How Germaphobic are you?

[Cranbiz]

All these SG's are doing is contributing to making germs imune to the products on the market now.

It's no different than the overuse of Antibiotics. What we now have are super germs that are imune to things like penicillian and need newer much more expensive drugs to fight them.

[Shorty82]

This thread prompted me to respond to the one on Board X.

People wonder why there are more allergies and people getting sicker. It is because their bodies have never been exposed to the minor things so it doesn't know how to handle the major things.

[Princess Susi]

Chatting away in a PM about this made me wonder how many ppl are paranoid about getting a speck of dirt.

Evil Board X :mad: has a discussion going on this. A surprisingly lot of folks lysol down their whole hotel rooms before allowing their family to enter or touch anything. One woman will not allow her SO to touch her if he as much comes in any contact with the remote without washing his hands first.

So to what extreme are you germaphobic? I have no issues with sitting on a bench that others have sat on without wiping it down with Clorox wipes. We rarely get sick around here and when we do it goes away quicker then others who get the same illness. Positive thinking helps too I think.

Actually being exposed to germs makes you less susceptible to them, I believe. When I was a child, we ran around and touched everything, ate dirt, did all the kid things and colds and flu were not as rampant as they are now with all the kids being kept away from all the other kids with germys. Kids are going to get germs and they are gonna have colds and the like, but they build resistance by being exposed to the viruses, the body then produces a large amount of immunity to these bugs. That being said, bacteria are whole different animals. (punny). You can pick up some pretty nasty bacteria from city busses and stair railings by the subway and the like. :barf: TB is making a comeback, here in Colorado we have had at least 5 cases in the past several months and a few of those people have died. A couple of them were college students at two different campuses here in Colorado. I am not speaking of the infamous TB patient that was brought to Nat'l Jewish. I know 5 cases does not sound like a lot, but for a disease that was nearly eradicated in the western world, it is a big deal. How are people getting it and where? And it it is a HIGHLY transmissable disease.
Now, before you think I am Mrs. Monk or something, I am careful to some degree. We carry wet ones with us to wash our hands after we touch certain surfaces and we use a paper towel to grab the inside door handle of a bathroom, (how many people do NOT wash their hands after going and then touch that doorknob or handle?) But we do not spray everything down with lysol and we are not as OCD as some are. People are gonna pick up germs. I always catch a cold after a plane flight or a trip to a Theme Park or mall or concert. I don't get out much due to a disability and so I am not being bombarded with the typical viruses going around and therefore more susceptible to them! And because doctors have overprescribed antibiotics, we have made ourselves more susceptible to nastier bugs that cannot be treated with drugs. I do not like being sick, but I take it as part of enjoying my trips to places with hundreds of thousands of people. We do the usual pre-treatments like Airborne and other prophylactic measures (not THAT kind!), but still I catch a cold. Part of getting old I guess. My parents, in their 80's ALWAYS catch some bug or other from my nieces who are all under 10! Never fails.
But wiping everything down ain't gonna solve the problem, people BREATHE on you all day at the Parks! And sneeze and cough! Kids with runny noses wipe it on the railings and other places, I know, GROSS! :sick: , but it happens, just keep that in mind and carry a little packet of Wet Ones with ya!
We especially use them after we have pushed around a cart at Walmart.
An interesting aside: In my microbiology classes we had an assignment to go swab something out in public, then to roll the swab on a petri dish and watch what grew over the next 3 days. WOW! I swabbed a handle of a cart at Walmart, it grew strep and staph and some other things. Some of the bacteria that grew in the kitchen sink swabs were the worst! LOL! It was fascinating and why I chose to study microbiology and animal diseases.
A little staph on the skin is normal, but it is when it multiplies too fast you get problems. Everyone has e Coli in their gut, but it is when it grows too fast you get problems, and usually that is due to exposure to a clinically potent version of that particular germ.
Class dismissed. Just use common sense and stay healthy... :)
Susi

[Princess Susi]

If you are a doctor and use a different set of hands for each operation, that's gross and I don't want to hear about it.

This made me laugh so hard my sides hurt! LOL!!!!! :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria: :hysteria:

[hobie16]

...but that's actually because a lot of bus drivers have bad breath.

I was walking through Times Square in New York City and decided to buy a hotdog from one of the street vendors.

"Do you want mustard or ketchup?" he asked. "Ketchup," I replied. He gave it a squirt.

