fake hand washing
I don’t wash my hands every time after going to the bathroom because I don’t want to aggravate my dry skin too much. But I want everyone to think I’ve washed my hands so after I flush I turn on the faucet and let the water run for people to hear. I want it to be believable though, so I mime washing my hands to make sure I let the water run for exactly how long it would take me to really do it.
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I do the saaaame thing! And if I think they didn’t really believe I washed my hands, I’ll turn on the faucet again so they think maybe I still had soap on my hands or something and I was washing extra carefully.
Even if you didn’t touch anything, you still have germs on your hand from the door handle and whatnot. Why not just carry lotion around with you? What about hand sanitizer?
I do this ALL the time!!! Heheheh
Oh thank God, I thought I was the only one…..
oh my god, i can’t believe i’m not the only person who does this and for the very same reason…i do the miming and everything…i always run the faucet in case someone is listening outside.
With all due respect, that’s not a neurosis; that’s being deceptive. As a germaphobe, I’d rather know that you’re not washing your hands so I can avoid shaking hands with you or borrowing your pen or using your computer’s mouse and keyboard (as in a work situation). For the record, I have extremely dry skin also, which I why I keep a tube of Aveeno around and use it often. You don’t have to sacrifice hygiene and safety for that.
me too except when I come out I act like I’m drying my hands on my pants
Chronic handwashing is as unhealthy as never washing your hands.
I do that all the time and for the same reason. Although I usually skip the miming if no one really is able to see me.
Yup. I do that too on occasion. I mean, I could just as easily wash my hands instead of letting the water run… But I do it anyway.
People like you are the reason I never eat bar peanuts =)
Uh, not? You can get diseases from not washing your hands. While the most “chronic” handwashing can do is severely dry your hands, which prescription or extra moisturizing lotion can fix. I work in the medical field and wash my hand around every 10-20 minutes.
People have never gotten food poisoning or infections from washing their hands too much. Everyone who doesn’t wash their hands could potentially spread diseases along with wasting water.
All the anger at this is funny.
People do realize that urine is sterile right?
And that bacterial soap is being recommended AGAINST in the medical community.
So it is really not a big deal, whether it is because of dry hands or not.
I used to do this but once someone was standing near me I would have to dip my hands in quickly because I was afraid that if they saw me not actually getting my hands wet they would think I’m really disgusting.
These days I keep moisturizer for extremely dry skin in my bag in case I go to the toilet and need to wash my hands, otherwise if I get my hands wet and then afterwards they start to feel dry, I have to keep licking them every minute or so.
When I am at home I still lick my hands when they are feeling a bit dry, out of compulsion.
I used to do this when I was a little kid, now I just wash my hands.
OMG…..i will do this every other time i go to the bathroom cos sometimes i’m already in a hurry from all the coffee that i drank that makes me have to go in the first place…
I don’t even pretend to wash my hands.
DIS-GUSTING!
Don’t tell me you avoid showering for the same reason.
OMG!! I am a reformed faker. I used to do this ALL the time!!!
Now, because I have a hand washing routine I really like, the whole time I am doing it I am fighting the urge to fake it…The two fight in my head like good and evil.
Not washing your hands after using the toilet is rank! Please don’t say you are a chef
I read this recently – the headings made me laugh but it is quite grim really http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7667499.stm
I’m the complete opposite of u.lol I never fail to wash my hands thoroughly with soap after using the toilet.
Son of a bastardbaby! Washing your hands is one of the most basic health routines! Go to a dermatologist and get your dry skin checked. Why would it be bad for you to aggrevate your dry skin? Does it hinder your excellent harpplaying? Does it sting the nostrils when you pick your nose (and, omg, you probably don’t wash after that either!) or is it because you don’t want other people to feel your dry skin when you shake their hands? Here’s a thought: If you don’t want other people to feel your dry skin when they shake your hand, tell ‘em you don’t wash your hands after you go to the bathroom! That’ll keep them from touching you. Might even get ya a nice little restraining order if I find out you work with me. To you and 157 other infectors: Wash your hands!
I don’t go so far as to mime, but my hands get itchy if it’s certain soap, so I always wind up at least sticking my hands under the water so that way my hands are at least damp and I feel like I might somehow be cleaner.
