucky for us that we can stay away from crowded areas during peak shopping times.

Hurry up Springtime. [img][/img]

[OswegoAtheist]

143. Automatic everything

Automatic, no-touch faucets, soap dispensers, hand dryers, towel dispensers.

Oswego "And yet the fucking doors are still manual open!" Atheist

[In_The_Wind]

144. I see what you're getting at

but perhaps automatic doors wouldn't be safe.

just sayin'

[hlthe2b]

6. LAZY....

CDC once did an informal study of physicians and other HCWs and even a mini study of its own staff.... While better rates than the general public, still abysmal.

Anyone who doesn't up their compliance--especially during cold and flu (and NOROVIRUS) season, is just nuts.

[tavalon]

21. So I can't blame my obsessive washing habits to being a HCW?

Crap. Wait, gotta wash my hands after that.

[xoom]

7. I'm not sure... Its pretty gross when you think about it.

As a man. Ive seen men in public use the restroom flush the urinal and use the door handle to open the door.all without washing.now the next person to use that door is pretty much touching his dirty hand.

I always wash and use a towel to open the door.

[safeinOhio]

13. Paper towels are gone.

Jet powered hand dryers are in. At least you can hear them run and know who doesn't.

[xoom]

15. Not in all places. But in that case I would need something between my hand and the door handle.

[safeinOhio]

23. time to invent the Germinator.

and if you act right now, you'll get two for the low, low price of $19.99 plus shipping.

[xoom]

25. Haha, right on!

[Bluenorthwest]

33. Dyson Airblade plus no door entry and exit...

I love this machine...
http://www.dysonairblade.com/homepage.asp

[Historic NY]

62. Somebody still has to sanitize it once in a while.

[tavalon]

20. Yep, that's my trick

and that's why I'm not fond of the air dryers unless I have a paper towel to open the door.

[nc4bo]

8. Take a shit than go prepare the food in the kitchen.

Is disgusting and endangers the public's health.

Wash your damn hands. Clean the damn bathrooms regularly. Wall mounted hand sanitizers should be everywhere so they are easy to see and use!

Additional thoughts on cleanliness and hygiene - all sinks should have auto-sensors installed so there's no need to touch a faucet, the same with paper towel dispensers. Toilets can also have sensors installed.

[RKP5637]

152. I travel cross country sometimes and some of the bathrooms I've run across are

more like cesspools than bathrooms. They really need a hazmat crew to clean them up some.

[Recursion]

9. Because my junk is cleaner than the faucet (nt)

[raccoon]

12. If you're not in the habit of doing this, I give you absolution. Please get

into the habit of following the advice in post #10.

Thank you.

[tavalon]

26. It's extremely good advice

Especially during the winter but really, anytime.

[Enrique]

27. i've never seen anyone do the steps in #10

if someone is not in the habit of washing their hands, I would keep the advice simple: wash your hands.

[obamanut2012]

43. everyone i know does this

[Enrique]

54. when they go to the bathroom with you maybe

when they go to the bathroom with me, they wash their hands normal if at all

[glowing]

14. I always wash my hands after using the bathroom, and should more often in between, but my

hands get dry and will crack with too much washing. Also, it is semi-good for our bodies to have a natural build up against germs, etc. And washing everything "biotic" off of us, isn't always the best for us. I hate taking anti-biotics. They've become stronger and "faster" in the administering of the doses. Everytime I take these anti-biotics, my Dr also gives me a the pill scrip for a yeast infection that I will get after the anti-biotics kill my "good" bacteria.

I honestly do everything I can to avoid taking any antibiotics at all. I was starting to get this super flu, it had been floating around me with the son, husband, boss, and various guests at the hotel I work at. I vitamined up, rested, and ate my miracle homemade chicken noodle soup. 3 days and I was on the mend, where most of the people on the list above had gone to a Dr and gotten anti-biotics (which don't actually combat the flu, just any "biotic" infection that may have arose with the flu, like an ear or throat infection- which my son had in consecutive order- he hasn't been able to really get over this constant head congestion that slips into his chest every so often- probably because he's literally in the "flu factory", called school).

