Are we all living this way or have I gone mad?!

[stardrops007]

Okay, so I'm not sure if I've just lost touch with normality here or if actually I'm living the "new normal"

Today was the first time in months that I met indoors with a friend (I know )

It was in the centre so I had to pay for parking, I found myself using a wipe to touch the parking meter.
Before entering the restaurant I sanitised my hands, once in the restaurant I sanitised my hands as I'd touched the chair before sitting down and became aware of possible contamination!

We then ordered a drink and I found myself sanitising again as I'd touched the glass.

We were there for two hours and I just couldn't stop sanitising.

I've come home and taken off all my clothes to wash them straight away.

My friend only sanitised before eating, but I noticed she'd touched the chair and other surfaces a lot!!!

Am I being OTT? Or is my friend quite relaxed?

You know this is not normal. If you needed confirmation before seeking help, I think you got it.

[quote stardrops007]@SockYarn

Do people REALLY think they're going to catch it from a menu? Really??

All it takes is for one person who is positive, to touch that menu and then the chain starts... [/quote]
Well no, it doesn’t.

The positive person has to transfer enough virus from themselves to the menu. Touching it won’t mean they do, they’re not oozing it out of their skin. It’s breathed out. So maybe if they coughed in their hand then immediately grabbed the menu, maybe there’s be a chance.

Then enough virus has to survive so there’s still an infectious dose’s worth on the menu when you get it. Bear in mind the virus will be starting to die as soon as it’s on that surface.

Then you have to get the virus from the menu into your body. Again, touching it won’t be enough, it doesn’t burrow in through the skin.

It’s not totally impossible but it’s a very unlikely chain if evens. And that’s backed up be the research which says that surface transmissions like this are not common.

It’s of course fine to be a bit nervous when first going out. Nothing wrong with sanitiser. But it’s not magic potion, it won’t make the world from ‘scary’ to ‘safe’ as long as you just sanitise enough of it.

[quote wizzbangfizz]@DobbyTheHouseElk well I guess I'm
In a minority, I've flown, used the train, been back in the office when allowed, stayed in hotels here and abroad and eaten out multiple times. I wash my hands often and wear a mask as required and don't hug/touch. [/quote]
I think you are.

Or you are a super spreader.

Op, don't listen to people day you're weird or ridiculous. If you feel more comfortable that way, then don't worry about being over the top. I am sanitising a lot too. I'm also extremely hygienic. I wash my areas after using the toilet as well. To keep tip top clean. Nothing wrong with being ott especially in these conditions. And good on you for taking your own fork and knife.

Bringing your own cutlery and clothes washing and multiple use of sanitising - way too much, sorry. It’s a cafe not a covid ward. Bolton might have 200 odd cases per 100k, but still 99,800 people do NOT have it. Sorry OP.

@Fink

to stay 2 metres away from anyone else

Not possible to sit on the same table as your friend and be 2m apart inside a restaurant!

I don't think it's fair to ask why the friend didn't say anything. If I was out with my kids, and a friend and her kids, and the friend started doing weird stuff like smearing her glass with sanitiser and taking her own cutlery out of her handbag I wouldn't say anything either. It's not the time or the place, especially with children present.

But you can guarantee that the friend is now home and saying to her DH "you'll never GUESS what OP did at the restaurant today"...

What did the restaurant say when you walked in with your own glass and cutlery or did you just use sanitizer on the glass? Doesn't that taste funny?

@PopsicleHustler

Op, don't listen to people day you're weird or ridiculous. If you feel more comfortable that way, then don't worry about being over the top. I am sanitising a lot too. I'm also extremely hygienic. I wash my areas after using the toilet as well. To keep tip top clean. Nothing wrong with being ott especially in these conditions. And good on you for taking your own fork and knife.

She isn't really more comfortable though, is she? She says she'd be really struggling if she temporarily ran out of sanitiser. This isn't something she's doing because she enjoys it, and it is disproportionate to the risk.

"Nothing wrong with being OTT" is such a nonsense thing to say if you're talking about someone who might have genuine OCD.

@SockYarn

But you can guarantee that the friend is now home and saying to her DH "you'll never GUESS what OP did at the restaurant today"...

Sounds like you need new friends if that's how yours behave behind your back.

Maybe @Stardrops007 or maybe that I work in close proximity with people who keep breathing on me so no amount of hand washing / sanitising would have made any difference.