…that’s scary…you should ALWAYS wash your hands!
if you don’t want to use soap you should rub them together for at least 20 seconds, that kills the germs. AND as you leave the restroom use the paper towel to open the door. This is why so many people get sick because people don’t wash their hands!
Urine is usually, but not always sterile, and the tissues it touches on the way out of your body aren’t. Also you touched (possibly) the flush handle, the locking mechanism on the door, the knob to turn on the water, and the bathroom door handle- which everyone before you touched as well. I’m sure not all of them were as careful as you were when they wiped… Now you’ve got potentially pathogenic bacteria/viruses on your hands. Enjoy your lunch, asshat.
Just commenting: almost 300 people say “me too”? That..can’t…be…That…shockes and…irritates me…at the same time, I’m…actually thinking…in Shatner-speak. Wwwwait a mmmmoment…Why are there 25 sympathizers? Guess you need fetishes… (lot of dots here ey)
grooooooooosss
Oh grow up everybody…wash your hands a million times a a day and you “germaphobes” are still going to get sick. There have been studies done showing that in public type environments like an office or a school, telephones, computer keyboards, coffee pot/microwave/refrigerator handles have way more germs than most bathrooms…germs are unavoidable folks…we can use a bit of common sense, wash our hands occasionally, keep ourselves and our environments reasonably clean without sanitizing away all our natural defenses and not come on to a board that was supposed to be about people airing their neuroses and make people feel bad for doing so….After all the great George Carlin said “I only wash my hands after using the toilet when I get sh*t on them…and that only happens once a week or so…”
Oh and P.S. This one person with this one slightly odd habit that you don’t like came on here and admitted it and many of you jumped all over them…could it be that secretly you know there are many weirder people out there who would never admit the kind of sick things they might be getting up to with your food as they work in your local restaurant or grocery store or even just with their own hands before they touch items in an environment you share like an office…?
eeeww!! i seriously seriously got nauseous.
please please start washing your hands…
it seems you don’t like yourself very much.
i mean we owe our bodies cleanliness.
i’m not a germaphobe, but come on theres a limit,
and not washing your hands after the toilet
…. that is crossing the line, that is beyond on the line by a few hundred kilometers
YOU TERRIBLE TERRIBLE PEOPLE. That’s disgusting! I can’t believe there are over 400 “me too’s” Use lotion!
…and to the few that are stating that urine is sterile..well poop isn’t!!! Go read the stats on food handlers NOT washing their hands and spreading germs because of traces of fecal matter getting in the food. Disgusting indeed…”CLEAN UP” your acts already
I don’t like the soap in public restrooms, so I rinse my hands with the water, dry them on a paper towel, then use hand sanitizer that I carry with me. Not washing your hands is just ooky. If you don’t like to wash your hands, fine, but so SOMEthing. And do it before you touch anything else!!!
I suppose you don’t wipe your crotch either? That’s like saying I don’t wipe down there because its going to dry me out. The scary thing is…. there are lots of people just like you.
That’s what I’m saying Leslie…Too many damn disgusting people. I’d rather want them to not wipe their ass than not wash their hands, because I DON’T TOUCH YOUR ASS! Everyone can have his or her fetish, but don’t make others victims of your folly.
@ Baubogiggles: No. You’re wrong. Should I come over to your house and sneeze in your food? Or stick my finger in your soup? This is invasion of health and dammit it grosses me out. What you’re saying about germs on refrigators and bla bla: Germs can be good and bad. Poopgerms are bad! (I sound like Brick Tamland)
Sure hope you non-hand-washers don’t work in the food industry. Happy hepatitis, shigella and salmonella to all of you! Ugh! Just get some hand lotion for god’s sake.