[NoMoreWarNow]

29. yes, especially in the winter, too much hand washing causes dry skin and hand sores

[glowing]

76. And having cracked hands is worse for stemming off germs, etc.

During really cold winters in FL, the heat from the central a/c-heating unit is extremely drying in the air. My hands can become so dry and chapped, that my finger tips literally crack and split open. An open sore that is exposed and can bleed at times is worse than continued hand washing at times. I really hate when this happens. My mother and sister have it worse living in VT, they naturally have longer, prolonged time of dealing with cold, dry air and the dryness that their wood stoves can cause. They both have a kettle on their wood stoves to create humidity in the home to combat the dryness, but their hands still become very chapped (perhaps its a hereditary thing, we are also allergic to certain things like metals and various weeds-- I have to wear gloves when I garden, or break out).

[DebJ]

173. I found that my hands are greatly helped by applying a thin coat of Vaseline every night.

All the extra chemicals in hand lotions just make it worse.

[glowing]

176. I will use that goobed up with a bandaid overtop if my hands get really bad.

There is this stuff my grandpa used to use that worked well, it was the same type of stuff that was used for cow udders to keep the cows nipples from chaffing and cracking when being milked by machine. I forget what that stuff was.

[deek]

185. Bag Balm?

[glowing]

187. That's the stuff. Sat on the back of my grandmas sink

We all used it. Grandmas was grand central. We spent half our life in that house. LOL

And none of us really wanted to admit that Grandpas stuff worked better than any other lotion or cream.

[riderinthestorm]

189. +1. Honestly, I really think about it too with my chapped hands. They really suffer in winter

So my first choice is simply to wait and use the bathroom at home. If I can't wait my second choice is, if I'm going straight home from wherever I am, I will usually NOT wash, put on my winter gloves, head home and wash at home where I have better soaps and a soft towel. My gloves can get washed and I can avoid more exposure to the harmful bacteria in public washrooms that WILL invade my weakened skin immune system. I usually buy a lot of those $1 stretchy gloves at the beginning of the winter so I always have a rotating supply both in my car, my purse and in the wash.

But of course if I'm stuck I simply grit my teeth and wash. The hand dryers make me cringe - I just know its gonna hurt later!

[quinnox]

16. it is pretty disgusting, many people never develop habits of basic hygiene

Washing your hands, not just after using the bathroom, but before you eat, is one of the easiest and most important habits for your health. I am obsessive about washing my hands, and when you wash them, really wash them, with soap. No, putting your hands under running water for ten seconds without soap doesn't count.

[tavalon]

17. Can't help you. It's hard wired into this Nurse/germaphobe

Now, after extensive research, I have given up antibacterial soap in favor of plain old soap, but I can't remember a time I didn't wash and can barely remember the time I didn't have the happy birthday song in my head so that I know the proper amount of time to wash.

I do know that about two years ago, my hospital had us doing a skills fair where they coated our hands with a dye that showed up under black light and had us wash and then check. Not a speck on my hands. This girl is obsessive.

[Skidmore]

73. Same here and I'm not a nurse.

Even when we have guests for dinner, I announce a little ahead of serving time that this is last chance for people to go wash their hands if they need to. The grandkids head to the bathroom en masse before setting the table and have a joint handwashing session, at which time we hear either the birthday song or the a-b-c song being sung for the appropriate amount of time. We also use the Method lliquid handwashing soaps which have detectable scents to doublecheck for the littlest one who is ever so busy sometimes. No scent, no play, snack, or meal until he washes. I really feel that if I'm exercising the proper hygiene to make certain that the food I prepare for you in my kitchen does not make you sick, you can at least exercise proper hygiene while in my home. It is common courtesy.

[msanthrope]

91. I do the same thing!!! And I make sure my guests see that I wash properly at the kitchen sink

before I serve them.

[csziggy]

138. Mom MADE us wash our hands regularly

After using the bathroom, before and after food prep - and in between steps if handling raw meat, when arriving home, after sneezing or coughing, etc. Plain old soap and water were our major way of avoiding catching stuff.

She was a RN who was trained before antibiotics were commonly available. Sulfa drugs were an option but they were not as effective. Good sanitation was the only real defense against rampant spreading infections.

