Why do some people not like washing their hands

[SummersBreeze]

It's basic hygiene to protect yourself and others from illness. How hard is some basic hygiene?

I definitely wouldn't consider myself to be OCD but I do carry out appropriate hygiene - after going to the toilet, before eating, after handling meat, after coughing and sneezing, and after eating, after some dirty duties. The recommended times for hand washing.

I make an attempt to do it correctly too. It's not just for a few seconds like what you can see sometimes in some public bathrooms.

I have a friend who works in food and beverage. I am concerned to be honest. I can always see a layer of dirt under his nails and this indicates to me that he's not carrying out appropriate hand hygiene. I think it's wrong. I think it's wrong to work in food and beverage and care about hand hygiene.

He picked up a dose, possibly work. Probably due to poor hand hygiene.

He passed it around to all of his close contacts, unfortunately one of them me. It was an absolutely hideous dose. Vomiting and losing the bowels all at the same time.

I am just thinking, some illnesses can be prevented through appropriate hand hygiene.

Unfortunately I got very ill but I was able to keep it to myself and not pass it around at work or home.

What the hell is so wrong with washing hands?

I wash my hands frequently, but not as frequently as you do! Excessive use of soap makes them sore.

It's grim. I hate it when people lick their fingers then continue what they were doing. It doesn't take that long to wash hands either.
A recent one which I found grim. We were at SILs house, one of her DC had a snotty nose which she cleaned with a damp cloth then wiped the table with the same cloth.

I have a problem where I can’t touch paper after washing my hands. Don’t know if it’s a sensory issue or what but I get shivers down my spine and I can’t do it. Even imagining it does it.

So I only wash my hands when I need to, and hope paper doesn’t appear for the next hour

I agree op. Dp's brother is like this. He admits he never washes his hands as he lets his natural defences work but it's grimy for others as well as himself. Makes me want to vom. I honestly think mil wasn't great at teaching hygiene. Dp is pretty hygienic, he'd have to be living with me because I wouldn't put up with it 😅 but His sisters in their early twenties seem to be have to be reminded to bath or shower. His sister always has thick grime in her nails

I am not excessive with hand washing but I do it frequently and when needed.

I would be very concerned if something work around food didn't wash their hands 🤢

Some people are just lazy

some dirty duties

what’s a dirty duty?!

I wash my hands a normal amount but hate the way the soap collects under my rings and particularly hate getting the ends of my sleeves wet in winter

I think good hand washing is good but the excessive hand sanitiser usage of recent is a bit gross. Hand washing much nicer than just squirting hand sanitiser on which doesn’t actually remove the dirt (contrary to one poster on here saying she uses it after eating crisps to remove the oil. Bleugh)

Grim as pp said. I was taught washing hands the way NHS advised due to Covid. Everyone thought I was paranoid and being OT <looking at you DH> until the country was locked down.

In your case OP I would tell his employer that you saw an employee with dirty nails and it put you off, if you can do that.

I work in a professional kitchen, I'm forever washing my hands...obviously the usual before and after raw meat, and any prep really, after the loo, after touching money, my phone etc, after cleaning but also after inadvertently scratching my ear, touching my nose, going outside. I'm not sure how anyone can work with food and not wash their hands regularly, I drill it into my staff. Even when my dc come to help they know the first thing they must do is wash their hands.

McDonald's actually have a buzzer that goes off every half an hour and staff must go and wash their hands immediately!

I admit i don't wash my hands as often as i probably should.

My skin feels very dry after contact with water and i have to put on hand cream and then i've got creamy hands and it's all a pita.

I do the cooking in our house and me and the family are hardly ever ill. Certainly no more than any other folk. I do put on gloves for lots of jobs which other people would do with their bare hands though. So perhaps that mitigates the handwashing thing a bit.

I get sore skin and it splits if I wash them too often. I mainly do them after using the loo or preparing food. I couldn’t wash them as often as you describe (assuming dirty duties you get anything on your hands, e.g. food residue when scraping plates, I’d just rinse under the tap for that) but I don’t have issues with a few germs improving my immune system. I can’t use hand sanitiser at all.

Meh. Once you touch the door handle to exit the public toilet, your hands are filthy again! And definitely vile once you pick up your mobile phone.

I wash my hands after the toilet or gardening or doing something dirty but don't wash them before a meal or whatever like you're 'supposed'. Life's too short.

I also do feel paranoid that people are judging me for the way I wash my hands in public toilets just because there's always someone doing a performance wash which is about 10x longer than necessary.

A🤢🤮

I hate cheap soap.

@girlmom21 'performance wash' love it 😂

I don't see the point of washing hands before eating.

If hands are dirty clean them. If I do the bins I'd clean my hands and then if I then went and watched TV before dinner, I don't see how watching TV means my hands are dirty so why would I need to go clean them again before sitting at the table.

People who have dirty phones why don't you just use an anti bac wipe on them

I take your point absolutely but I have psoriasis which means my hands just hate soap. I had to be preseribed a cream to calm my skin down after so much hand washing

No, ChinBristles, you use a sheet of clean paper to grasp the door handle. If its a busy place let someone else open the door and sail out in their wake...

Personally I don’t assume all bacteria is bad bacteria. Lots of bacteria are actually very beneficial to us.

i wash my hands if they look or feel dirty. Despise hand sanitizer so only use under duress.

DH doesn't wash his hands as often as I do as he has eczema on his hands and soap and water makes them sore.

Which is the correct answer!

@Gorse

It takes something like 27 layers of paper to create a germ barrier., your 1-2 sheets will do Jack shit. Sorry.

My mum wiped her dirty bin once and then wiped my baby’s face with it. I was absolutely torn apart on here for being unreasonable to object! And I’m super grim by mumsnet standards!

Oh My God me too!!!

Laziness. Honeslty not sure I could
Pinpoint when I last washed my hands. Certainly Wednesday when I used an airport toilet, otherwise.... genuinely don't know.

Also I never get bugs 🤷🏼‍♀️