Haha all the ridiculous germaphobes here getting their panties in a twist need to chill. Not washing your hands every three seconds doesn’t kill you, in school bathrooms I don’t like touching the wet taps or the feeling of having wet hands so if I go to the toilet there I don’t always wash my hands. It’s okay to wash my hands at home because I can just towel them dry but at school you have to walk around with cold wet hands waiting for them to dry plus the taps in my school toilets are gross. So if there’s no one in there, I’ll just walk out pretending to dry my hands on my trousers lmao. And – NEWSFLASH I havn’t died, I’m hardly ever even ill. Not being one hundred pecent clean all the time isn’t neccesarily good. Being exposed to germs actually strenghtens the immune system. What about in caveman times before soaps and sterilisers and anti-bacterial handwashes were even invented? THE HUMAN RACE DIDN’T DIE OUT. It’s those industries that are tricking you into thinking you need to be totally germ free all of the time. Stop being so silly.
it’s not the hygeine, humans need a few more germs nowadays, it’s just that.. you just flushed about 6 litres of fresh water down the toilet, why waste another two litres being silly? just cause you wiped doesn’t mean you put your hands all over your genitals.. use your sleeve to touch everything in the bathroom and it’ll be ok.
just wash after poops.
cuz that’s gross.
omg i can’t believe i’m not the only one either!
i wonder how much water we waste haha
Thanks Josh…a reminder to the unwashed: people shed viruses even when not exhibiting symptoms. Hepatitis is easily spread by food-handlers not washing up after using the bathroom. THAT is a fact. Not suggesting people have to turn germaphobe but a little consideration for the rest of us would be appreciated.
I do this too. I don’t see what the big deal is. I’m not afraid of a few germs. I wash plenty as it is.. I’m not going to do it 10x a day though.
why dont you wash you hands after you go to the bathroom??
it doesnt hurt washing ur hands, and most of the people on the world do it, so it obviously doesnt affect them..
My mum always tells me too wash my hands after I use the toilet, but i just canot be bothered so I run the tap and pretend.
I relate way too much to this. Every public restroom i go to. If i notice that its only me and one or two other people inside i will wait for them to finish and leave so i can avoid having to wash my hands altogether, and then when i leave i will wipe my hands on my pants pretending im still trying to dry them.
To the person who said urine is sterile; Urine is only sterile if it is odorless or nearly odorless. If your pee has a smell (which most people’s does) it’s because of bacteria, and bacteria is quit the opposite of sterile. But that’s not even the part that is gross in bathrooms it’s all the other bacteria on EVERY thing. But I also do not wash my hands in bathrooms because, besides the fact that my hands also get really dry, it’s because they say that a majority of the germs in bathrooms are not even on the toilets its on the door handle as you leave. So after I have pretended to wash I put my sleeves over my hands (if I can) so I don’t touch the door handle and then I whip out my germ-X!
oh and also to the person “BEC” who said ”
why dont you wash you hands after you go to the bathroom??
it doesnt hurt washing ur hands, and most of the people on the world do it, so it obviously doesnt affect them..
- March 8th, 2009 at 7:48 am”
Most people DO NOT wash their hands. studies show that MORE than 65% of ppl do not wash and less people are washing their hands now-a-days then in the last 20 years
Urine is only sterile INSIDE the bladder. It picks up bacteria on the way out. And feces is OBVIOUSLY not sterile.
Not washing after using the bathroom is unhygenic and disgusting. Get some lotion if your hands are too dry.
After reading all of these responses to the post, I can only wonder the ages of everyone who posted. Any mother that has been waste-deep in pee and poo knows its good to wash your hands. If you have pee or poo on them. Being a mother, sometimes the cleanliness of yourself needs to be sacrificed for the cleanliness of your children. The parents should touch the soap dispense and faucet and door for your kids, so they don’t get sick. I, for one,(when I’m not with my kids) do not touch anything in a public bathroom, not even my genitals when I clean myself (just touch the toilet paper). Therefore, I reason that touching the faucet, soap dispenser, and door handles will put germs on my hands that weren’t previously there. If you have a family and share a bathroom, chances are at least one of those people doesn’t wash their hands afterward, or the boys pee on the seat or floor, especially if there are young ones in the house, so why just concern yourself with the cleanliness of others in public bathrooms? If you’re so worried about keeping clean, start at home first. Chances are, you all don’t bleach your bathrooms at home twice daily to keep them sterile, so give these kids a break who don’t wash in public. I admit though, kids-don’t waste water. And also, education on the matter of public health and disease should be discussed in-home, in schools, and at the workplace; where workshops are implemented to teach everyone (young and old) how to properly use a public restroom. There are some institutions that teach this, but most figure its common knowledge and shouldn’t have to be taught. But this page alone shows the ignorance of so many people in the topic at hand. Germs in moderation are a good thing; but you can’t pick and choose which ones you pick up or carry. Be smart about it. Wash your hands when necessary. If you pee or poo on yourself, it doesn’t matter if you get dry skin or not, not washing your hands in this instance is just lazy.