Even by the time I was old enough to notice and when antibiotics were common, she enforced the hand washing routines - and she still does!

[SummerSnow]

18. Someone tried to give me a drink of water with lipstick on the glass.

[NoMoreWarNow]

30. I always wash after #2 but not always after #1

because a lot of times I don't touch anything when just pissing.

I always use a towel or my sleeve to open the door.

Too much hand washing can cause dry, cracked skin that is painful and unhealthy.

[SemperEadem]

44. that is what tubes of hand lotion are for

wash your hands!

[NoMoreWarNow]

170. I don't like putting on lotion all the time

and if I thought my hands were dirty, I would wash them.

[Mosaic]

31. because they're dirty animals

Most of them anyway.

[davidpdx]

32. True, I'm probably a bit OC

When I was in China the bathrooms were disgusting. They have what I call "crappers" where you have to squat and crap.

Speaking of that have you heard this joke:

*Shakes hand* Hi, what do you use to wipe your butt? (response: Toilet paper, What do you use to wipe your butt?) I use my hand.

I said that to one of my Chinese students last year. The look of horror on her face was worth pretty funny. I enjoyed teaching them the dirty jokes.

[gvstn]

38. I don't think they call them "crappers"

Here you go:

[formercia]

49. Those are nice ones

I was thinking of the ones that are just a hole in the floor.

[davidpdx]

145. I call them crappers

because the crap goes everywhere. I know TMI.

[Warren Stupidity]

46. You wrecked the joke.

Joke:
"which hand do you use to wipe your butt?"
"My left hand."
"Really? I use toilet paper."

[davidpdx]

146. Ah fuck I did

I can't tell a joke very well.

[retread]

34. You still have to use the same door they and all of the "unwashed" used to exit.

[SemperEadem]

41. which is why you keep the towel you used to wipe your hands

in your hand to open the door and dispose of the towel outside.

one of the main places where everyone washes their hands for sure is the airport... because there is always someone in there who saw you leave the stall after flushing.

[RC]

59. Nope. When done, they will go in front of the mirror and primp for a few seconds, then leave.

Pay attention next time.

[SemperEadem]

121. I HAVE paid attention

and the bathrooms I've been in, they wash their hands... so why don't YOU accept the fact that your little reality isn't everyone's reality. Pompous gnat.

[RC]

122. Maybe you need to except the fact that a lot of people do not wash their hands.

I used to fly quite a bit. I know what I saw all too often.
Pompous gnat indeed. Look in a mirror some time before the name calling, huh?

[june starling]

183. Do you take care to keep your inside as clean?

Or do you eat rotting dead flesh and cow pus?

[maggiesfarmer]

36. selfishness: handwashing after using toilet has more to do with preventing your germs from

spreading to others than protecting yourself from infection

[TroglodyteScholar]

37. I am disgusted by the number of non-washers...

...saying, "my genitals are so very clean I don't need to wash."

Fuck you, pisslover, and wash your goddamn hands!

[SemperEadem]

39. because

they are fuckin' nasty, that's why.

[obamanut2012]

40. I never do in a public restroom -- ever

Disgusting and filthy and full of germs. I am able to get in and pee and get out without having to touch anything that doesn't belong to me. As others have said, the sink and door in a public restroom are just disgusting.

[Bonn1997]

47. Ditto

[formercia]

48. I always wash my hands before going to the Bathroom

I like to keep my pistol clean.

I also was afterwords and use a paper towel or tissue to open the door. I hate Public Restrooms.

[greymattermom]

51. urine is sterile

It's only the other end that has bacteria in it.

[Robb]

52. Only while it's in your body.

[jeff47]

110. Just how long are you in contact with your urine after it leaves your body?

And I'm rather curious how you accomplish that in a standard public bathroom. Do you bring your own containers?

[Robb]

113. I should have been more specific.

Urine is sterile in the bladder; as it passes the urethra, where bacteria are common, the guarantee of sterility disappears.

[Major Nikon]

140. Actually only while it's in your bladder

Assuming no bladder infection is present, urine is pretty much sterile when it leaves your bladder but for the rest of the journey it commonly picks up germies and some of those could very well be pathogens.

