Are you germophobic?

[Acklander]

No, I like to live dangerously. Beyond the basics of washing my hands after using the bathroom/before eating, I can't think of any precautions that I take.

 

[Acklander]

This thread reminds me of the movie "Animal House". Remember the scene where the couple were "making out" (trying to keep it Dis friendly) and the girl was wearing rubber gloves???

 

[Tiggernut_jadie]

Apart from the basic hygene things, not mixing raw meat with anything, keeping them seperate in the fridge. Washing hands after using the toilet and handling raw food no germs don't bother me. I use the comforter in hotel rooms walk round bare foot in the room (walked through the coloured canyon in Egypt bare foot stubbed a toe but the sand stopped the bleading) don't cary any anti bacterial stuff, don't use it in the home I would rather build up immunities than leave myself exposed to everything because my body hasn't met it. Just go through life and enjoy it.

Yep that pretty much sums it up for me too!

This article made headline news over in the UK last week...It makes you think about the rises in certain illnesses and the possible tie in with the invention of purell/clorox etc!

 

[jenm2878]

No, I like to live dangerously. Beyond the basics of washing my hands after using the bathroom/before eating, I can't think of any precautions that I take.

I agree. DH and I are not germaphobes in the least (he is with raw chicken, but that's just because we've both had samonella before ) We are both very rarely sick.

 

[PaulaSB12]

My co-workers make fun of me being a germaphobe all the time. But they are just as bad as me, and I don't think it's out of the ordinary. I never sit on public toilets. But I do line them with tp and clean up after myself. Public bathrooms disgust me but there is no reason for me to leave my germs behind too. I wash my hands frequently, I wipe off grocery cart handles, and I believe in the 1 second rule, if I drop food then I'm not eating it!

I believe in the if I get there before the pets I eat it. As for using towels to flush the toilet I just clean my hands after.

 

[graygables]

Hubby is, I'm not. We drive each other insane. It was a very good thing he wasn't with us last month when my mom, DDs, and I were at Outback and I knocked the fresh loaf of bread onto the floor. I scooped it up, brushed it off and we ate it. 10 second rule and all that, y'know! and...we all LIVED! Hubby also learned today that none of the cast iron is ever washed with soap, so I'm betting he won't eat dinner (cooked in a cast iron dutch oven). Honestly.

I think the whole germ thing has really caused women to behave VERY poorly in the restrooms. Public restrooms are SO much more disgusting now that women no longer feel the need to take care and clean up after themselves. Before the whole germophobia thing hit, I rarely came across a toilet that was unflushed or sprinkled on. Now, it's downright common. I used to think that toilets in Turkey (holes in the ground with footpads) were the worst, but in recent years, I've been in some REALLY disgusting ladies' rooms.

 

[happygirl]

Nope,

 

[tonilea]

Nope. I love livin' on the edge.

 

[RachelNinja]

I admit to being germaphobic, but I've gotten better as the years go by!

I don't go crazy with wiping everything down because at this point in my life, it would very difficult to do that! I'm a middle school teacher, and I also spend a few periods a week with the PreK and the 1st graders. I see them as germy little things ... even though they're absolutely adorable! When I leave their classrooms to go back to my classrooms, I just try to wash my hands or Purell them. During the winter season, I was really good about doing this because they were all sick. Their fingers were ALWAYS in their noses! I just didn't want to get more germs in my system (on top of the germs that were already in my system from just spending time with them).

Nowadays I'm not as bad because I don't always have a chance to wash my hands. I just make sure I avoid touching my face (especially eyes or nose). The biggest thing is that I HAVE TO wash my hands before eating lunch, even if I'm using utensils. That is a necessity, and I think it's disgusting when people don't do that.

I do hover in the bathroom, but I also put down TP just in case. That way, I can easily clean up any mess that I may make (but I think that if you're a good hoverer [if that's a word~], leaving a sprinkle is very rare). I cannot STAND people that don't clean up after themselves. It's so gross! Why do I want to see your pee?!? I also use a paper towel to open up the bathroom door just because I've seen too many people leave the bathrooms without washing their hands. My students always see me leave the bathroom with a paper towel in my hand!

Lysol is a must at hotels. Over the years, I've gotten better with being extremely germaphobic, but I think it's extremely necessary to Lysol the sink fixtures. I wash my hands and then take out my contacts so I try to turn the water off with the back of my hand. I don't want to put unnecessary germs into my eyes.

BTW, sad to say, being careful with germs didn't prevent me from getting sick a few times this year. But hey, I guess that just comes with the territory of being a first year teacher!

 

[npmommie]

I'm becoming one I think. I used to not be, but after DS's came along I started slowly creeping to the dark side of germphobia.