haha I do this too sometimes. Most of the time, I remember that it just wastes water when i pretend and go grab some purell or something, but i just can’t stand the soap in the bathrooms. at school, it smells like hospitals. way too sterile. So i pretend to wash my hands so people dont notice!
I do this! public bathroom soap is murder on hands, and I carry around hand sanitizer that also moisturizes and use it semi-compulsively. Usually I wet my hands a little bit and dry them off with a paper towel, thinking that there should be a wet paper towel in the garbage for authenticity’s sake.
Omigosh!!! I’m not alone in the world! Fake handwashers unite!!!
EW. How does washing your hand make your hand dry? You’re putting water on your hand!
Okay I’m not a germaphope and I don’t wash my hands every 3 minutes. But I do wash my hands EVERY time I go to the bathroom. I’m absolutely disgusted as to how many people have said “Me too” to this. I reallllly hope that none of you touch anything until you decide that your hands can handle soap and water. (And for those of you that said you lick your hands aswell thats double gross cause youre pretty much EATING all the germs from the bathroom).
Umm…DISGUSTING! You do realize that your hands have germs from touching your filthy genitals, and then touching the fluser is like rubbing your finger on a million genitals. Way to go, retards. I bet you’re all fat and ugly.
I wash my hands if I pee on my hands. My genitals are just as sweaty and gross as the rest of my body…if they were MORE dirty I’d probably be worried about my personal hygene. How are you going to build up your immune system if you’re not exposed to a certain amount of bacteria and germs every day? Washing your hands diminishes the probability that you’ll catch something…so does healthy eating and exercise. Seeing as I do 2 out of 3 of these things, I’m pretty sure that I’m 30% LESS likely to catch anything than 90% of lazy fat north americans out there who wash their hands. Idiots.
PS washing your hands makes you hands dry by washing away the natural oils that are produced by your body in order for your skin to stay hydrated. seriously? wtf
Why not just carry around a small bottle of your soap of choice? It’s pretty gross not to wash your hands after touching your genitals. I know I don’t want to touch someone’s hand (or something they touched) if it’s been there. It’s not always even about germs. I just don’t like touching things that were touched by strangers’ genitals, especially if they’re fat. It’s just polite, OK?
To everyone who points out there are more germs on the coffee pot, keyboard, door handles, etc. those germs are usually spread because people DO NOT WASH THEIR HANDS and then touch those things.
since the non-hand-washers think it’s “no big thing” then they obviously won’t mind if they’re served their next meal on unwashed plates with utensils that fell on the floor and were spit-shined by someone with hepatitis? mmmm-good. dummies.
if your not gonna wash your hands, in the very least, could u carry around hand sanitizers ???? maybe you dont care that your infesting everything you touch after the wash rooms, but there are people (like me) who are obsessed with not touching ANYTHING possible in public areas. i carry a bottle of hand sanitizer every where i go because peoples toliet hands freak me out !
That’s just NASTY!!!
Thats waste of water, and you’ll have germ hands.
Why not use just water if thats just a problem?
I do the same thing! I would always feel really bad about it but I’m glad I’m not the only one. I did the same thing with brushing my teeth and showers when I was little.
This post seems to have gotten a rather crowded response. My concern is that conducting the most fundamental and basic (and very very simple) hygenic procedures is now considered the paranoid act of a “germophobe”. To those who think not washing your hands and employing other hygenic routines is okay, may God help the children you manage to spawn. This coupled with the utter waste of water. This isn’t a neurosis, it’s just a selfish decision you make. Also, go to a doctor. And the person saying “grow up” to the “germophobes”, actually my dirty and unhygenic friend, grown ups are supposed to be clean and grown up adopt good cleaning practices, so it is you who is childish.