"Any relish?" he asked. "Sure," I replied. He smeared some on.

"How about onions and garlic?" he asked. "Both," I replied. He held the hotdog up to his mouth and blew on it.

[BRWombat]

I like this illustration: What do parents do when their child drops his/her pacifier and the dog licks it?

First child: Boil the pacifier in water for at least 10 minutes to sterilize it before giving it back to the baby.

Second child: Wipe the pacifier on your pants legs before giving it back to the baby.

Third child: Boil the pacifier in water for at least 10 minutes to sterilize it before giving it back to the dog. :D:

[Floridian]

I don't think its possible to work with the public and be freaked out about germs. Sure there are a few things I won't touch...like piles of strangers dirty tissues. I had always been under the impression it didn't matter what you got on your hands so long as you wash them good before eating or anything like that.

[tink70]

I don't think I'm absolutely "phobic" about germs but I do need to take some precautions for my own health. I'm a asthmatic and diabetic so obviously if I catch something I usually have alot of respitory problems and/or I can take a long time to recover. I carry travel wipes and hand sanitizer with me to DLR but I don't go around wiping down anything before I touch it, sit on it, etc. BUT sometimes I will touch a surface and it will be sticky :sick: . I don't always know what the "sticky" might be and I really don't want to walk around with whatever it might be on my hand so the wipes/sanitizer come in handy, but if possible of course I wash my hands ASAP. Everyone's situation is different so sometimes people have to be more careful. I do agree that there are people/SG's who are overboard though and actually do themselves and their kids more harm than good by not allowing normal exposures. BTW on a side note.......few months back, probably spring break time, my mom and I were in one of the restrooms in DL and overheard a little girl say to her mom "let's not waste our time washing our hands". Mom's response? "You're right, let's go!" :ewww:

[vixen101485]

Nothing wrong with keeping hand wipes ...well...handy LOL They are great for emergency bathroom tissue too. (why do I always get the stall that is out of the stuff? ) Conditions that cause medical problems are not a problem it is those who just go overboard ...OCD if you will.
Building up a tolerance for something is sometimes a good thing sometimes bad. Keeping your kids or yourself in a bubble is not good if you want them to become a productive member of society.--- I wonder if a study was ever done looking at how people were raised and how that effected sick days at work and school.?

I have to laugh at those ones freaked out by the biometrics scanners at the parks."OH MY GOD, I dont want to touch something someone else did" Why on earth do you ever leave your house then? Wear plastic gloves. Wonder if they ever saw a small child LICK a railing? LOL

A young friend of mine is an extreme neat freak and with her first child she wouldnt even let him touch grass outside because among other things "a cat might have peed on it" She eventually got over it (new mom thing) when she saw my DD had no ill effects from heaven forbid, eating it. LOL It kinda goes back to what Wombat said,
1st kid ...sterilize the binky
2nd kid....wipe it off hand it back
3rd kid...here is your darn binky, you drop it, you suck on it with the dirt included.....LOL Tho I like the dog bit better :D:

[ICStupidPeople]

hey all, I sent DM an apology for my abrasiveness last night, she got the crap end of a situation that happened yesterday and didn't deserve my sarcasm.

But my rant came from a visit to the store yesterday. There was a mother in line in front of me with two kids. One of the kids wanted to show me a toy (yes, I realize kids shouldn't talk to strangers, but, I really look a lot less bitchy in person..I look like a school teacher so I'm told) anywho..the mother immediately apologizes for his "behavior" and tells me he has autism. Umm..ok..not sure what was wrong with his behavior..but, ok..

The other kid was bouncing off the walls obnoxious and the mother didn't give him a 2nd glance. She did say "stop it" a couple of times, half heartedly. So the kid that is just shy and liked my hair and felt comfortable enough to talk to me needs meds, but the one bouncing off the wall being ignored didn't...I think both kids just needed some attention.

I am pretty sure this is the same parent that will post on board X about what a great mother she is for lysoling (sp) their room at disney. I've seen it too many times IRL.

Either way, my sarcasm towards DM was unprovoked. My apologies. I do realize some kids have real issues that need to be addressed. I just wish more people would address those issues with love and kindness rather than drugs (not saying she drugs her son, sounds like she is doing the love/understanding/kindness thing...20 years ago, miracle drugs to calm kids didn't exist..kudos)

p.s. the story about the daughter/mother not wanting to take the time to wash their hands...that just skeeved me out...

<packs wet ones for trip this weekend>