AIBU to wonder if you still do these things with covid around?!

[Rainbowabacus1]

AIBU to wonder if you still do these things with covid and other viruses and bacteria about or if you’re more cautious these days.

Some examples:
-filling your car with petrol without wearing gloves to touch the handle of the pump.
-using a basket or trolley without wearing gloves/sanitizing first
-touching door handles and taps in public e.g. when using the toilet etc

Surely if someone is touching those things without precautions such as sanitization or gloves, their risk of catching something is higher than someone who is taking those extra precautions.

How long could germs live On those sorts If surfaces if they were not sanitized?

YABU: I don’t take any extra precautions
YANBU: I DO take extra precautions, you’d be mad not to

I wash my hands regularly and try not to touch my face. I did that before the pandemic.

The precautions I’m taking are mainly around limiting risky socialising, ventilation, distancing if possible and wearing a mask.

Impossible to worry about this, it would drive me batshit.

I wear a glove at the pumps because I hate the smell of fuel on my hands. Don't do the others but I do wipe down baby seat if it's quite dirty though.

I do that stuff but sanitise my hands afterwards. I don't touch escalator handrails or pedestrian crossing buttons though and only the other things when absolutely necessary.

I have said YABU as I wash / sanitise my hands AFTER doing all these things, and have done so for the last 15 years or so. Accordingly, I haven’t had to change my behaviour. Wearing a mask is new though.

In theory, in ideal conditions the virus can survive up to 72 hours on a surface, in reality it would be minutes to hours in most circumstances. Also, just because the virus is present does not mean you can become infected, getting Covid on your hands is not a risk unless you then stick them in your mouth or up your nose (or possibly in your eyes), you would also need to transfer enough of the virus for an infection to take hold, although in theory one viral particle is enough.

In real world situations the risk of Covid infection from a surface is almost zero, other viruses or bacteria are a higher risk, but we all managed to not die for many years without wearing gloves and dousing surfaces in alcohol every few minutes.

Gloves are just as bad as single use plastics for the environment. Covid is predominately airborne so I don't worry too much about touching things but I do wash my hands a lot and have done for years anyway. I don't touch my face with dirty hands. I wear washable facemasks and a clean one each day/trip out.

Of course I do these things, I just wash my hands afterwards. But then that's something I've always done, it's not just in 'covid times'. Viruses existed before this particular one believe it or not

The surfaces thing has largely gone away. Yes it's theoretically possible, but the optimum conditions so unlikely that regular handwashing is fine

I read that there was a risk of catching it from surfaces, it’s about a 1 in 10000 risk. As the poster above said, the virus does remain in things in small quantities but not enough to infect.

I sanitise afterwards but touch things at the time.

I wash or sanitise as I leave the supermarket and when I get home. That's plenty

I do these things. I try to be as careful as I can as much as possible and sanitise my hands where needed but the virus is airborne so handles etc is only part of the problem !

If you're going to get it you will. I wash my hands a lot yet still get colds, flu (had it twice) etc
It's normal to catch things once a year or so.

Just wear a mask in shops and wash hands afterwards. Gave up will sanitiser, only use that at work.

@Keepitonthedownlow

I wash or sanitise as I leave the supermarket and when I get home. That's plenty

Me too. I can't be doing with gloves everywhere.

Considering we caught covid doing none of those things (caught it in a healthcare environment so masked up, social distanced no one touching anything and yet..) I can't get my knickers in a knot about doing regular everyday things like touching stuff when required.

Recovered from ocd (fear of germs and contamination) and I don’t do any of those things after cbt and working hard on safety behaviours. I do wash my hands when I get home from being out, and before preparing food / eating / handling clean cutlery / dishes etc.

Covid is the last thing on my mind, touching those things. More worried about E Coli and other lovely bugs that people leave after not washing their hands after using the loo. I just wash or sanitise my hands afterwards, like I've always done.

Oh and still not caught covid.

There were a number of articles/papers earlier this year detailing the risk of fomite(?) transmission with covid as low to negligible. I haven't bothered with gloves/sanitiser since then. Just wash my hands as normal.

This was in Nature almost a year ago: www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-00251-4

I don't use gloves for the situations that you have mentioned. I never have at any point during the pandemic. I gave up using sanitizer all the time in 2020 as it was making my hands really sore and dry. I do wash my hands frequently, probably to much to be honest.

The Covid virus is airborne. You can't catch it from a petrol pump, a supermarket trolley handle or a toilet door.

I’ve always sanitised my hands after touching stuff because so many people don’t wash their hands after using the loo, and that bothers me more than Covid ever has!

When shops were obsessively cleaning trolley handles and door knobs, I had to wear gloves because I was having allergic reactions every time I touched anything. It was a nightmare.
Now that they are slacking off, I just clean my hands frequently.