I agree with everything twinkle tink said. Just makes bacteria stronger and more resiliant to be a germaphobe. Yes, handwashing is good, but extreme measures make things much worse for the microbial world.
Germaphobes and people who eat stuff off the floor...
- Thread starter Charles
- Start date
You can imagine with all the bull nights I've had in the military - my home is very clean and organised. Very scary for some people as everything has a place and everything is almost always in it's place. I don't believe in all the cleaning products on the market. I believe all you need is hot soapy water (sometimes with a touch of bleach) - and lots of elbow grease. I'm very rarely ill, in fact I actually can't remember the last time I had a cold.
I'm not a germaphobe. I do wash my fruits and veggies before eating them, but I won't throw away a piece of non-sticky food that's fallen on the ground. If it's something gooey and it has sand, hair and dirt stuck to it, yes - I'll throw it away.
I do wash my hands after using the restroom. I don't use hand sanitizer. I'm the type that things that the over-use of that stuff has made people more prone to getting sick. I hardly ever get sick. Once a year, max.
I do wash my hands after using the restroom. I don't use hand sanitizer. I'm the type that things that the over-use of that stuff has made people more prone to getting sick. I hardly ever get sick. Once a year, max.
I think I fall between both extremes. I clean my home about once a week, and the yard about 3-4 times a week (with 2 dogs, it's a must!). I'm not cleaning obsessed and I seldom get sick. Mainly I'll get a cold from the change of seasons in winter and sometimes a stomachache because I'll eat things my gastritis doesn't like lol. But nothing big, when it comes to viruses or bacteria and such.
I'm somewhat of a clean freak (I'm addicted to the lines that vaccuums eave). Well more of an organizational freak. I rarely get sick. But I think that comes from my mom not being a clean freak. I don't think it matters as much when u are an adult as those parents who sanitize sanitize sanitize their kids. Let them eat off the floor and get dirty. They need the immunity!
I picked the last one! I thought I'd be the only one! I wash my hands after the bathroom and before I prepare food, but if I'm out I don't really worry about it. I agree that people need germs around them to help their immune system adjust. I guess I just don't really think about germs too much. I get sick maybe once a year if that. Sounds like we are a healthy bunch, germaphobe or not!
I never get sick, my biggest issue come with sinus allergy problems, other than that i'm pretty cool all year long. Same thing with my kids. I think diet plays an important role as well.
My Grandmother always said kids need a teaspoon of dirt a day to grow up healthy. Well not literally of course, but we used to play in the garden and live like children should, not in a sterilised world, and we never got sick, well hardly ever anyway. And I still follow the 10 second rule with food in my house - if I get whatever I dropped off my clean floor within 10 seconds, it's still good for eating!!!
Ha! My cousin used to be a freak about the lines in the carpet after vacuuming. I'd purposely mess them up when he wasn't looking. It would drive him crazy. Good times!
Okay, what is a germaphobe? I know the dictionary definition, but it seems like it means different things to different people. My brother thinks that I'm a bit of a freak because I won't pick up and eat food from the ground. I don't think I am one, but I like things clean and use a hand sanitizer approx. 3 times a day. I think it's all relative.
I refuse to use hand santizers except under extreme circumstances where soap and water is not available. I do wash my hands fairly often and am germiphobic about public restrooms. I won't even touch the bathroom door handle without a paper towel after washing my hands. Other than that I am pretty much a slob!!!
Not long ago I was on a cruise with some girlfriends and I know they think I'm germiphobic because I got so grossed out by the head waiter. We were eating our salads when up walks up the head waiter to introdruce himself to each table. He was determined to shake hands with each guest and then roam to the next table. I had to jump up and wash my hands right afterwards. They thought I was nuts but it seriously grossed me out that he was shaking hands with hundreds of people in the middle of dinner.
Edited to answer the question...lol I get sick with colds/flu/infections maybe once every 5-10 years.
Not long ago I was on a cruise with some girlfriends and I know they think I'm germiphobic because I got so grossed out by the head waiter. We were eating our salads when up walks up the head waiter to introdruce himself to each table. He was determined to shake hands with each guest and then roam to the next table. I had to jump up and wash my hands right afterwards. They thought I was nuts but it seriously grossed me out that he was shaking hands with hundreds of people in the middle of dinner.
Edited to answer the question...lol I get sick with colds/flu/infections maybe once every 5-10 years.
The concept of germs mutating to become resistant to various drugs is actually the least of our worries. There are only a very few microbes that are known to cause diseases that can do this on a regular basis.