@SockYarn I would sit at the same table if I were meeting one friend but try and ensure that we were not breathing directly over each other. Until now I have met friends at outside tables in cafes.

When weather gets colder I will go to places that have well spaced out tables.

@SleepingStandingUp

What did the restaurant say when you walked in with your own glass and cutlery or did you just use sanitizer on the glass?

I didn't take my own glass.

[quote stardrops007]@SockYarn

But you can guarantee that the friend is now home and saying to her DH "you'll never GUESS what OP did at the restaurant today"...

Sounds like you need new friends if that's how yours behave behind your back. [/quote]
Yup, because that's what this thread is about, isn't it?

No, you started this thread asking "have I gone mad". Most people are saying yes, you have gone way OTT.

But you seem desperate to ignore that, and deflect attention elsewhere.

[quote Thanksitsgotpockets]@stardrops007

No sanitizer. Horrid stuff.[/quote]
It certainly is. I hate the feel of it on my hands. I wash mine a lot but that’s it.

OP you asked a question. You have been given quite a unanimous answer but your posts dont seem to be acknowledging that.

Your understanding of the likelihood of catching through surfaces is not realistic.

This is not rational behaviour.

You are being over the top. Since the lock down I’ve gone out daily (for exercise) and Groceries when needed. Only sanitise my hands after going in a taxi (but not if I’m able to wash hands at the sink). I only wash hands when entering my house. Or after toilet obviously. We have 3 kids and a dog. Kids have had friends over for play dates. The dog plays with other dogs in the park. We have been fine. No colds etc.

[quote stardrops007]@SleepingStandingUp

What did the restaurant say when you walked in with your own glass and cutlery or did you just use sanitizer on the glass?

I didn't take my own glass. [/quote]
I'm confused why you'd mouth their glasses but don't trust them to supply cutlery?

Ultimately op you do what keeps you feeling safe. Even if your friend does go home and tell her husband incredulously, it doesn't mean she's a bad friend or you should do something different. As long as you aren't putting other people at risk, you do you

I saw a good tip (i think on mumsnet) earlier in the year that if you don't like hand sanitiser you can use an empty bottle and put a bit of liquid soap in it and add water so you can wash your hands with soapy water when out and about instead.

You need your skin microbiome. You may actually be putting yourself at higher risk of health issues by destroying it so thoroughly.

@SockYarn

*No, you started this thread asking "have I gone mad". Most people are saying yes, you have gone way OTT.

But you seem desperate to ignore that, and deflect attention elsewhere*

I'm not desperate to avoid it. It's the reason I asked on here because it's been on my mind since I came home, have I gone a bit mad with my behaviour today.

It's the first time I've met my friend for lunch, she knows I've felt on edge about going so she probably thinks I'm doing what I feel is necessary.

You may go home and think those things about me if you saw me doing that, but I'm pretty positive someone who knows me well wouldn't!!

@OhToBeASeahorse

OP you asked a question. You have been given quite a unanimous answer but your posts dont seem to be acknowledging that.

Your understanding of the likelihood of catching through surfaces is not realistic.

This is not rational behaviour.

@OhToBeASeahorse

I guess I'm just a little taken back.

Like I said it's the first time I've been to an indoor place.
Lots of shared surfaces etc.

How do those of you who don't hand sanitise feel about your kids having to hand sanitise continually at school and have their desks cleaned several times a day. I worry a bit about exposure to chemicals/antibiotic resistance with all the sanitising that schools, restaurants etc are required to do by government legislation. If it really can't be caught from surfaces surely it is government/WHO advice that is a bit OTT?

I have scrupulously stuck to rules @DobbyTheHouseElk

I think it is disproportionate and it's no way to live life but I obviously take a completely different viewpoint on the level of risk to the OP.

I don't know one person within my own circles who hasn't gone out/eaten out especially in august

I think though people need to do whatever makes them feel safe but would still say it is probably pointless and again points to the mental impact this whole crisis will have/is having which could prove more dangerous than covid.

I have been eating out regularly and meeting up with friends (within the allowed restrictions) and have either washed my hands or sanitised when I return home. We have also been away and stayed in hotels and done the same thing.

I think you are going over the top. I do have a friend who hasn't left the house at all since early March, and who has just given her notice in to work. Unfortunately, she has decided she won't go back as she lives with her 70-year-old mum who is terrified of catching COVID. She is existing not living, and I have tried to talk her into getting her mum some medical help, but not really got anywhere with it. I feel desperately sorry for anyone who is so badly affected in this way.