Scientific studies reveal that “On current evidence, washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by 42-47% and interventions to promote handwashing might save a million lives.” This alone ought to be enough to encourage handwashing. Even if you don’t touch anything particularly dirty (and tp is not a germ blocker) and when you flush “Gerba’s studies have shown that the water droplets in an invisible cloud travel six to eight feet out and up, so the areas of the bathroom not directly adjacent the toilet are still contaminated. Walls are obviously affected, and in public or communal bathrooms, the partitions between stalls are definitely coated in the spray mist from the toilet (1). Also, toilet paper will be cleanest when it is enclosed in a plastic or metal casing… The bacterial mist has also been shown to stay in the air for at least two hours after each flush, thus maximizing its chance to float around and spread.” That means the tp you use to protect your hand is actually covered in other people’s fecal matter. And if you don’t keep your toothbrush in a closed cabinet—Yummy. No, the bathroom is not the dirtiest place in the house (that’s the kitchen sponge if you don’t sterilize it), but it is very dirty so it makes sense to wash one’s hands out of respect for others if not yourself.
Despite all this info, I suspect the anti-washers will not change their ways. There is a certain glee in their posts at the idea of spreading their germs to unsuspecting others and in causing disgust to the so-called “germaphobes.” Reason and consideration are irrelevant to anti-social people. I personally just assume that no one washes so I don’t shake hands unless I have to, I use hand sanitizer a lot when I’m out and about, open public bathroom doors with a towel, and I keep my own bathroom clean (and my toothbrush under wraps). What else can you do without driving yourself batty with worry? So long as my children (and I) are reasonably protected from germs that could make them sick, the gross factor is just a fact of life. (sources: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12726975?ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_DiscoveryPanel.Pubmed_Discovery_RA&linkpos=5&log$=relatedreviews&logdbfrom=pubmed; http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1839)
great response, “logical conclusion”. i think the poster and his friends are just being lazy and smug about this non-washing practice. i dare them to have a medical procedure with doctors and nurses who don’t wash their hands and don’t wear gloves. what the heck, germs don’t matter, according to them. mmmmmmmmmmm, happy staph infections, non-washers.
I do this too, but usually only after I drank a ton and have to go to the bathroom like 5 times… maybe TMI, maybe not. I don’t feel like washing my hands 5 times in an hour..
ALSO that would only be at my house. I’d never not wash my hands in public. Ever.
The world is overpopulated anyway. I feel I’m doing humanity a noble deed by passing my germs along to those of you who don’t let your bodies adapt to what is in the world. Darwinism at it’s best. “What doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger!”
Ugh. Please tell us where you live so we can stay away.
I do that too! I put my hands right in front of the water. And sometimes when I want to get away from something I say I have to go to the bathroom and wait a little bit and then flush the toilet and then I pretend to wash my hands.
I wash my hands frequently but not for the sake of other people. Besides, once you open the door to get out of the bathroom you’re picking the germs of other people who didn’t wash up anyway, so it all spreads whether you wash or not.
Hahaha, I also do that!
But, only if I’m at home. I definitely wash my hands when I’m at someone elses house or out in public. Icks.
I very rarely wash my hands, I only brush my teeth once a day. My kids and I never get sick and we have perfect teeth. Maybe people that get sick all the time are from a shallow gene pool and would be weeded out if not for advanced medicine. I am with George Carlin. Also I make sure people see me not wash. I’m no prude. We are spirits having a human experience, so make life whatever you want.
This is a pointless argument. Unless all of you that are obsessive with hand washing are going to follow all those non-hand washers..then shut up. There’s going to be one grubby hand that hasn’t been washed in God only knows how long that’s going to touch that door handle going out of the restroom or the office door etc. And yes, that grubby hand that touched that door is probably CRAWLING with germies. Welcome to life. Put your big girl panties on and buy a can of Lysol. Oh, and I wash my hands after using the restroom. Not that I think I’m washing away germs but it makes me feel the tiniest bit better knowing I listened to my mother, teachers and doctors when they say to wash your hands. If you want to truly hide from the germs and bacteria, live in a plastic bubble.