[obamanut2012]

64. Yup -- your own urine won't hurt you in any way

[Major Nikon]

141. Urine isn't the point of washing your hands

Your junk most certainly isn't sterile. It occupies real estate that is adjacent to the other end you mentioned and it's a warm, moist environment that is perfect for germ reproduction. Most people don't pee without touching their junk, even if it's through toilet paper. It's kinda like scratching your bare armpits at the dinner table, only worse.

[cleveramerican]

55. its easy to be lazy

simple things you learned as a child are often forgotten later in life.

while its true the door handle as you leave is the dirtiest thing in the bathroom,
I still think washing your hands or at least rinsing them is VERY sensible.

[sharp_stick]

56. The most disgusting ones

are those idiots that are so careful to use one of those toilet seat covers, cause they don't want to put their cheeks where someone else did, then they wipe their ass with the dominant hand, open the stall door with same, then the two bathroom doors with same, then they eat lunch.

Add to that the lazy shitheads that open the door with a paper towel and then just toss it on the floor to leave it up to someone else.

Me, I wash my hands in the sink then again when I get back to the lab. I love having a lab, despise public bathrooms.

[tavernier]

57. Depends.

[LisaLynne]

60. I see what you did there.

[tavernier]

116. My girlfriend and I were discussing the nuisance of having to go to the BR

during an all day shopping spree. I said, "Hey, screw it, let's just go to the granny department and get us a package of those old lady diapers." She spit out her water!

[OnionPatch]

63. I guess if you're able to do your business without touching anything

it would be ok. My mind is now dreaming up automatic pant unzipperers and dongle holders, Jetsons style.

[tomtharp]

65. since hands are the dirtiest

part of the body and genitals among the cleanest, a scientist would wash their hands before going, to not get your genitals dirty.

[Baitball Blogger]

67. I'm actually concerned about this.

There is a study out that we all use too much anti-bacteria soap and that it's killing the good bacteria growing on our skin, along with the bad. So some very intelligent people are reaching the conclusion that they shouldn't use the anti-bacteria soap--how much longer before some of them just avoid it all together? Very dangerous combination when you mix hospital workers with this belief.

[randome]

69. Some people have too much on their minds. When they're about to go postal.

Beware!

Actually, I think some people are simply forgetful. Hopefully NOT about to go postal.

The people I notice at work who 'neglect' are mostly outdoor workers. Maintenance staff. Maybe they don't think it's all that necessary when they're about to grab another handful of grease outside?

[Squinch]

70. Because they are fundamentally icky.

[gollygee]

72. I know some people use hand sanitizer instead

I wash my hands and then touch everything afterward with paper towel.

I think it's possible to get a bit too obsessed with germs though.

[wildeyed]

74. I wash after the public bathroom and again as I enter my home.

I try very, very hard not to touch my face, ever, when I'm outside my house, since that is how most viruses are transmitted.

[CrispyQ]

90. This:

I try very, very hard not to touch my face, ever, when I'm outside my house, since that is how most viruses are transmitted.

I always wash my hands as soon as I return home. Soap, water & a brush on my nails. I'll bet there are almost as many germs on a grocery shopping cart as there are in the restroom.

[wildeyed]

94. Good point.

I need to start taking advantage of the disinfectant cart wipes they provide at the grocery store. I keep my grocery list on my phone so I touch the cart, touch my screen, touch my cart, get home, wash my hands, touch my screen...... Eeeeewwwww. So many ways to get germs when you start thinking about it!

[CrispyQ]

103. Relax & enjoy. After you wash your hand, of course!

&feature=share&list=PLCB9B9969DD12B3BF

[wildeyed]

148. Oh yeah, that works too :)

[smirkymonkey]

165. Very funny! Thanks for that.

I tend to agree with him for the most part. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I do wash my hands, but only because it's the polite thing to do. Otherwise, I am not so particular about germs and I never use hand sanitizer - I don't believe in it.

[CrispyQ]

178. I tend to agree, too.

Loved the four parts of the body to clean daily! The most important thing - never touch your face until you've washed your hands.

A few years ago, I could not find a liquid hand soap in the regular grocers or drug store that didn't have some anti-bacterial element to it. I had to get some at the health food store.

