How abnormal will I look if I wear throw away gloves at buffets?

[gina2000]

If I were of this mindset, I think I would dine at the earliest seating at a buffet rather than wear disposible gloves. This way the food would be fresh and somewhat untouched by germy hands.

I'm not a germ fanatic but I work with kids and I do wash my hands before eating. A buffet has its own set of problems, however, and the only way I could troubleshoot uncontaminated food would be to choose a different style of dining.

 

[DVCconvert]

OP-
I don't think anyone would pay any notice -- just so long as you wear a tin foil hat at the same time!

 

[mikat]

PS The reason for gloves instead of sanitizer is because they say sanitizer does not kill the norovirus.

Ok - I'm a chemist, so perhaps I can help out a bit here - you're right, hand sanitizer is an anti-bacterial - the alcohol kills bacteria. There's a lot of research that says that hand sanitizers *do* help to make your skin a bad place for viruses to hang out as well, but they can't specifically say that on the product labels yet.

If you really want an anti-viral/anti-bacterial/anti-fungal hand sanitizer, they do exist. Look for any product that contains benzalkonium chloride (doctors have used this for years). The only problem is they're pretty expensive:

http://www.amazon.com/Soapopular-Brand-Alcohol-FRIENDLY-Sanitizer/dp/B000WYTA46

That being said, when you use any hand sanitizer, you're killing all the good "bugs" along with the bad ones, and in the end, a good hand wash before you eat is probably your best option. Also, as other posters have said, noro and other viruses could just as easily be on the table you're sitting at or the person next to you in line for Space Mountain.

And if you do decide to wear gloves, please, as others have mentioned, don't wear latex gloves, wear plastic or vinyl ones. Latex allergies are very nasty contact allergies and you can't help but leave behind latex residue when you touch a buffet utensil. In doing so you could unintentionally make someone else have a really bad day.

Hope this helps! Time to take off my nerdy hat and go enjoy some tot soccer!

 

[beansmom]

I have never heard of anyone doing this as what about when you go out in public and touch any door handle, bathroom fixture, etc??? Their are germs everywhere on this planet and there is no way to avoid them.

that's why you DON'T turn off the water with your hands and open the door with a paper towel. Duh. Seriously, tho...that's what lotsa folks do.

The world IS full of germs and because they touch us less and less, we are getting sicker and sicker. Germs are healthy for us, helps us build up resistance to them.

 

[Mickey country]

If you want to wear gloves, then I think you should! My whole family got so sick at Disney, 2 of us had to be hospitalized. We now stay away from buffets, and wash our hands and wash them some more. Have a good trip!

 

[PlutoLuvr]

I'd really think there's something very wrong with you ... like mentally. Sorry if it's harsh, but you did ask.

Your backpack and/or stroller is covered with bacteria by the end of the day. The Mickey ears and hats and crap you buy in a store and wear or put on your kid has been handled by tons of strangers. And you're worried about a handle at a buffet?

Get yourself and your kids into the habit of washing their hands before mealtime and at regular intervals during the day and evening. You'll be fine and won't look like a total fruit loop.

 

[maxiesmom]

I'd really think there's something very wrong with you ... like mentally. Sorry if it's harsh, but you did ask.

Your backpack and/or stroller is covered with bacteria by the end of the day. The Mickey ears and hats and crap you buy in a store and wear or put on your kid has been handled by tons of strangers. And you're worried about a handle at a buffet?

Get yourself and your kids into the habit of washing their hands before mealtime and at regular intervals during the day and evening. You'll be fine and won't look like a total fruit loop.

No kidding! You touch so much stuff at WDW, from the time you stick your finger on the scanner to the lap belts to the railings to the merchandise. Unless you plan on wearing gloves the whole trip, there really is no point to just wearing them at the buffets.

 

[daisyduck123]

Wouldn't be the weirdest thing I've seen at WDW.


Go for it.

Btw....at the buffets, my family goes up, gets their food, sits down, & then I distribute a Handi-wipe to each person. We wash right there & then begin eating.

 

[missmun52]

yea....thats crazy, sorry....

use the antibacterial wipes or gel (I prefer the wipes) We use the gel in the hospital so I think it will be just fine

 

[Kay1]

One person wearing gloves? I would think you had some awful allergy. A whole family wearing gloves? It would be hard not to look.

 

[emmabemmainc]

I have never washed my hands or used any kind of antibacterial gel when I have eaten at buffets in WDW. Honestly, I have never even thought of it.

When my daughter was born, her doctor encouraged me to take her out in public as much as possible--he said the more she was exposed to, the better. I followed his advice and guess what? I think my daughter got sick once in the first 3 years of her life! Even then, the one time was just a little cold.

