to wash my hands every time I've been out?

[itsallsohard]

Since the pandemic, I have taken to washing my hands as soon as I come in the house from outside. Obviously perhaps if I've been on public buses, or gardening; but also if I've just been out in my own car, or to the grocery store. None of us in the family is especially prone to illness or to worrying, and before the pandemic (unless someone in the family was actually sick) we all just washed hands after using the toilet and before cooking or eating.

Is it really disgusting that I didn't do this before 2020? Or is it a bit OCD that I do it now? I genuinely can't decide. YABU = that's too much hand-washing. YANBU = sounds normal, we do too
(edited to try to get rid of some rogue strike-outs of whole lines...)

As a mental health professional I'm always pleased to see people raising awareness regarding mental health and trying to encourage people to be more considerate. However I have to disagree with the outrage at this phrase. OCD is very much on a spectrum, and there are many different 'types' of OCD. One of those 'types' is contamination OCD and that's where germs and hand washing falls. Becoming fixated on washing hands when coming into the home for fear of contamination from the outside, can, for some, signify the beginning of spiralling issues. I agree it's good practice to wash hands when coming home and it is something I personally do, but for others it certainly can be the start of them becoming 'a little OCD' (to quote the hated phrase).
If desire to avoid contamination is indulged too much, too often, then it can spiral into needing further control over germs and the environment. Such as not even wanting to go out anymore or wanting to avoid anyone else coming into the home at all due to fear of germs on their clothes etc. I have plenty of professional experience with this and also personal. So in my opinion I would say it's absolutely possible to 'start' becoming 'a bit' OCD and it's fair to want to look out for the warning signs of that creeping in. The same way you can start becoming a bit depressed and may want to intervene and get out more and inject more joy and purpose into your life and watch out for negative thoughts. Or people can become 'a bit anxious' and realise they need to limit time spent worrying etc.

Just some food for thought.. as I often see people policing this turn of phrase and while their intentions are great I wonder if they have really thought it all through

Oh thank goodness, I was beginning to think I’m the only one who doesn’t do this. Although in real life I don’t know anyone who does this, no family or friends do. I work in a school and I’m rarely ill!

It makes sense.

Next time you go out note down all the things you touch.

Generally it is a lot. Then imagine how many hundreds of other people have touched the same thing, and many of them will have low personal hygiene.

I suppose it depends in your personal health status. I've been immunocompromised for 23 years so I wash my hands everytime I come in. Not overly keen on hand gel think soap and water is better.

The one thing that does frustrate me is people using public bathrooms and not washing their hands and even worse when they stop to check their hair in the mirror.

All these people saying they never wash their hands and never get ill...I wonder if that's true. Just because my MIL is like this but she always has a cough or cold 80% of the year but denies that she's ill. We always seem to get ill after spending time with her too!

So maybe the hygiene deniers are also illness deniers like her?!

And then touch the door handle on the way out!

There is nothing 'overly sanitised' about washing your hands with hot water and soap; it's a perfectly normal thing to do.

Like a PP I never use (or used) hand sanitiser and I agree that's overkill unless there's a very good reason for it, but preferring to know your hands are clean before you eat, cook or handle things inside your home is in no way overkill for many people.

I'm also never (or very rarely) ill, but I don't think this is anything to do with handwashing. I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford healthy food and decent housing plus the time to sleep properly, which I suspect comes a lot further up the list of variables.

I've always washed my hands as soon as I've come inside, I thought that was just a normal thing to do. Nursery drills/drilled it into my children too - wash hands when coming inside, before and after eating, and after the toilet and I keep those rules at home.

I do this - think I always have even pre-pandemic. Just feels like basic hygeine really

I was wondering when that would start! Outdoor clothes and indoor clothes? What do you think might have happened to your outdoor clothes to render them unsafe to wear indoors?

Well I did wash my hands when I came in during the pandemic, but not before or since. I really don't see the need.

Also make sure when out to count how many times you touch your face etc before you get home and wash your hands, thus rendering washing your hands kinda pointless.

I mean, no harm in doing it, but let's not pretend it makes a huge amount of difference either way.

It really isn't disgusting to wash your hands after using the loo and before prepping food - think about how many times you use the bathroom. Six, seven times a day? Add in food prep - let's say twice. So that's hand washing 9 times a day. I'm awake approximately 16 hours out of every 24 - so that averages a hand wash about every 1.75 hours. Hardly Victorian street urchin standards, is it?

I don't think it's psychologically healthy at all to consider the outside world something you need to wash away at every opportunity.

Research from Queen Mary University of London found that many of the objects we use and share on a day-to-day basis - like money and credit cards - have levels of bacteria equivalent to that of a dirty toilet bowl.

Are you washing your hands properly? (patient.info)

Just common sense.

That may be so. But it begs the question- so what?

I've always done this, decades before the pandemic.

I’ve always been like that! I was amazed that the sales of hand wash during the pandemic really exposed what mingers people actually are.

Well, why bother washing your hands after you use the loo if you are not going to bother to wash off the faecal matter you pick up when out and about from those who do not bother to wash their hands after they use a public loo, and the 84% who wash their hands inadequately.

Hit post too quickly!

So what if there is bacteria - we are covered in mites and germs too small for the eye to see. Let's add "credit card bacteria" to the mix, then. Again, I'm washing my hands every 1.8 hours. I trust my body can handle 100 minutes of the outside world before it implodes.

Completely normal! I know people who get dressed when they get in the door because they don't like 'outside' clothes coming inside. I'll lie down with my shoes still on, but I always wash my hands! Even aside from germs and bugs, sticky shopping trolleys, dirt from touching the car doors/boot, etc. I wear mainly beige and white in summer so can't risk getting clothes marked!

Me too! wash my hands all the time 😃

You should still wash your hands when you come home. Imagine someone doesn’t wash their hands after using the toilet (unfortunately, more common than you’d think.) They touch, for example, a handrail. Then you touch it. If you don’t wash your hands when you come home, you’re basically spreading someone else’s poo germs around your home. Again, it’s just basic hygiene.

I wasn't brought up to do this - far from it - but started doing it when I had kids, and encouraging them to.
Primary schools are particularly filthy places - I used to volunteer in one and picked up all sorts of bugs there, including threadworms (not from my own kids, to my knowledge). Parks are pretty grimy too.
And so it follows that shopping trolleys, touchscreens and other buttons in public places are probably all a bit yucky. Time spent has a cleaner in public buildings has also thought me how infrequently people (esp men) wash their hands after using the loo.

Completely normal to me. The only exception would be if I hadn't touched anything while out.