[needledriver]

77. I am male.

Washing hands after passing solid waste? Without question.

After passing liquid waste? If my hands are dirty I wash them before I pee. If I avoid peeing on my hands (which is most of the time) I frequently don't bother to wash my hands afterward. I shower in the morning and put on clean underwear. If I can somehow avoid peeing my pants (which is most of the time) why should I fear that just because I have touched myself below the belt line I have somehow soiled or contaminated my hands?

Where I see the real disconnect is that many people who profess discomfort at the idea that people who used the bathroom did not wash their hands will nonetheless enthusiastically put their lips and tongue on or take into their mouths the very same body parts that the mere touching of would require a washing of hands.

*disclaimer. Anal tonguing? Won't go there. eeew.

[randome]

81. Urine 'mists' up from the urinal.

So it's nearly impossible not to get some on your hands unless you have an automated penis/fly contraption. (Which sounds cool, doesn't it?)

Not that I'm pretending to lecture you or anyone about bathroom etiquette, I'm just suggesting a point to consider.

[Agschmid]

89. Okay ready for gross...

But I think many men pee in the sink (which negates the whole urinal thing) I had a discussion the other night with some friends about this at a bar. Not something I do but apparently a portion of people I know have done it.

Do I need new friends?

?!?!

[randome]

109. I did that when my house in Kansas was flooded. But that's the only time.

That brings up an interesting question, though: do women pee in the shower? Ladies?

On edit: my daughters just woke up. They say 'Yes'!

They don't always appreciate my 'question of the day'.

[jeff47]

111. Depends on the angle you use.

The closer to 90 degrees from the surface, the more "splash back".

So aim for an oblique angle.

[needledriver]

114. I see what you are saying.

It seems like some urinals are designed to maximize splash back. I actually prefer using the kiddie urinal for just that reason.

I don't know that my efforts are worthy of a "mist"...

[Whisp]

96. I would Not want to shake your hand.

sorry, you may think your wee wee is clean enough but that's not convincing enough to me. I wouldn't touch you with a 20 foot internet connection after knowing that.


*horks

[phylny]

102. I love men, including my husband, and have been with enough men to know

that penises get sweaty with a somewhat distinctive odor when they are confined to underwear.

I really don't want to shake the hand, touch the pen, door handle, or anything else that has the vestiges of penis sweat of a perfect stranger on it.

So, unless you piss with your penis swinging free, if you hold it when you go, please wash your hands.

[Whisp]

79. omg yes, especially guys...

they have to Hold that thing to pee...

*vomits.

[TwilightGardener]

80. Because they're gross and uncivilized.

[valerief]

82. People who don't wash after handling "down there" are GROSS. nt

[DinahMoeHum]

87. If the public bathroom has the option of hand sanitizer. . .

. . .either inside or outside the place, I use that if the faucets and splashguards themselves are wet and unclean. That happens all too often, unfortunately.

Otherwise, I grit my teeth and wash my hands in the normal fashion, but I use the paper towel to touch the faucet afterwards.

As it is, if you're in a hospital for awhile, you'll see that most doctors/nurses use the hand sanitizers coming into AND going out of a room.

[whoisthatis]

93. The bathroom door handle is what really freaks me out!

All of those unwashed hands touch that handle.

[tjwash]

95. I see Howard Hughes has started a thread

[A HERETIC I AM]

98. Raccoon is good peeps....

But your post is funny!

[mountain grammy]

100. There oughta be a law.. oh wait, there is, if you are a food handler.

Other than that, I got a good laugh out of this thread!

[Tippy]

104. Simple fact ....they are lazy

[RiffRandell]

105. Because they are disgusting.

I am by no means the perfect parent, but my kids always wash their hands after using the bathroom, when they get home, before they eat, etc...I taught them young. My son would tell me how many boys (guys no offense) would use the "stalls" at school and not wash their hands and just walk right out of the bathroom.

My last job I would sometimes be working near the bathroom and always witnessed people going into the bathroom, hearing the toilet flush and then seeing them walk right back out.

Don't even get me started on leaving the toilet seat up.

[Walk away]

108. That is nasty. Yikes!

Shake???