ok alot has already been said about this thing, but what I have to say is… obviously the fact that you people have to fake washing your hands means that you don’t want other people to think negatively about you, so instead of putting yourself through this pointless charade…why don’t you just go ahead and wash your hands anyways so that you will atleast have the peace of mind that your hands are clean and you won’t have to feel bad about it. If your hands are sensitive to soap or if your skin dries out then buy a personal soap that is good for your kind of skin and carry it around with you along with some hand moisturizer. If you are just downright too lazy to wash them (we all are sometimes)… just grow up and wash your darn hands it’s not that bad.
i hope the people who said ‘me too’ don’t work around food
..it’s also a total waste of water =.=
Over-washing your hands can lead to dry, cracked skin which can become infected by other bacteria floating around outside the bathroom. It’s more important to wash your hands right before you eat than to wash them after you use the bathroom.
When all of you are fake hand washing im listening to the water NOT splashing around. You aren’t fooling anyone.
OMG wat is the big deal it’s the persons choice to wash there hand or not and the aggressive hand washers just got mean and smug half way thro so much so tht some ppl felt they had to mention they do wash ther hands wen making a comment, yes it isn’t very pleasent shaking the hand of a non washer but i wudn’t scream in terror at them cuz they cud b a very nice person and whether or not they wash ther hands doesn’t effect tht but the aggressive washers r actin lyk the non washers r filthy, dirty horrible pig monsters jus for not washin the hands, i mean my god wise up wud u ppl hu dnt wash ther hand still shower don’t they and keep ther bodies clean regularly, so wtf’s the problem?! it’s not lyk the walk around with ther bodies caked with filth so act as if they r covered in crap just let the non washers do ther own thing agressive washers, and stop being so smug and mean jus cuz u wash ur hands after goin to the toilet, “WOW big achievment u’ve made the world a better and cleaner place for us all……” and btw agressive washers u probly come into contact with at least 1 non washer everyday as it’s more common than u realise and they where lykly to hav spread some of ther germs on to u, so unless u plan to wash ur hands after meeting ppl i suggest u just leave the non washers alone cuz u probly hav just as many germs as they do in the end!
wow, what language are you using, lulu? it may be “their choice” not to wash their hands but what choice do the rest of us have to avoid their nastiness? do you even understand what diseases can be spread through unwashed hands in the kitchen? nothing to do with being smug and everything to do with being considerate of fellow human beings who may not have a strong immune system.
OMW some ppl think they hav the answer to everthing don’t they! nd btw have u read sum of the comments “way to go retards. I bet ur all fat and ugly” i believe 1 comment said if thts not smug nd mean i dnt no wat is, nd yes i do understand the spread of diseases in the kitchen and i’m sure the do wash their hand before cooking etc. How r they meant to no hu has a weak immune system or not. Besides ppl r going to get germs whether they lyk it or not thts life.
well lulu, possibly my degree in microbiology might give me a bit of an edge in the germ department. and, by the way, i am not germaphobic and well aware that there are germs everywhere. it’s just that some will, well, KILL you!
“oh my i had no idea tht pee germ cud kill u y dont they make washing ur hands law now” and btw its not jus the germ thing ive read sum of ur comment on other things spike and it seems lyk u hav the answer to everythin and how convenient tht u hav a degree in microbiology wer did u study? btw im sure as a person with a degree in microbiology ur aware tht that most common household germs (includin pee germs) won’t kill u so wats with the “KILL you” urgency and yes ino bout e coli and such but u can’t them thro pee germs alone if so everyone wud wash ther hands
Like another poster mentioned, there are good germs and bad germs. The good germs are only on yogurt, etc. Bad germs are strong enough to live days on end on a public bathroom handle, think about that peeps, gross.
yeah like richard said, gross. WASH YOUR HANDS
Because I know a lot of people don’t wash their hands every time they go to the bathroom, I always have to have a paper towel in my hand to grab the door handle when leaving a public bathroom. Ew.
lots of people are opening the door with a paper towel and it’s a great idea. i always do that if not at home (obviously!). some places have put a waste basket right at the door so people don’t just throw the towel on the floor! i will also pull my hand inside my coat to push revolving doors, etc during cold & flu season, especially. also wear gloves on my public transit commute in the cold weather.
