Wash Your Hands!

It's grim, isn't it? Especially if you then have to touch the door ?

I wait until someone's going through it then hold it open with my elbow and slide through

Yes, it amazes me yet, presumably, if it was really a big deal they (and we) would all be having lots more illnesses.
I do wash my hands every time, btw.

Is anyone on here a non-hand-washer? Can you tell us why you don't bother?

The only time I don't is if there is no soap available. I always carry antibacterial wipes and/or gel and use this instead. I also make everyone use these before eating if we are out.

I'm a non hand washer !

But before I'm put in the stocks, I have antibacterial wipes I always use. My mobility is a bit of an issue so the sooner I can get back to my scooter the better, I just can't stand at the sink, then the drier.

At the gym it's not a problem because they have the appropriate facilities for me . But my DDS and DGC ALWAYS wash their hands .

I got into the 'open doors with elbow' a long time ago , its common sense to hand wash for your own welfare as much as anyone else's.
OH and I always go straight to the sink to hand wash when we get in from shopping before we put anything away after witnessing the sort of thing Willow is talking about constantly.

I didn't mean you were talking about it constantly Willow500

We had this at work, with the canteen staff. It was explained that they use a hand sanitiser when they get back to the kitchen. Ok, but what about the door handles between the loo and the canteen??

Sometimes on a train the provision of soap is less than adequate so I always carry a alcohol gel and use it both before and after I leave the loo to get rid of the bacteria from the door handle.

We had this at work, with the canteen staff. shock It was explained that they use a hand sanitiser when they get back to the kitchen. Ok, but what about the door handles between the loo and the canteen??

That's just wrong! It shouldn't be acceptable, especially for canteen staff. You can't beat soap and hot water for hand-cleansing.

You may miss important areas if you rely on wipes rather than actually washing your hands. Search for the Ayliffe Hand Washing Technique to see if you are capturing all the areas.
Washing should be done to the verses in 'Happy Birthday' to give the right amount of time.
It is especially important to thoroughly dry your hands, as you transmit more germs when the hands are wet, and lets face it, most driers are inadequate and hand-towels often non-existent.
Gels are alright for short-term use providing all areas of the hands are covered.

Here endeth the health education session!

Some of your comments have made me laugh - I am supposed to be working! I do know about the correct hand washing technique ShoweGel but you're right about the driers and I've heard that the new power ones actually spread more germs as all the water flies about. As a festival goer I'm well versed in getting in and out of the toilet pods touching as little as possible and use both antibacterial gel provided (until it runs out) as well as my own and wet wipes. I hate not being able to wash my hands though and it's the first thing I do when i've been out shopping too!

And Shestheone that is really worrying to hear - anyone handling food should be constantly washing their hands thoroughly. I've worked in catering and we would never have relied on antibacterial gel.

I'm normally a hand washer when I'm out, but sometimes I'm tempted not to - in some places there is nowhere clean or dry to put the shopping down! The cubicals usually have a peg, but not where you wash your hands. It makes me long for the old, carpeted powder rooms as mentioned on another thread.

I always wash my hands when I use a public loo. I'm not bothered about touching the door, flusher etc. as I wash my hands before leaving. It is always the first thing I do when I get home too.
As you may know, I work as an early morning cleaner in a posh supermarket. The hand hygeine there is appalling. Some of the staff wash their hands, then go back into the cubicle for toilet paper to dry them. They are not allowed paper towels, but have a high speed hand drier that is very effective!

I try very hard not to use public loos and use my jumper sleeve to open the door if I do ! It is the first thing I do when I get in after shopping . I had flu last winter and was VERY ill which has really scared me so any time I am out I try not to touch door handles etc . My son thinks I have a problem lol

I once went into a very well-known food hall and was somewhat shocked to see someone from the bakery and a manager shifting bread rolls around by using their hands rather than the tongs supplied for us customers.

Trouble with hand washing in the public toilet is trying to open the entrance door to get out after you've washed them I always do it with my elbow or a clean hand towel.

I have got so sick of people with disgusting and non-existent hand hygiene, I use a paper tissue or towel to open/ close the door with and bin it as soon as I get outside. There are people who think that sticking their hands under a tap for 20 seconds is their hands washed - no it isn't.
The other absolutely sickening thing is the state women's toilet cubicles are left in, toilets not flushed, used sanitary items lying about it makes me feel sick. Do they do this at home????

The ones that make me laugh are the women all dolled up to the nines who come out the cubicle and brush their hair , do their make-up, all with absolutely minging hands as they have never washed them. Yes dear you are beautiful, but you won't look so glamorous with a dose of the Norovirus.

My husband assures me men are just as poor in their habits when it comes to this.

I think it was drummed into me as a child. I automatically go straight to the sink after going to the Loo. I have dogs and birds to feed, I must wash my hands fifty times a day! I am pleased that my daughter was taught to do the same and my seven year old granddaughter is meticulous about washing her hands. Like previous posters, I never feel clean after shopping, dirty trollies etc. I wash them twice as soon as I get home.

I remember a poster in the girls toilets at junior school which said:

"Germs get through toilet paper, WASH YOUR HANDS"

Someone had crossed out the "Toilet" and written "Bog" in it's place.

I was outraged that anyone could be so rude! Today I'm amazed that I have remembered this and today it made me laugh...........Oh and by the way I still wash my hands and anti bac wipes are great for opening doors with.

I'm curious - how does one get an antibacterial wipe out of its pack without getting any germs on the pack, then getting the germs back onto the hands when putting the pack away again? Similarly with gel?
Mind you, I do sometimes wonder the same thing while pulling pants up and fastening trousers and belts etc before washing hands (which I presume most of us do, in public loos at least) - belts must be covered in germs!

Luckily, I'm not totally OCD, so while I always wash my hands after going to the loo, I tend not to dwell too uch on the rest. That said, yes it annoys me like mad that I have to exit via a door that the non-washers have touched. I really don't understand why the exit doors don't push open outwards rather than inwards, or even why there has to be one at all when a baffle screen would do the job perfectly.

I went on a date a while back and I realise that one of the unconscious 'tests' (women are supposed to have these, who knew?) was whether he went to the loo and then washed his hands afterwards (I could hear the hand drier being used, so he got a tick).

My ex-DH had appalling person hygiene, rarely washing his hands after using the loo or using a handkerchief if he could feel a sneeze coming on.