[Speck Tater]

112. Because they like the taste of feces? nt

[GoCubsGo]

120. Correction: Why do MOST people not wash their hands after using the bathroom?

Just this morning, I was reading an article on flu prevention and hand-washing. It said that 91% claim they always wash their hands, but only 17-26% of the population actually wash them. http://health.yahoo.net/experts/dayinhealth/easiest-cheapest-way-stay-healthy.

I don't get it, either.

[Matt_R]

123. I've had a few jobs where being dirty was a prerequisite.

Mostly wearing gloves and tyvek disposable when doing those jobs, but you do get sweaty, mostly hands in my case. So I would wash before and after going to the restroom, public and private. Before meals, before preparing meals and I detest people who lick their fingers instead of washing with soap and water.

[Texas Lawyer]

124. I don't usually use public bathrooms, but when I do, I follow this 7-step process learned at the CDC

1. I take off my pants before entering the bathroom (to avoid aerosolized urine mist on my pants),
2. I open the bathroom door with a special grappling hook feature built into the heel of my shoe,
3. I unzip my plastic undergarment and - using my penis tongs - I wash my genitals in the sink with disinfecting soap,
4. I relieve myself standing not less than 4 feet back from the urinal (again, this is to avoid aerosolized urine mist),
5. I wash my genitals and my hands in the sink and air dry them by waiving them vigorously back and forth,
6. I re-package my genitalia using my tongs, dispose of the tongs, and re-zip my plastic undergarment,
7. I hover near the exit until someone else opens the door and I dart out and put my pants back on.

After having read this whole discussion, I am surprised to see that no one else has mentioned this 7-step process.

[randome]

142. Are you really a lawyer?

[Texas Lawyer]

159. Yes. Ask me anything about civil rights or urinal protocol.

[redqueen]

147. Penis tongs.

[lunatica]

125. I had a co-worker tell me her optometrist's hands smelling like piss

when she had her hands near her face. That's pretty disgusting.

[Blue_In_AK]

126. I wash my hands,

but I'm not nearly so obsessive with the towels on the doorknobs, etc., and I'm hardly ever sick. Germs are a fact of life and the more we get used to them and adapt to their presence, the better, in my opinion.

[Fumesucker]

129. My biggest gripe is bathrooms you have to pull or even turn a knob to get out of

What's the point of washing your hands if you're going to have to immediately grab something everyone else grabs?

Most of the time I use an extra towel but that's unnecessary waste.

[Bjornsdotter]

191. Me too!

I hate washing my hands only to find that I have to touch the handle to get out. I do the same as you I use an extra towel and if the bathroom has only hand dryers I use toilet paper. I refuse to be a prisoner in that bathroom!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

130. Or, scratching their heads, picking their nose, wiping their mouths, or eating?

[Jamaal510]

137. Mostly because of laziness and/or lack of knowledge about proper hygiene.

[Matariki]

139. Why do some people care about what others do in the bathroom?

I once went into a stall at my workplace bathroom to hike up my pantyhose. I left the restroom without washing my hands because it wasn't necessary. A day later some busy body who was in the bathroom at the time plastered the restroom with signs about 'seeing someone not wash their hands and how everyone should wash hands'. I couldn't help but think the person was WAY too concerned with other people's stuff and probably needed more to do at work.

[redqueen]

149. Even if you *don't* use the restroom, if you touch anything in there, you should wash your hands.

the mist sent up by the lidless toilets in public restrooms can spread diseases.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23040490
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22132229

[CBHagman]

150. Mayo Clinic on how to avoid the norovirus.

[url]http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/norovirus/DS00942/DSECTION=prevention[/url]

Norovirus infection is highly contagious. Follow these suggestions to help prevent norovirus infection from spreading:

Wash your hands. Thorough hand-washing, especially after using the toilet or changing a diaper, can reduce the risk of transmission.

Avoid contaminated food and water. Don't eat shellfish that may have come from contaminated waters. Throw out any food that may have been prepared by someone who was sick.

Disinfect virus-contaminated areas. Use a chlorine bleach solution. Where possible, allow bleach to stay on surfaces longer than 10 minutes.

Stay home from work. This is especially important if you work in a food-handling job. You may be contagious as long as three days after your symptoms end.