The BIGGER issue is that we are killing off all the germs that can be killed off with antibiotics and so forth. Take Methacillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (not sure if I spelled it 100% correctly). This is commonly known in the media and healthcare as MRSA. This is not really a mutated form of S. aureus. It is just a strain that is resistant to Methacillin's. The reason this has become so common in the hospital systems is because we can kill off many of the other Staphylococcus bacteria. This leaves only MRSA to multiply and reproduce. There is no need for it to compete for nutrients. Heck, S. aureus can naturally be found on the skin of healthy humans.
Another microbe that, suprise suprise, often times found in the hospital is Clostridium difficile. This is usually refered to as C. diff. You can find this microbe on pretty much ANY SURFACE of a hospital. If you have stepped foot into a hospital, you have come into contact with it. So, why does the normal person not have infections from this microbe? It is because we have naturally occuring bacteria in our intestines that prevent major colonization of C. diff. BUT, when someone has another microbe colonization, say with MRSA, the antibiotics given are so strong that they kill off ALL bacteria, even those that are healthy and occur naturally. This gives C. diff the ability to colonize and create havoc in the intestines.
Basically, IMHO, there are times to use antibiotics and so forth. But I will disagree with Neosporin or Band-Aid about EVERY cut needing it. No, not every cut needs it. So your finger is a little red, guess what, that is normal. It is part of the healing process.
The BIGGER issue is that we are killing off all the germs that can be killed off with antibiotics and so forth. Take Methacillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (not sure if I spelled it 100% correctly). This is commonly known in the media and healthcare as MRSA. This is not really a mutated form of S. aureus. It is just a strain that is resistant to Methacillin's. The reason this has become so common in the hospital systems is because we can kill off many of the other Staphylococcus bacteria. This leaves only MRSA to multiply and reproduce. There is no need for it to compete for nutrients. Heck, S. aureus can naturally be found on the skin of healthy humans.
Another microbe that, suprise suprise, often times found in the hospital is Clostridium difficile. This is usually refered to as C. diff. You can find this microbe on pretty much ANY SURFACE of a hospital. If you have stepped foot into a hospital, you have come into contact with it. So, why does the normal person not have infections from this microbe? It is because we have naturally occuring bacteria in our intestines that prevent major colonization of C. diff. BUT, when someone has another microbe colonization, say with MRSA, the antibiotics given are so strong that they kill off ALL bacteria, even those that are healthy and occur naturally. This gives C. diff the ability to colonize and create havoc in the intestines.
Basically, IMHO, there are times to use antibiotics and so forth. But I will disagree with Neosporin or Band-Aid about EVERY cut needing it. No, not every cut needs it. So your finger is a little red, guess what, that is normal. It is part of the healing process.
i think people who clean more get sick more.
their body aren't able to become immune to anything, so when someone breathes towards them from a mile away, they get sick.
i know this from personal experience; i babysat for a family like this and their kids were always sick.
their body aren't able to become immune to anything, so when someone breathes towards them from a mile away, they get sick.
i know this from personal experience; i babysat for a family like this and their kids were always sick.
Great thread Charles
I like a clean house but I am not neurotic about using antibacterial cleansers. In fact I avoid them because of the risk of over sanitising & destroying resistance to germs
One thing I am neurotic about is anyone sneezing in my company & not covering their mouth, that is how germs are passed, flu etc.
Also I was brought up NEVER to wear anyones elses clothing or shoes so would be big on that one with my kids. We do not lend or borrow LOL
I would get a lot of bad colds so started to get the flu jab, it really didn't help! Didn't get it last winter & was a lot better. I have proved that the flu jab gave me a skin irritation, each winter my face would burn I asked my doctor she said No way would the flu jab cause that. However, I proved her wrong last winter I didn't have it, no skin reaction & less bad colds! haven't had the real flu in many years though LOL
I like a clean house but I am not neurotic about using antibacterial cleansers. In fact I avoid them because of the risk of over sanitising & destroying resistance to germs
One thing I am neurotic about is anyone sneezing in my company & not covering their mouth, that is how germs are passed, flu etc.
Also I was brought up NEVER to wear anyones elses clothing or shoes so would be big on that one with my kids. We do not lend or borrow LOL
I would get a lot of bad colds so started to get the flu jab, it really didn't help! Didn't get it last winter & was a lot better. I have proved that the flu jab gave me a skin irritation, each winter my face would burn I asked my doctor she said No way would the flu jab cause that. However, I proved her wrong last winter I didn't have it, no skin reaction & less bad colds! haven't had the real flu in many years though LOL