Even now (she's 9)--we both almost never get sick. I think the more you worry about it, the worse it is. I know people who are total germaphobes and they get sick all of the time--and then that makes them even more paranoid.

Just relax and have fun!

 

[pearlieq]

If you are so worried about the serving utensils, it would be less conspicuous to ask the waiter to bring you some table spoons and use those to dish up the food. Alternatively, you could bring your own disposable serving utensils.

The restaurant-provided tablespoons are a good idea, but I'd be pretty upset about someone bringing in their own disposable utensils from outside and using them to dish up food.

While you'd think that someone who is that much of a germaphobe would store them in a sanitary manner, you just never know. I'd hate to see someone fish a spoon out of their backpack and plunk it in a shared tray of food. I would call a CM over right away if I saw that.

 

[tartemis]

Sorry OP - I would think you were a bit odd.

But seriously, I eat with a knife and fork - and therefore would not have hand to mouth contact. I mean my hands may have cooties but how is that transferring to the food?

And yes, I find people who drag out their sanitizer everywhere to be complete freaks as well.

Exactly -- I'm not understanding why touching the serving utensils (evevn if contaminated) could be a problem unless you plan on eating with your fingers. And then I think it would be saner to just not eat with your fingers!

 

[*NikkiBell*]

I'm sorry, but I really think this is over the top. You are exposed to thousands of germs everyday and this is absolutely unnecessary. Being exposed to germs is a good thing, at times, and I think you should avoid buffets if you truly are considering this. Then again, what will you do when a waiter brings food out to you at a dine in restaurant? Will you not use any side of the plate that he touched?

 

[DonaldTDuck]

I've been in food service for 30+ years and would never consider this. We wear gloves to protect the guest, not ourselves. The gloves get the same crap on them your hands would, then you get it on you when you remove the gloves. This is why when we take off our gloves, we wash our hands. Hand washing and sanitizer are for the user's protection, not gloves.

 

[princessmom29]

Totally over thetop OCD. If you are that uncomfortable, just don't eat a buffet, or sny restaurant for that matter. YOu can never be SURE there is no cross contamination. If you are truly THAT concerned about it, you are better off staying home, away from others germs. If it were me I would just get over it and go have a good time.

 

[csharpwv]

You would think that with the cost of baggage fees people would stop packing their germs to take them on vacation!!!







In all reality, the utensils are dirty, in all reality - your plate (making its way from the dishwasher to the buffet line) will likely pick up a few germs as well. Not to mention the air born germs that land on the food while sitting on the buffet, or on the food on your plate while you walk back to your table.

Not all germs are bad - not all germs are good - and either way you can't avoid them all- you can't even avoid the majority of them.

Chances are we breathe more germs than we touch while we are indoors. They are all around us, and you cannot avoid them all in any way shape or form.

Don't even try to convince yourself that you can avoid all or even the majority of germs.
I wish I could give you a count of the number of GROWN ADULTS that I have seen in WDW restrooms leave without washing their hands OR using the provided hand sanitizer. Let me just say that if I had $100 for each one of them I would NEVER have to work again !

Smile - pretend you don't care - and wash your own hands as often as possible, use hand sanitizer, NEVER share drinks, and encourage all of those in your party to mind their manners, wash their hands, and keep their 'beak' out of your drink!

 

[kandb]

OP here,
First of all, I wasn't going to wear the big white surgical gloves that you see doctors wear. The gloves are think clear plastic type. I know there are some MD's on this site that have diagnosed me with OCD. That's fine but if your family members get sick and are in your room vomiting during your vacaiton after spending thousands of dollars, then come talk to me. And yes, I agree there are germs everywhere, but I do and have my children wash there hands frequently when we are on vacation, especially before we eat and we do sanitize as well. I know there is no way to totally eliminate germs from coming into contact with my family but there are steps we can take to reduce the chance of getting ill. I'm not worried about getting a cold, just don't want a stomach illness that can ruin our vacation. Hope everyone has a great vacation, Linda

 

[MickeyNicki]

A lady I know wears little white disposable cloth ones all the time, she has a skin issue that is not contagious but her hands are not pretty....no one has ever commented on her wearing them. If I saw someone with those on at a buffet I would not think twice but rubber gloves I would because some people are highly allergic to latex...what if you transfer the latex to the utensils and someone uses it and gets deathly ill from that??

 

[TheRustyScupper]

I know this may seem like a stange question but we have a big box of plastic disposable gloves that I was thinking of putting on one of my hands that I use to retrieve all the food at buffets (large serving spoons, tongs etc).

Are you not more worried about sneezes and coughs into the food?