Hand washing since the pandemic...

[TheGreenDragon]

Have we as a nation learnt nothing?

Still seeing women come out of the toilet cubicle, sprinkle a little water over their fingertips for a few seconds then leave.

No soap, no hot water, no rubbing of hands and certainly not lasting at least 20 seconds.

You don’t need to do this.

Yes, stock items have been touched but a lot less than a trolley handle and probably not within a few hours. Trolleys are being touched constantly and the one you choose was probably last touched just a few minutes ago. Bugs etc have a finite life and the longer the time gap between touching, the more chance they're dead.

Its never entered my head

I've not been ill since February 2020 really bad chest infection (wonder if it was COVID).
I wash hands and still sanitise hands after touching handrails on bus, cash machine keyboard etc

Depends what you mean by "ill"? It's not just things like colds, flu, etc. What about stomach upsets, sickness, having the shits, etc??

I honestly can't remember the last time I was physically sick nor had the runs. Must be several years. And not had a cold for years either, never had flu. Worst maybe a bit of a cough a couple of years ago that lasted a couple of days.

I always wash my hands before touching food/eating or at least use hand gel if eating on the move, i.e. sandwich, crisps or chocolate bar on the bus/train. Wipe down trolley handles. Use hand gel after touching door handles/buttons on public transport or touch screens in shops, etc. Always wash hands properly after using the loo and then hand gel after touching the door upon leaving the toilet. Very quick/simple precautions. Why wouldn't you?

I also still wear a face mask in a health care setting like a GP surgery or hospital out patients. Not only to protect myself (as they'll be full of ill people), but also to protect other potentially vulnerable people who have no choice but to go into those settings.

I can't quite believe why so many people seem to care so little about themselves and others when such simple precautions can make a difference.

I’m 60. My last stomach bug was when I was at university…I didn’t even get norovirus when my whole workplace was closed down for a deep clean because of it. I’m not a meticulous hand washer. After the loo, not after touching stuff or being outside. Not always before cooking. I never wear a mask any more.
as for ‘why wouldn’t you’ in hand gel - why would I?
By illness I could mean any illness at all. Had flu once when I was a teen. One cold since the end of covid. Covid once at the very start. No bugs of any kind.

I think the question is not just: do people protect themselves from illness (when they wash their hands); but also: does hand washing prevent transmission of bacteria/viruses to other people (who might be less able to cope).

Well aren't you lucky! 🙄 my Dad's immune system was fucked after cancer treatment. A simple cold knocked him for six. He has spent the past 5 months battling all sorts of illnesses, colds, bugs etc.

I was once so ill I couldn't even keep water down,I lost half a stone in a week. That probably came from some inconsiderate sod not washing their hands because 'they've never been ill'.

So you may never have been ill, but there are people who have probably been ill due to your germs.

I doubt it. I don’t tend to germ over other people. People without immunity issues dont need to sanitise every 5 mins. I’d always make sure I had before meeting someone immunocompromised.

You won't know if the person sat next to you on the bus is immunocompromised, nor the person using the toilet after you, or the person using the shop touchscreen after you, or the shopping trolley, etc.

I seriously doubt it. I wash my hands with soap after going to the loo, but certainly not for 20 seconds, nor with the full rubbing between your fingers method. The water varies from cool to warm. I don't get ill very often.

Saw a reel where the cleaner in a busy bar was refilling the hand wash solution in the gents for the first time in a year.

Sitting on a bus by someone - makes no difference if my hands are sanitised. Toilets aren’t clean anyway (isn’t that why we wash our hands after?). Touch screens and trolleys - I doubt I’m carrying anything dangerous, but if we’re immunocompromised I might sanitise my own hands after using them…
Realistically I hav3 no germs on me that aren’t all over the place anyway, even if everybody sanitised every 10 seconds.

Reading this thread has solidified my resolve to wash or sanitise hands before eating even so much as a snack when out and about, and after being on public transport or shopping.

It goes without saying also after using the bathroom or before food prep!

Just gross hearing about all the
soap dodgers. It’s not only about not falling ill but it’s just yuck the idea of the germs and grime from someone’s unwashed hands getting onto your hands and then you touching your lips or face or whatever! Even it doesn’t make me sick it’s still gross 😣

That’s why I'm especially fussy about washing hands before eating.

Hand washing was, of course, absolutely pointless during the pandemic, because Covid is an airborne infection!
So while it's good hygiene to wash hands after the loo, there is absolutely no reason why it should be more of a thing now.
Some people really don't understand science....

Because it's totally unnecessary, FFS!

Totally this. Why are people so paranoid about a few germs? Most of us live perfectly normally and are never ill.

Is hand washing or wiping surfaces being paranoid? Some people are truly rancid and fuck knows where their grimy hands have been, best believe i wash my hands regularly when out and about. Stuff like noro which absolutely no one wants can last a week on surfaces also, ew.

Neither do I. I squat and use a lot of toilet paper so nothing touches my
body or my hands. Use toilet paper to flush the toilet or or open doors. And I use toilet paper to turn taps on and off. I probably wash my hands around 50 times a day but I have pets and I do it automatically as soon as I've touched one of them. I also clean door handles, my gear stick and my steering wheel in the car, and light switches indoors, but not obsessively.

You mean like the scientists and medical experts who instructed us to wash our hands!

What never? You never get the shits, never puked up, never get any coughs nor colds??

I last had ‘the shits’ after food poisoning in Italy in the early 90s. Before that, as a student in the early 80s. Havent puked since the same 2 incidents. Honestly.
I get maybe one cold a year. Not had flu since I was a teenager (and that was only once).