Your thoughts on hand washing

[Norelco]

This whole swine flu thing has got me thinking about hand-washing and how simple a premise it really is to stop germs from spreading. I work in a company of about 500 people and there are a handful of people who definitely go into the bathroom, take a piss, and don't even bother looking at the sink before walking out of the bathroom.

Then there are others who will spritz their hands with water for 1 second with no soap, for show, and then walk out. Why bother?

So I brought this up at lunch and this guy gets offended and defensive and he's like "Well I don't wash my hands because I don't pee on them." And me and everyone else was like WTF?

Two things come to mind.

1. Even if you don't pee on your hands, your junk is sitting there getting all sweaty, which is the perfect breeding ground for micro-organisms.

2. You're picking up germs from all over the office from other things, so now you're just a transport mechanism for them.

End result, I called this guy a selfish bastard and disgusting to his defiant face.

What's your take? I don't understand the harm in taking a few seconds to honestly wash your hands.

[Kang]

Buy this guy some hand sanitizer and don't ever shake his hand, EVER.

It's common sense to wash your hands so fuck people who can't take the few seconds to do it.

[miokomioko]

If anything, I wash my hands before putting germs on my junk. I am pretty certain that my sweaty crotch is cleaner than the average door knob.

[Mayareira]

Yeah, its a necessity whenever you do... "something". Eat, go out, drive...anything. It only takes a couple of minutes anyway.

I always have a purel and other cleaning stuff ready in my car too.

[Jefe]

I know some people are fucking pigs, nothing I can do about (don't give a fuck either). So I tend not to shake that many hands, keep mine clean, and of course my hands don't come near my mouth/eyes. Don't forget to wash them before and after taking the piss.

[Brill Weave]

I don't wash my hands after taking a piss. But I have that foam hand sanitizer at my desk which I use instead. The only reason I don't wash my hands is the fact that our bathrooms are a bit...shall we say...rank. The building janitor is a 73 year old retiree who has had two heart attacks inside the building already. So we don't expect much. Hence the hand sanitizer.

[zoobernut]

If anything, I wash my hands before putting germs on my junk. I am pretty certain that my sweaty crotch is cleaner than the average door knob.

This is the truth.

Also I would like to point out that studies have been done and there is minimal difference between washing your hands with just water and using soap and using anti-bacterial soap. It is more about how long you wash your hands for and how thoroughly you scrub.

Soap is more to help get dirt and grime off your hands and not as much to help get rid of germs.

I wash my hands constantly at work and I always make sure to scrub them front and back.

[Norelco]

I don't wash my hands after taking a piss. But I have that foam hand sanitizer at my desk which I use instead. The only reason I don't wash my hands is the fact that our bathrooms are a bit...shall we say...rank. The building janitor is a 73 year old retiree who has had two heart attacks inside the building already. So we don't expect much. Hence the hand sanitizer.

I'm okay with this. Although I would prefer if you brought the bottle of hand sanitizer in the bathroom with you, just in case you make a stop off at the printer or another computer or something before making your way back to your desk.

[Norelco]

The other thing this guy said to me at lunch was "Well I haven't gotten sick in 4 years!"

So? That doesn't mean you aren't spreading germs on to other surfaces. The guy either has a pretty good immune system or does a good job at not rubbing his eyes/nose.

[Jakson]

Overrated. Necessary evil, etc.

Seriously though, as somebody who washes probably 25-30 times a day, sometimes I care more about how fucking dry and leathery my hands get than if some jerk were to get a life threatening disease from me.

Edit: Hell, 99% I work with, for, and serve deserve Swine Flu.

[Kuya]

Germs!! Ooga booga!

[Diamicles]

Doesn't matter if you wash your hands after you use take a leak, you're definitely going to touch something that hasn't been cleaned in ages approximately 30 seconds after (door handle, keyboard, mouse, pen/pencil, office chair, etc...) The spread of germs has much more to do with sneezing or coughing on your hands and/or wiping your nose, then touching "high traffic" hand surfaces. My wiener, which I washed this morning, isn't really that unsanitary.

Dropping a deuce and not washing your hands is a completely different story.

[Norelco]

Doesn't matter if you wash your hands after you use take a leak, you're definitely going to touch something that hasn't been cleaned in ages approximately 30 seconds after (door handle, keyboard, mouse, pen/pencil, office chair, etc...) The spread of germs has much more to do with sneezing or coughing on your hands and/or wiping your nose, then touching "high traffic" hand surfaces. My wiener, which I washed this morning, isn't really that unsanitary.

Dropping a deuce and not washing your hands is a completely different story.

Fine, then why isn't there a custom for cupping someone else's balls when you first meet them instead of shaking their hands?

[Kuya]

Fine, then why isn't there a custom for cupping someone else's balls when you first meet them instead of shaking their hands?

Looks like your're more worried about ball particles than germs.

[Vajra]

Doesn't matter if you wash your hands after you use take a leak, you're definitely going to touch something that hasn't been cleaned in ages approximately 30 seconds after (door handle, keyboard, mouse, pen/pencil, office chair, etc...)

You can take a paper towel, or carry around some (prior to entering bathroom), and use that to touch the door knob (and other inanimate surfaces) rather than touching the door (and other inanimate surfaces) with your recently nicely washed, silky-smooth finger-licking-good and angelic-smelling-soft-tasty-washed-hands.

[Norelco]

Looks like your're more worried about ball particles than germs.

LOL, well my point is if you don't at the very least wash your hands after touching your genitalia then you're most likely not washing your hands for much else, including sneezing and coughing.

[Talus]

This whole swine flu thing has got me thinking about hand-washing and how simple a premise it really is to stop germs from spreading. I work in a company of about 500 people and there are a handful of people who definitely go into the bathroom, take a piss, and don't even bother looking at the sink before walking out of the bathroom.

Then there are others who will spritz their hands with water for 1 second with no soap, for show, and then walk out. Why bother?

So I brought this up at lunch and this guy gets offended and defensive and he's like "Well I don't wash my hands because I don't pee on them." And me and everyone else was like WTF?

Two things come to mind.

1. Even if you don't pee on your hands, your junk is sitting there getting all sweaty, which is the perfect breeding ground for micro-organisms.

2. You're picking up germs from all over the office from other things, so now you're just a transport mechanism for them.

End result, I called this guy a selfish bastard and disgusting to his defiant face.

What's your take? I don't understand the harm in taking a few seconds to honestly wash your hands.

Washing your hands mainly removes transient flora (bacteria) mechanically. Even when it says it is "antibacterial" or "antimicrobial." You have a resident population, called your "normal flora" on your skin, in your mouth, in your intestines (a lot of Gram-negative bacilli like E. coli, which also do some nice things for us like make vitamins for us to use.

I always wash my hands before & after using the bathroom, and if possible I open the door with a paper towel in my hand then throw it out. I hardly ever get sick. Also, your mouth is way dirtier than your junk is, even if you have an infection of Neisseria gonorrhea (gonorrhea) when you are talking variety and sheer numbers of microorganisms present.

Lastly, the world is pee-covered, whether you like it or not, that's how it is. Fortunately, urine is sterile. It could be far worse.

[Tagus]

We busted a courier not washing his hands in the bathroom at work yesterday, and the common consensus among my co-workers seems to be that he's a complete fucking asshole for it. We do work in a lab that produces injections for hospital studies though, so that might have something to do with this line of thinking.

[Dantrag]

#1 thing found on most gym equipment is poop particles!

[kuronosan]

I don't care what your excuse is. If you don't wash your hands after using the bathroom, whether you piss on your fingers or not, you're a fucking douchebag.