To expect guests to wash their hands on arrival?

[SillyFillyDress]

Am I being unreasonable in thinking people should wash their hands when coming from outside to your house?
Would you ask kids who come to yours for a playdate to wash their hands?
Would you ask adults?

children are more likely to develop asthma/eczema/hayfever and allergies when they are over-protected from pathogens and allergens at crucial points of their development. OP you need to remember that we are living biological creatures and more of the cells in our bodies are bacteria than human. We evolved over millions of years to co-exist with the minor and major threats to our health that come from not living in a sterile environment. If you have someone living with you who is immunocompromised then of course get people to sanitise and wash themselves but otherwise you may be putting your children at risk by not exposing them to the normal environment.

It's basic hygiene OP. I insist that my children wash their hands as soon as they get home. I would be hesitant to ask guests to do so, but I think it's gross not to. I think it's okay to ask this of your nanny, but I am not sure if he/she would do it when you're not looking. To me, it's just common sense. I've had so many bouts of flu/ covid/ illness.... Why would people not want to tale a basic preventative measure after they've gotten off public transport etc?

Yes I would think it was very, very odd and unwelcoming

The pertinent part that you drip fed was that you have a newborn. It’s normal and advised to wash hands before touching a newborn. But in normal, day to day life, expecting people to wash their hands when they enter your house is not normal and probably some sort of germ anxiety on your part.

I'm stunned at the responses to this. A few years ago we were obsessed with hand washing and sanitisers.
Not all of us were. I never bought any sanitiser. Would use it if specifically requested but didn't get into the obsession or the washing groceries or any of that crap. Occasionally remembered to do extra handwashing when coming home but didn't often remember and it certainly never became a habit.

I always have hand sanitizer in my bag for after public transport, I should imagine that’s what the health visitor has too (otherwise she’s touching people’s taps/towels and not knowing if they’re sanitised) between visits.

@roobyred you want to see most kitchen staff/ chefs who smoke/scratch their bums etc I'd be less worried about wiping tables
Same as ice machines and coffee machines both usually grim
I also think it's grim to see nurses /HCP wandering around in their scrubs

That is shocking. Having a newborn is a specific reason - you are not being sensitive there. It's common sense. I'd have no problem with someone asking me to do this, for any reason.

I'd welcome it as a general custom, to enter a home, pause, remove footwear, outer wrappings, wash hands, and face. I may have lived somewhere like this, as it seems normal and appealing to me.

But as other pp have noted, the UK is a rather grubby, ungraceful country in many ways, not given to elegant practical solutions that improve everyone's lives.

And in just the last 100 or so years, human life has totally changed due to industrialisation and the ease of public transport. Our immune systems haven’t evolved for this.

With a newborn then yes, absolutely.

Hand sanitiser does not work on stomach bug germs.

If you are wanting people to wash or at least sanitise their hands without having to ask them, one trick might be to sanitise your own hands and then just pass the bottle or pack of wipes round almost like it would be unthinkable not to.

I do usually wash my hands on arriving at someone's house, but it won't necessarily be the first thing I do and it's often coupled with a trip to the loo, if I've travelled some distance. I mean, if it's my next door neighbour and I'm just popping in for a coffee I wouldn't think about washing my hands. But I live in London so I use public transport to get to most places any distance away, and therefore usually feel a bit tube-soiled on arrival. I similarly make sure to wash my hands at a restaurant before eating (unless I've walked there from home in which case I wouldn't need to).

Despite being “grubby” we don’t have a significantly higher transmission of bacteria. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Weird to expect guests to do this.

No, but it’s nice to wash the grime off, surely?

It isn't something I usually bother to do, but I think it's a good idea and is well known to help prevent the spread of disease. It's a pity it isn't the "done thing" in our society.

I think you could manage to get visitors to go along with it if you ask them very politely, even apologetically: "I like the idea of washing hands after being out and about. Could you possibly...? The bathroom is on the left there." They might think you are a bit batty, but so what? They will humour you if you ask nicely enough.

I feel quite sure that health professionals visiting a newborn will be happy to wash their hands if you ask them to.

I wash my hands on arrival when I’m visiting people if I’ve travelled on public transport. I don’t drive these days but would probably do the same after driving.

You wouldn't need to ask me, OP, I'd do it automatically and would feel a bit scuzzy if I arrived somewhere and there wasn't an opportunity tbh. And I haven't got "hygiene anxiety" or whatever one pp patronisingly called it. I just don't much want to catch everyone's colds or stomach bugs because I touched my face or ate some food without thinking after opening doors, shaking hands or pushing a supermarket trolley. Just a good habit to get into. I started doing this when I had small children but post-Covid I'm surprised everyone doesn't do it to some degree. Perhaps it's a point of honour not to for some.

The lack of handwashing in this country is why I do not eat buffet food or anything self service.

I would wash my hands upon entering a house with a young baby and again before I touched baby (student midwife, do it when I'm doing home visits and would do it in a non-professional capacity). Not generally though, no.

Not an adult no, but children yes. DC wash their hands as soon as they get in from school, so they tell their friend to do it too. I do hover with the soap as so many just think water is ok.

I work in community with vulnerable adults and do home visits. I don't wash my hands in ppls houses unless I feel I need to ( like if i get any boldly fluid on me) but I do alcohol jell them as soon as I'm in my car and before I go into someone's house so I'm clean going in. I always imaging that other professionals that do home visits do the same.

I wash my hands when i come home or on arrival to work but not when i visit other people, unless i'm holding their newborn.

It's cultural- Brits are grubby and wouldn't really do this.

Yes, it's a very good idea for people to wash their hands when they visit others and dramatically cuts the risk of spreading viruses!

(I'm British too by the way, but hygiene levels of average people in the UK are pretty appalling!)