To think antibacterial hand gel is to be used as an interim measure and not a replacement for washing your hands

[Barfvader]

My mum was a nurse, and growing up, we always washed our hands when we came inside from being out, before preparing food and after going to the toilet. I'm not a germ phobe or paranoid about sickness. I think a normal amount of exposure to germs is good for the immune system but that good sanitation is linked to optimum health. I think I have a balanced, hygienic but realistic approach. Kids lick slides and suck their shoes but I think following good hygiene standards is important too.

My aibu. My colleague and I had baby a few weeks apart around a year ago. She came over to my house for the first time with the baby recently and changed his (dirty) nappy. Just as she was finishing, I showed her where the bathroom was (a few metres away), assuming she would want to know where to wash her hands. She said, no it's OK, I've got antibac.

I use antibac if I'm stuck and then wash my hands as soon as I'm able to. I prefer to make sure they are psychically clean, especially as I've ended up with poo on my hand during a wriggly change. I don't think this is OTT, especially when changing nappies of babies who are older are eating solid food.

I realised that I've noticed a few parents antibac-ing or just using a baby wipe after a dirty nappy change, despite being inside a house with plumbing and running water. I can't imagine doing a poo and opting to use antibacterial hand gel rather than washing my hands and don't see how this is different.

Aibu in thinking that if you have access to water and soap, you should wash your hands and that antibac gel should be the second choice?

Looking forward to hearing what the diverse mumsnet collective will think!

Yabu: antibacterial gel is the same as washing your hands and no big deal

Yanbu: you should wash your hands after changing a dirty nappy if you're able to, and use antibac if you can't wash them there and then

Gel/wipes don't really get rid of grime and stickiness. A good slosh of water does. I like my hands to feel clean.

How do you get anything on your hands when you're cleaning it up? It happens. Even from touching the wipe that is mopping up the poo, bacteria can easily get transferred to your hands. You don't need to have hands covered in poo to end up with invisible bacteria on your hands. My mum explained this to me when I asked her why I needed to wash my hands after doing a poo when I was about 4.

Another thought...does antibacterial gel kill parasites, like pinworm eggs?

For those in the non hand washing camp, have you or anyone in your family never had worms? One of my children had it and it was absolutely disgusting. Not washing hands properly is a key way that it's spread.

The eggs live around the child's bottom and are highly contagious. If you get some of these microscopic eggs on your finger, then you put your finger into your mouth to scratch your lip or something, the eggs go inside you, where they make their way through your body, hatch into worms and wiggle out through your bum causing immense itching and distress as the new breed of worms lay their eggs around your bum!

I mean, how cholera was spread was discovered after an outbreak in London, linked to fecal matter getting into the water supply, probably from the washing of soiled fabric (like an old fashioned nappy). Babies are messy - that poo can go a long way!

I will use the sinks in public bathrooms to wash my hands, but if I then have to touch a door handle etc to get out, I will then antibac as well, on the basis that a lot of people won’t have bothered washing their hands after using the loo 😞

I remember being at a relatives house. She changed babies dirty bum then made sandwiches for lunch. Definitely didn't wash her hands 😮 🤢 I had to make my excuses. Have also been with friends and noticed them not washing their hands after changing a dirty bum. Absolutely disgusting.

Hand gel is good to use when you’re out and there’s no tap and soap. Washing hands to get rid of pin worms means cleaning under the nails. It’s a full hand wash. Washing with soap and water is good enough when not dealing with general dirt. Soap destroys the covid virus and other viruses and bacteria. It’s that easy but many people don’t bother. The virus goes on a door handle and the next person gets the germs.

That is so gross! Am genuinely shocked and having my eyes opened by this thread, and the other one shared above. Makes me think that some people would love to go back to medievil times with sewage running along the street, and where women died after childbirth because of all of the bacterial infections they got because nobody washed their hands!

Surely anti-bac gel only deals with bacteria. It doesn't kill viruses. It was pretty useless against the airborne coronavirus really.

Boots do a hand gel that is antiviral as well as antibacterial.

I'm with you OP, what your friend did sounds pretty gross TBH.

I hate antibac, I don't feel clean after using it, I hate the smell and it's really drying. I would always rather wash my hands.

I never realised there were so many skanky people around.

I have an incontinent adult in the family so have to change them. I wear disposable gloves but always wash my hands afterwards.

I clean up after the dog during his walk, and although my hands don’t touch the poo, I anti-bac straight away then wash my hands when I get home.

I know we shouldn’t be surprised by anything anymore but I really can’t get my head around women imagining it’s ok to never wash your hands after changing a nappy.

No wonder there’s always sickness about.

I've never used anti-bac in my life and I'm in my 60s.

I find it really shocking too! Justified with a 'never did me any harm' reponse, like giving your baby solids at 4 weeks or not putting your kids in carseats. Except, on a community level, not washing your hands properly is dangerous for other people.

The NHS and CDC recommend washing your hands after every nappy change. I used to think public bodies recommending practises like this were patronising and redundant. Now, thanks to Mumsnet, I see that they recommend it because skanky people don't do it.

If you don't wash your hands after changing a dirty nappy, why do you wash them after doing a poo? Or maybe you don't. That would make more sense 🤮

I always lumped people who don't wash their hands after handling dirty nappies into the same category as people who don't change their underwear for a week or who 'dine and dash' at restaurants.

Just pretty cruddy.

It's interesting that these threads always have the germphobes who constantly have noro "ripping through" their homes and the chilled out folk who are rarely unwell..
I don't remember the last time any of us had a bug and I have four pretty grotty kids and a dog in my home.

I'm a germaphobe as I have emetophobia linked to c-PTSD however we don't constantly have noro ripping through our house. It's probably because I'm a germaphobe with emetophobia linked to c-PTSD, I make sure I wash my hands are using the toilet, before/after eating, and at any other time when I think they could use a wash like any normal, hygienic person should be doing.

Im not a germophobe at all. It's not good to live in a sterile bubble.

But Washing your hands after changing a dirty nappy is basic hygiene. I wash my hands when others wouldn't such as after handling coins or when I touch the outside bin. But after handling poo 🤮 surely that's a given.

Anti bac gel with a certain % alcohol content (that practically all gels contain) can kill viruses, but it can't be marketed as anti viral unless it's gone through very extensive testing.