To still not like shaking hands ever since the pandemic

I mean it’s only a reasonable point of view if you are also refusing to touch all other things in public too, door handles, chairs, tables, hand rails… and besides, unless you are wearing a face mask, you are breathing in shared air.

We were very careful during COVID, particularly as I was caring for my frail mother. And I’m absolutely in favour of being careful. But some (my in-laws for example) came away from it terrified to the extent that they essentially remained self isolated for a very long time afterwards. Both healthy, both vaccinated. And they’d talk about how sad it was that they’d ‘never be able to go to the cinema again’ or on holiday or whatever. They eventually calmed down and resumed a normal life again, but it took quite a while.

Being this uncomfortable with a basic level of acceptable behaviour in our society is really sad.

I don’t think it’s about being terrified and it’s not about Covid. I think I’m very relaxed in summer. But in winter I would take a hand sanitizer with me when travelling and I definitely don’t touch loo handle doors. I put my sleeve over my hand.

Think that’s sensible to reduce points of transmission. Wouldn’t modify any other behaviour- just wash hands a bit more frequently in winter and use First Defence if going in to a busy contained space.

Other countries are better at all of this. We happily spread germs all over the place.

I didn't like shaking hands even before the pandemic. Those two years of restrictions were actually a relief for me as people actually stopped doing it. Sadly, they've gone back to it now but I've developed strategies to avoid it, i.e. not getting close to visitors, staying sat down at my desk when a visitor comes into the office, keeping my hands in my pockets, etc which seems to give off a "sod off" vibe to those who try it. It's not just that I don't like it (though that's true), my DH is immunocompromised due to years of chemotherapy so we both try to stay away from close contact, confined spaces etc - obviously if I catch something, I'll pass it to DH. Sadly even doctors don't respect personal hygiene - DH's haematologist and more recently his orthopaedic surgeon (who knew he was immunocompromised) tried to shake his hand and he had to decline - likewise when he was in hospital last month, in a private side room with infection control signs all over the door, a physio came in and immediately tried to shake his hand. Some people really don't get the message!! The thing is it's completely unnecessary - there's no need nor benefit for strangers (or anyone) to shake hands.

But "why" do people feel the need to shake hands? What is the benefit to either?? I just don't get it.

Why do people.feel the need to say please and thank you? Why do we ageee that its inappropriate for a woman to go topless at the supermarket? Why do we set tables with cutlery use expected from the outside in? These are all just things we, as society, have established as norms. Handshaking us a standard way to greet people in an open way.

Never think about it at all. Do you have a compromused immune system? If not it's fine

I do think it's a bit weird to try to go through life with no general physical contact with others. Social dancing is a completely normal activity - it involves holding hands with others - this shouldn't be an issue if you wash your own hands.

I’ve never had the urge to dance with strangers.

Stuff like this doesn’t bother me. I’m not a germaphobe. I’m never ill either. Haven’t even had a cold in years.

Never thought about it. Shaking hands is a cultural norm for most in the UK.

Unless there's an underlying serious healrh condition, most people will not be adversely affected.

Basic hygiene (hand washing after the lavatory, when coming in, before cooking and meals) and a healthy diet wirh a bit of exercise and lashings of fresh air will keep illness at bay.

I stopped getting colds when I stopped using public transport, but get a cold about every third time I travel by plane

This is such a ridiculous post. Pre-Covid,would you have even thought twice about it?
I don't particularly like shaking hands because I find it socially awkward,so that bit I get. But to mention that it's only since the pandemic,is rubbish.
If you don't like shaking hands, then that's fine,but don't use Covid as an excuse. Just elbow bump instead ,as that's safe!
If you use an escalator,do you put your hand on the arm belt?
If you use a petrol pump,do you wear gloves?
If you have school age children,do you make them change clothes,and refuse any physical contact with them,until they've changed and had a shower?
If you interact with people every day,do you strip and jump in the shower once you're home?
If you have pets,do you wash your hands every single time you touch them?
If yes to all of the above,in the gentlest of terms,you need to speak to someone; if not,then you're overthinking this,and need to get a grip.

I love shaking hands. It’s such an easy way to greet a new person.

the only time I’ve ever thought about hand hygiene was when our tour group parted ways with the yak handler in Nepal, after three weeks of no washing and yak wrangling he was filthy! May have had a surreptitious wet wipe after that hand shake.

Doesn’t bother me but I don’t do it often

It’s good manners , etiquette - you shake hands and say your name. There doesn’t need to be a benefit , though social bonding I suppose. Historically were you showing you had no weapon?

Honestly I’m with you. People are disgusting, the amount of women who walk out of the toilets without washing their hands, it makes me despair. I’m not generally a clean freak and am pretty chill in my own home, but other people ate gross.

Saw someone fully sneeze into their hands at the grocery store today. So, there you go. 🤢

Or friends and family?

Nobody thought twice about wiping trollet handles and the rest of it before March 2020. Or shaking hands.

The ONLY place where I have seen these sorts of precautions remain was on a cruise ship I was working on, the average passenger age was late 70s, no shaking hands with crew/captain at photo ops, use a paper towel to open toilet doors, regular reminders about handwashing/sanitising. But they were 100 times more concerned about norovirus than they were about covid.

I LOVED our cruise for this reason. Automatic toilet doors and literally everything else automatic in there, staff and sinks outside the dining rooms reminding people to wash their hands, I wish every toilet had a staff member singing “wishy washy” by the sink because clearly a lot of people need it!

You’re lumping lots of things together there when it’s more about risk reduction. Hugging children - of course. I hugged mine and sat with them when they had Covid - I had friends who wouldn’t.

I don’t avoid crowded places and travel. I hug my friends.

I just try and be careful about touching certain things such as loo handles (people have just been to the loo and not washed hands get!). I don’t touch the poles on the tube. And I just wash my hands more often or carry sanitizer. No massive impact on life.

I'm fine with shaking hands. Germs are everywhere, there's no point in stressing about hand shakes when you open doors, touch bathroom taps, go on the bus/taxi/train, mix with people, handle money and so on.

Yes I don’t see why infection control in a confined space like this is a bad thing. I love the automatic toilet flushes. One less thing to touch. I think they help.

Confined space with often a very elderly demographic of passengers. We all know that for someone in their 30s or 40s a dose of Covid or norovirus is unpleasant and spoils your holiday. For a passenger in their 80s or 90s with underlying conditions it's a whole other ball game and on ship the last thing they want is to have the medical centre full and potentially having to airlift very sick people off the ship.

No doubt protecting vulnerable passengers is a key factor; but not the driving factor. I was on Icon of the Seas, the demographic is definitely not 70+, it’s very much families, and the focus on hygiene was as high I expect it is on a saga cruise. A norovirus outbreak isn’t good for any cruise ship for a variety of reasons.

I wish we saw these kinds of procedures in hotels and theme parks and other crowded spaces you spend a lot of time in, while not as rife and confined as cruises, crowds of strangers mixing is always a recipe for illness. If people had better personal hygiene it wouldn’t be so bad.