NOt only do I waste the water by fake washing. I waste a papertowel so that they will hear that noise too.
I don’t know if someone already said this, but pretending to wash your hands actually spreads more germs. Germs move more easily through a fluid than along a dry surface. So, all of you who pretend to wash your hands and then touching the paper towels dispenser are spreading a lot more germs then if you didn’t wash at all.
And, on a side note, anti-bacterial gel (purex or germ-x) only work if you put enough on your hands so that they are still wet from the gel 10-15 sec later. It takes that long to lyse a cell with alcohol.
I can’t believe that no-one has said what a waste of a precious resource that is, never mind the incredible idiocy in spreading potentially pathogenic material.
It’s people like you who don’t deserve the privilege of clean, running water.
I usually just let my hands run under the water, dry them with several paper towels (I hate just one, or even two), and use hand sanitizer later. I find the soap in public bathrooms to be horrendously unappealing.
Seriously? You do realize that it has been proven touching money is FAR more filthy than touching toilet seats, toilet handles, or bathroom doorknobs?
And over-washing itself may not make you sick, but it can leave you more susceptible to numerous diseases and can in the long-run make you far sicker than not washing your hands would.
Note: I DO wash my hands. I just think people need to calm down about 5 germs when they get 15 germs everytime they go to the bank.
I do the same thing sometimes, but I am very careful to use toilet paper (or paper towels) to flush the toilet and open door handles. Then I leave the bathroom and get bugged out so I go back and actually wash my hands. It’s a tiring process!
OK, just for all of you who say “Well, what did people do before we had, handwashing, sanitizers,….vaccines, etc?” News flash: A lot more people died. It’s called survival of the fittest. But we’ve decided as a society that we don’t like to just let people die if we can prevent it, so we try to help everyone survive, even those who might not be as “fit”. It’s called basic human decency.
absolutely great point, jaelle. people suffered terrible diseases and died very young prior to science discovering germs were the cause and that cleanliness could actually save lives. women dying in childbirth was quite common because of this. most people would prefer not to go back to those days!
Everybody realized that a solid theory in the scientific/medical world is that the fact that people use so much antibacterial soap and are so obsessed with ‘cleanliness’ that it’s actually causing bacteria to get stronger and more resilient, right?
So all you people who carry that bottle of purrell, you’re really not doing THAT much good. I understand the notion, but still.
I think it’s someone’s responsibility to wash their hands if they’re sick, or if they have a cut on their hand, and periodically throughout the day, but it’s not necessary to do so after you use the bathroom – unless you’re about to handle food or like, open wounds.
But on another note, you really should NEVER use your hand to flush the toilet. Not because you can actually get that many germs from said handle if everybody used their hands to do it, but since it has become commonplace to use the bottom of your shoe to do it, you CAN get tons and tons of germs if you use your hand because shoes are ridiculously unclean.
When I do feel that my hands are dirty, I wash them, thoroughly. And I use my elbow to get paper towels if it’s the dispenser with a lever. I mean your hands get more germs doing other things like picking up books in a bookstore or touching the pole in the subway. So there’s no REASON that washing your hands NEEDS to be after you pee, it’s just a convenience thing.
i’m just going to weigh in one more time on this very popular topic, my opinion only as a person with a degree in germs and a long-time worker in the food industry:
what you do in the bathroom at home primarily affects only you and the people in your house. if you don’t care about spreading colds, flu etc to them, feel free to never wash, cough and sneeze all over everything. now think of PUBLIC bathrooms with literally hundreds of people in and out every day, flushing with their shoes, coughing all over, etc. wouldn’t you want to wash your hands? wouldn’t you want the person making/serving your food to wash their hands? yeas, some people overdo it and are even phobic, but the alternative could be spreading hepatitis at the salad bar. MRSA is spread to patients in hospitals by improper hand-washing. you can die. it HAS happened and it will happen if people don’t respect the health of others and follow simple steps.
Gross. I really hope none of you hand-washing-fakers are in the food industry. I’m not a germophobe, but it’s just good sense to wash your hands. Incidentally, I actually think it’s more important for me to wash my hands when I get home from Wal-Mart. Man, my hands just feel icky when I get out of that store.