And every time I see advice on how to avoid the flu or even the common cold, it's always the same: Wash your hands frequently.

[benld74]

155. They are dirty filthy swine!

I used to pull extra paper towels for the door handle on the way out. But a move to another facility provided us with automatic doors! Now no more with the handle, just a bump with the hip into the door operner does the trick!

[applegrove]

156. My one hand flushes as my other hand turn

the tap on. I'm washing my hands as the toilet flushed is how fast I am.

[Nevernose]

157. "Did you piss on your hands?"

Said my brother to his then five year old. "Then you don't need to wash them."

Granted, he was kind of a dick about it, and I would never talk to my own kid that way. We were one multi-mile hike when it came to Uncle Nevernose to teach the kids how to piss in the woods. My brother is not a schoolteacher by trade, so the process became way more traumatic than it should have been. It ended up with my brother screaming at his kids, "Did you piss on them? Then you don't need to wash them. Your junk is no dirtier than the rest of you."

And while it was a dickish way of talking to one's kid, I also understand losing one's patience (and any parent who says that they've never lost patience with their kid and said something they regret is a liar). However, it struck me: if I haven't pissed on them, and my junk hasn't been used for "reproductive" purposes lately, then really what's the purpose? Do they have more bacteria than my hands? Will it be the end of the world if I skip the washing for one reason or another occasionally? If I wajh my hands probably 20 times a day, if I skip once after a quick pee am I spreading germs that otherwise wouldn't have spread? Is there a reason for me to believe that germs are somehow more attracted to my crotch than to my elbow?

[ChoppinBroccoli]

158. Urine Is Sterile

The more EPA regulations get chipped away, there's an increasingly better chance that the water you use to wash your hands contains more toxins than any urine you might get on your hands (which, once again, has NONE).

[Hekate]

166. Unless the person has a UTI or infection in the surrounding external area.

Then it is by no means "sterile."

Ugh.

[Prometheus Bound]

163. Because they have no sense of hygiene and no respect for the people they come in contact with.

[Hekate]

167. The summer my aunt had typhoid fever and we all shared a cabin...

She was ailing, but not bedridden (yet) and did a lot of the kitchen work for the families. After we all left she was hospitalized and we got chased across 3 states before the health department caught up with us and quarantined us at our own home. They suspected she caught typhoid when a major flood in Denver (1955? '56?) washed the sewage out in the open.

Now the interesting thing is this: Auntie was a compulsive handwasher. NONE of the rest of us got sick.

In my family, lesson learned.

[Coyotl]

171. To avoid touching anything in a public bathroom! D'oh!!

Why don't people wash their hands after touching a grocery cart?

[DebJ]

174. If the faucets would put out HOT water instead of ice blocks, perhaps

more people would be encouraged to wash. I'm always delighted when I find that one
public restroom for the year that actually has warm water. I've seen many places
where the hot faucet doesn't work at all/has been disabled.

[DebJ]

175. Our local public school does not ALLOW the students to wash their hands, no kidding.

Instead, after they leave the restroom, they are given hand sanitizer in the hall by a monitor.
This was done because of the students constant destruction of the rest rooms, plugging up the
sinks with towels, turning on the water, etc.

[Honeycombe8]

181. The irony is that santizer eventually kills the GOOD germs, which naturally protect you

from the bad germs, resulting in weakened immunity to the bad germs.

Best just to use soap & water to decrease the total germs all over, but not wipe them out.

[doc03]

177. Because 90% of those blow-dryers aren't worth shit and you

get your jeans wet drying your hands on them.

[Honeycombe8]

182. I do. I wash my hands 10+ times daily (I have pets). But sometimes it's not worth it.

I'm really careful when I go to the bathroom....there's nothing different about my hands afterward than before, except that I touched the door handles.

But as a matter of practice, I wash my hands after doing or touching anything unusual, known to have bad germs, or generally disgusting. I pick up poop from my dogs during their walks....I'm very careful & don't get anything on my hands. But that's a disgusting item to be picking up, so I carefully & thoroughly wash my hands as soon as I get home.

[JI7]

188. i don't understand why people don't Flush

[rug]

192. I've trained mine to zip and unzip.