To worry about the germs that might come with a library book?

[ASnowballsChance]

I think I suffer from health anxiety and now it's spreading to worrying about things that have never crossed my mind until now.....

We are big readers and to keep up with the amount DC read we regularly borrow from the library but now I'm freaking out about all the germs and creepy crawlies (bed bugs mainly) that we might be bringing into our home.

AIBU to never want to borrow a library book again?!

I’m glad you’re going to see the GP OP. I honestly wouldn’t give this any headspace at all, sure if I noticed a suspect stain on a book I’d probably alert a librarian, but not otherwise. I regularly read while on the loo but don’t worry, it’s only my kindle so not being shared.

Literally nothing on this thread bothers me, barring treading in dog shit which isn’t a normal activity for anyone!

@whentherabbitswentwild - no, it's a misconception, as itzy says. Annoyingly lots of documentaries still get people to do it so it 'looks' right. But aside from the question of dexterity, there's a thought that the oils in your skin are actually quite good for manuscripts made of skin. I don't know about paper. But old paper is much, much tougher and more durable than modern book paper. It stands up to a lot.

@anna - YY, I know it's bubonic plague, but they're thought to be slightly different. Different strains? No idea as not a biologist.

Wouldn't the flu symptoms more likely be from breathing in lots of dust/paper fragments? I know I get a stuffy nose when I've been handling MSS a lot, and it's just the fact you breathe in so much book-dandruff (terminology probably not helping the OP there ...).

Op my baby boy puts his library books in his mouth sometimes and nothing has happened to him!

I know I get a stuffy nose when I've been handling MSS a lot

Yes! The mss I deal with are often covered in coal dust ... But I love the smell. Get to the British Library and breathe in the old book smell. Which would probably make the OP run screaming, but for me, it's peace, calm & home.

I don't see how it's OCD to be wary of dog poo - it's toxic and can blind us. I am SICK of dealing with it. It's not us that has the problem - it's dog owners who don't pick up. It's a huge problem and seriously needs to be addressed properly - we should not be ok about it.

I thought it was just me who worried about this sort of stuff! I don’t let it stop me from taking books out, or going to the library, but I do share the same thoughts/worries!

“I don’t have health anxiety“

I think if you won’t take out library books because of the germs you probably do..

Library books are very under used these days. In the good old days you might get some sand from somebody else’s holiday, or an intriguing book mark like a parking fine or something.
Maybe focus your energy on disinfecting the remote or the family’s electronic devices. They’re meant to be the worst.

I don’t have health anxiety but I don’t borrow library books. Some things just gross you out.

Some things just gross you out.

Bemused at the thought of being grossed out by a library book. How on earth do you manage to leave your house with all the dirt and germs outside?

Don't get me started on the state of the school books....

I hate having to handle my class's homework books. Some of them are covered in grime and stink of smoke. I never touch them now- we mark them together so I don;t have to bleach my hands afterwards.

don't

How on earth do you manage to leave your house with all the dirt and germs outside?
Well I open the door, get in the car and go where I want to go? How do you cope with things totally unrelated to things you find gross?

I bought a particularly nasty looking copy of Iris Murdoch's 'The Black Prince' from a charity shop which I still read as it was so good.
I was a bit dubious about handling it to start with though...

I work in a library and have never been ill from handling books. Any looking dodgy would be removed from circulation and sent to the local rail station for their collection.
But I'll start spraying my customers with disinfectant tomorrow just in case.

That's madness. You really need to see your GP about your anxiety.

There is some really fascinating evidence and research that the increase in childhood cancers is closely linked to our hyper clean environment. Our obsession with cleanliness may be doing us way more harm than good.
www.nhs.uk/news/cancer/child-leukaemia-linked-reduced-exposure-germs/#

I know someone who grew up in the late 1930s/40s in grinding poverty in the East End of London. Hygiene wasn't high on their list of priorities yet the whole family have the strongest imaginable immune systems and never seem to ever get really ill.

The person I know is now in his 80s, has a very healthy brother in his 90s and their mother lived to over 100.

I'm not suggesting we all live in poverty with an outside lavatory shared between several families, and of course, everyone's immune system is different, but sometimes I think our modern world is way too concerned with germs and it isn't always to our benefit..

but I don’t borrow library books. Some things just gross you out.

Yeah, like expanding your knowledge and learning.

Yeah, like expanding your knowledge and learning. Er, you do know we have the Internet now, with everything we need to expand our knowledge and learning?

Bacteria need nutrients to survive as they are living organisms.
They aren’t exactly getting those from books so I’m sure any bacteria that do happen to encounter the book will die pretty quickly.

Yeah, like expanding your knowledge and learning.
Are you under the impression that knowledge and learning are only available in libraries?

There seems to be depressingly little acceptance of difference on this thread.

They aren’t exactly getting those from books so I’m sure any bacteria that do happen to encounter the book will die pretty quickly.

Well quite. Depressing ignorance and hysteria on this thread.

If you are so anxious that you can’t touch library books, you need to see your GP and get some help for an irrational phobia which limits your life and activities.

I thought about this thread the other day when we picked out a touch and feel kids book from the library. God knows what's on that!