Here's something to think about in the stalls of public bathrooms. When you go in, make sure you get some toliet paper and use it to close the stall door with. Just think..........the last thing the person before you touched when they left that stall was---that door latch. And before that, what were they doing with their hands. There's noooooooooooooo telling.

you better use the tissue to touch anything because when the toilet is flushed without a lid down it sprays everywhere in the stall
I try not to touch anything, the worst is when the kids are along, one day my ds was laying on the floor in the barnes and noble bathroom while i peed, ugggh.........

 

[npmommie]

Exactly--and the "hoverers" would never DREAM of wadding up a big ball of tissue and cleaning up their sprinkles. They are even afraid of their own germs. Best to leave it for the cleaning people.

I hover, but I line the seat with double toilet paper before i hover to catch any drips..........LOL........then that goes down with the flush.
needless to say it takes me awhile if i have to pee in public.

 

[npmommie]

As she made my sandwich she smiled and talked. All I could think was...please don't spit/spray over my sandwich! After the bad experience I had with Subway and returning my lunch there, I took my chances with this sandwich.

I'm another wiping the cart at the food store.

LOL, don't you hate when someone is a close talker and they spray??? I was at staples and the guy was helping me, and he was a close talker, i kept backing up, i just knew i was getting hit, and yep, it hit right below my eye..........ewwwwwwwwwwww..........i could feel it as i stood there thinking how i could get away from him and rub alcohol gel on my face!!!!!!!!!

 

[Rozzie]

I do the normal hand-washing/cleanliness stuff etc. but I don't go crazy.
I stay in hotels. I use the public bathrooms.

I am a nurse. I am not going to catch anything "out there" that I haven't been exposed to (and probably 10 times worse) at work.

Amazingly enough, I am hardly ever sick. Seldom get colds. Have had the flu once in all my life. No pneumonia, no infections, no MRSA, no VRE.

I did have open heart surgery, but that was for a congenital defect, not because of a public bathroom.

Another nurse here and I agree 100%. I don't buy antibacterials for the home (why kill the good stuff?) and I don't wipe down my hotel rooms. I do hover though, and wipe the seat if need be before and after. I am exposed to every known junk out there everyday at work. Following just basic common sense goes a long way.

Honestly, OCD is alive and well, and Purrell is making a killing off of it.

 

[doxdogy]

That is the rule in our house. If we can beat the mutts to it then it is fair game. Not a germophobe at all. I will use a paper towel to open the bathroom door at work. I remember reading years ago about a parent that would not allow their child to get dirty. The doctor basically told the parent to allow the kid to play in the dirt and build up her immune system.

I believe in the if I get there before the pets I eat it. As for using towels to flush the toilet I just clean my hands after.

 

[disney1990]

Definitely NOT. My 86 year old Mom use to say, you have to eat a peck of dirt before you die. We lie on the bedspeads, touch the rides at Disney, etc. Absolutely no antibiotic soaps, etc in our house. All those chemicals are much worse for you than the germs.

And, no, I have had a cold or the flu in years. Like somebody else said, what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger.

 

[Kae]

No I am the basic hand washer, I look before I sit. At hotels I sit on the bed spreads, take baths & walk barefoot. If a have ant-Bac hand soap it is because it is from Bath & Body Works & I like the smell.

Kae

 

[LadyyRedd]

Not really. I wash my hands a lot, but not because I'm scared of germs, but because I don't like them feeling like they've got any "stuff" on them.

Kimya

 

[Charlotte ~08]

Nice easy answer, nope!

 

[NMAmy]

I also have been using those purell wipes on the shopping carts when i go in the store, and i use the self checkout just cuz i don't like anyone touching my stuff.

I'm sorry, this seems so silly to me. You do realize that employees touch the items to put them on the shelves and to restock--not to mention every customer that picked up an item and then changed their mind and put it back? Eliminating two people--the cashier and the bagger--isn't going to help much.

No, I'm not a germophobe at all. I am vigiliant while cooking to avoid cross contamination and I wash my hands fairly often during the day but that's it. It's good to build up immunities--not to mention that it's just an easier way to live your life.

Oh, and to all you hoverers--I REALLY dislike this practice and I am SO tired of cleaning up after you. Just sit down, for heaven's sake.

 

[MichelleVW]

Oh, and to all you hoverers--I REALLY dislike this practice and I am SO tired of cleaning up after you. Just sit down, for heaven's sake.

AGREED!!

I touch everything...sit on toilet seats, touch door knobs with my bare hands. Sleep with the comforter and walk barefoot in hotels.

I'm almost never sick!!