Women almost never touch their genitals when they use the bathroom. We can assume toilet paper is fairly sanitary. If there are paper towels in the public restroom, I’ll wash. If not, I’m not standing there for 2 minutes for the hot air blower, and I’m not waiting in line. If we weren’t so paranoid about germs, we wouldn’t have the problems we do with diseases becoming immune to antibiotics and people getting sick with every tiny exposure. Be sensible, wash when you can or if you actually get “something” on your hands, be clean but not fanatical. Of course nurses, docyors, food servers, etc. need to wash. Average people can relax a little. Just don’t suck your thumb and keep your fingers out of your eyes. You’ll be fine.
stupid!i nee info(hahaha)
This is my first time on this site, and I honestly don’t know if I’ll be coming back because of the unnecessary flipping out of SO MANY commenters on this.
I’m not saying I endorse skipping the hand washing, but they’re not spreading the Black Plague.
I do this too. I absolutely hate washing my hands in public restrooms. I’m a female and I don’t touch any of my girlie parts, and have enough sense to use enough toilet paper not to have anything touch my hands. I use elbows to open the door handles, and i flush with my foot. I think touching the handles on a sink makes the situation worse. But I do it so people think I washed my hands. Sometimes after running water to make others thing I used the restroom, I’ll grab some paper towels, or run the blow dryer too. I feel wasteful of water and paper.. but I don’t want to dry my skin out either and the public bathroom soap is always awful. I hate hate hate doing this – it only happens when I forget to bring hand sanitizer. And even when I bring my hand sanitizer, I make a big show of pulling it out and using it so people don’t think I’m skipping out on washing my hands.
Srsly people. You’re going to get more germs in public by opening public doors, touching subway poles, or even using a public computer keyboard than by shaking the hand of someone who doesn’t wash their hands every time they go to the bathroom. Chill! The original poster never said they don’t wash hands before food handling or if their hands got “waste” on them while they wiped. Washing hands before handling food or before working with a patient is a completely separate issue. In fact, if you are in a public restroom and then have to touch the knob to open the door I really hope you wash your hands again in the kitchen or the patient’s room before going any further. Oh, and it’s not the alcohol that does most of the germ-killing in purell or whatever. It’s the friction of rubbing your hands together. And BTW, spike, the biggest reason women died in childbirth way back when was hemorrhage, not infection. Also, as a microbiologist, I would expect you to realize that it is more important for the food handler to wash their hands after they enter the kitchen (but before handling food) than before they leave the bathroom (though ideally they’d do both). As for me, I don’t always wash after I use the toilet. If my hand got wet/dirty then I wash. If not, I don’t worry about it. However, I ALWAYS wash my hands frequently before and during preparing food or if I am around someone whose health is delicate.
I only wash my fingertips if it’s number 1, and the whole hand past the wrists if I have been downtown, on public transport, or if it was number 2.
everyone is pretending to act soooo disgusted. A LOT OF PEOPLE DON’T WASH THEIR HANDS AFTER PEEING. I even think the dry skin reason is just an excuse – you don’t do it b/c you’re just lazy and it doesn’t seem that dirty with the toilet paper buffer. Our bodies are so resilient; if we got sick everytime we touched something dirty then a lot more people would die from bacterial infections instead of cancer or heart disease. A really good way to stay healthy is to avoid putting your fingers in your mouth!!!
@Sass: please don’t go pee at my house.
It is alarming how many ‘me too’s’ there are on this post… i would also say this is the opposite or neurosis, it is laziness
I do this because I’m actually ALLERGIC to most hand soaps in public restrooms. When I use them, my hands turn bright red and swell while hurting and itching. Carrying around lotion or hand sanitizer won’t help because number one, I hate carrying a purse, and two, I’m allergic to hand sanitizer. Also, seriously, I don’t think it matters that much, and I’m far healthier than I would be if I washed my hands. I was stuck in an airport recently for 11 hours, and everytime I went to the bathroom, I used the soap because I didn’t want all those people thinking I was gross. Soon enough, my hands hurt and were so swollen I could hardly bend them. Since then, I just run my hands under the water and don’t use soap.