I do wash my hands after going to the bathroom...well, I at least rinse them. It doesn't bother me to touch the door handle in a public restroom. I see people shielding their hands with paper towels to open doors. Who is right, them or me?
Well, I use soap since it would be like washing a dish without soap, the germs and dirt are still there. Just not visible.
As for opening the door, yeah, I do use a paper towel to open the door because how many people do go to the bathroom (both bowel movements and urinating) without washing their hands. All those germs and soil are on the door handles.
I know other door handles are as dirty, but the bathroom one seems to me would be as bad if not worse than most.
I carry hand sanitizer at work for between my patients and I do wash my hands frequently. I know we can't escape germs and disease, but I try to at least give myself a slight edge.
Posts: 9086 | Location: PA, USA | Registered: 06-05-02
My mom always told me that if you already going to get your hands wet you might as well use the soap. Not washing your hands can spread the flu, a cold, hepatitis A, meningitis and a variety of other sicknesses. Washing your hands is probably one of your best defenses against getting sick. I even wash my hands after I change the litter box. Could you imagine if the restaurant cook used the bathroom and just rinsed his hands before preparing your food? The grossest thing is to watch someone who didn't wash their hands after using the bathroom eat lunch. Yuck!
Here's how to use a public washroom and keep yourself safe from the nasties others may have left behind.
First, make sure that you have access to a paper towels before you begin. This might mean turning the crank on a roller dispenser even before you turn the water on.
Wet your hand thoroughly with warm water. IMPORTANT: DO NOT TOUCH THE FAUCET OR THE HANDLES WHILE YOUR HANDS ARE WET!
Let the water run if it doesn't shut off automatically.
Work up a good lather with lots of soap. Experts say that a 15 second scrub is usually sufficient, but health care workers are trained to keep that lather working for 30 seconds. (This is about as long as it takes to sing Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star all the way through.)
Another guideline is to rub each area ten times: ten circles around each wrist, ten rubs on the back of your palms, ten rubs with fingers interlaced. Use your nails to scrub the palms of the other hand ten times; this gets lather under the nail tip, too, which is a favorite hiding spot for germs. Open your palms out as flat as you can, and work the lather into all those lines and crevices.
Pay special attention to the surface along the thumb/forefinger line. This, along with our palms, is the surface we use most often to pick things up and to shake hands.
When you are finished scrubbing, rinse thoroughly, letting the water run off your fingertips. Now grab a paper towel and dry thoroughly, all the while letting the water run. When your hands are dry, use a clean, dry paper towel to turn off the water. Use that same paper towel to handle the doorknob to leave the room, don't toss it until the door is open.
(A dry paper towel is a better germ barrier than a wet one.)
If the restroom has a hot air dryer, use a tissue, a page from a magazine, or even your clothing to turn off the faucet and open the exit door.
If you have a choice, should you use an antibacterial soap? Experts disagree on this one. Some say yes, especially during flu and cold seasons or if someone in your family is ill. They say that not only does it kill germs on your hands, but leaves behind a barrier that slows the growth of bacteria.
Others disagree, saying it is the scrubbing that cleans hands and loosens germs that are then rinsed down the sink. They feel that the antibacterial soap gives a false sense of security and that people don't put spend time actually cleaning their hands with it, especially since most of the antiseptic properties don't become effective for ten to thirty minutes after use. If you do use a sanitizing soap, follow the same scrubbing procedure that you would with a regular soap.
Posts: 9086 | Location: PA, USA | Registered: 06-05-02
LOL shel, I just pictured you waiting hours in the bathrom for someone to come in so you can get out.
I heard that soap or at least anti-bacterial soap doesn't make a huge difference, it is the vigorous rubbing back and forth that makes the biggest difference....and since when using soap we tend to do that and also keep hands under water longer.
I've seen women at work using the same precautions as you all mention. They open the door with a paper towel, the turn the faucet on with a paper towel, they turn it off with a paper towel, and they open the door again with a paper towel. It's amusing to watch...I always just assumed they were germaphobes!
As for me, I wash my hands and that's good enough for me
Posts: 9192 | Location: Atlanta, GA, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
Well I know this sounds gross and personally I dont use this technique myself but.....I was reading a Doctors artical in our local paper some time ago (his name is Dr. Gott) and he stated that if you just urinate that it is sterile and you do not "need" to wash your hands.yuckie
Well, urine IS sterile most of the time. But since your hands are NOT sterile, you still need to wash well with friction and soap (doesn't have to antimicrobial soap though... humans have been using normal soap for hundreds of years.. and other sorts of cleansing material for thousands of years).
Posts: 9086 | Location: PA, USA | Registered: 06-05-02
I always use a paper towel to turn off the faucet after washing my hands and use the paper towel to open the restroom door. Many restrooms have a trash container right inside the door so, once the door is open and my tush is against it, I toss the paper towel. If not, I dispose of it in the nearest trash can.
While in nurse's training, this was a habit ingrained in us. Our instructor in microbiology had shown us about the dangerous germs rampant on restroom doors and sink faucets. She changed my view that handwashing alone was not enough when it came to public restrooms.
Though I am no Howard Hughes, I do use soap; do use a paper towel to turn off the water and a paper towel to open the door.
I do know that we pick up germs from door handles, and touching surfaces that not so hygienic individuals have touched my thought is that a rest room door is more likely to be contaminated with fecal matter by individuals who did not wipe properly followed by walking pass the sink.
Though urine is sterile, I do know that germs are carried in fecal matter which lead to some unpleasant diseases.
Posts: 3927 | Location: Leaving land, heading for the ocean | Registered: 06-03-02
