How germaphobic are you??

[bettyann29]

Of course I always wash my hands after going to the restroom and before cooking, etc.. but just wondering how germaphobic others are.. as an example at work a coworker will be in her cube eating and if someone walks up to her desk to talk to her she immediately covers her food with a napkin.. many people at work will carry napkins around and when they go to open a door use the napkin, etc..

Germs are everywhere and I just wonder if others think these things really help..

 

[NewJersey]

I love those clorox wipes and lysol disenfectant spray. i use them all the time. i make sure to wash my hands alot to get rid of germs (esp. in the winter when everyone has colds).

My parents make fun of me about how much of a germophobe I am.

 

[kbkids]

My DD laughs at me in public restrooms. I've got to get a handtowel to turn the knobs on the faucets. Then use a towel to open the door when I'm leaving and will then stand with my foot in the door and attempt to toss the towel into the trashcan. Public restrooms just totally gross me out. Beyond that, I don't think about the germs as much.

Although, much to my in-laws' dismay, I detest and will refuse to eat at the all-you-can buffets that they just love so much!! Whenever they invite us out - if that's the menu - I've conveniently got something to do and will let DH go spend time with them.

 

[CEDmom]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

 

[kbkids]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

 

[Linnie The Pooh]

Hmmm, I'm a pretty bad germophobe. When I use public restrooms, I have to rip the first bit of toilet paper off and throw it in the toilet before I'll use it because I imagine that other people have put their hands there to rip their own toilet paper off and I'm going to be touching where their hands touched and putting it well, you know where. Huh. Now that I said that, I think it makes more sound more like a nut than a germophobe.

I use rubber gloves to touch raw meat, especially chicken. I am petrified of getting a food poison of some kind. Huh, again, not such a germophobe, but more of a nut.

 

[kbkids]

Hmmm, I'm a pretty bad germophobe. When I use public restrooms, I have to rip the first bit of toilet paper off and throw it in the toilet before I'll use it because I imagine that other people have put their hands there to rip their own toilet paper off and I'm going to be touching where their hands touched and putting it well, you know where.

Oh geez!! Never thought about that!! Well, great!!

 

[Disney Hot Mama]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

Me too....
I have never worried about sitting on a public toilet nor do I pass this panic onto my kids. I will never forget my girlfriend telling her 3 or 4 year old to go pee pee in the toilet but not to sit on it.... I swore I would never be like that with my kids and I never have. They have NEVER been sick other then when they were babies and still in diapers. With all the trips we make to DL in CA and WDW plus all the public places we go I would say we are doig well.
Of course we do wash hands after but usually with Purell.

Oh... and another thing - I remember watching a TV show about this and they did a study that the door know on public restrooms going out (not in) was the cleanest item in the restroom! Because people do wash hands after using the bathroom...

 

[Aidensmom]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

Me too. I am not at all germaphobic. I'm the only parent I know who doesn't carry around that antibacterial gel stuff, and also the only parent I know whose child rarely gets sick. I do think it can be harmful to be too germaphobic - you don't let your body learn how to fight off any germs it may come in contact with.

 

[ilovepcot]

I'm extreme and no one here wants to hear the ugly details.

 

[I Love Pluto]

Hmmm, I'm a pretty bad germophobe. When I use public restrooms, I have to rip the first bit of toilet paper off and throw it in the toilet before I'll use it because I imagine that other people have put their hands there to rip their own toilet paper off and I'm going to be touching where their hands touched and putting it well, you know where. Huh. Now that I said that, I think it makes more sound more like a nut than a germophobe.



OMG! Are you my twin? I thought I was the only one in the world who did that!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Public restrooms are the only time I tend to be a bit of a germaphobe. But (excuse the pun) I do sit on the seat unless it appears dirty and usually flush with my hand. I am going to wash my hands with soap and water, anyway. I try not to touch the door handle when leaving the restroom since lots of people don't wash their hands. That's the grossest surface to me!

Other than that, I'm not too much of a germaphobe. Before leaving on a vacation I watch the germs more, washing my hands more often. Also, I will use Purell wipes, but I don't use anti-bacterial products since the body can build up a resistance to those products. I do try to remember to wipe of the remotes at the Disney hotels with a Lysol wipe since I'm trying to minimize the chance of getting sick when I'm on vacation, but I usually forget to actually do it.

During the flu season we are more careful to wash our hands often and if someone in our house is real sick we'll kick it up a notch, but in general we don't worry much about everyday germs and dirt. I'm a firm believer in the "5 second rule" when something falls on the floor.

 

[ilovejack02]

I am not too bad i dont think lol. I pull the bedspreads off hotel beds and dont let any of the family walk around hotels in their barefeet. I use Purell alot and use a tissue to open a bathroom door after i have washed my hands. I saw the show about bathroom doors being clean but it still freaks me out. Now i do sit on a potty even if its public, but i always wipe it off first with clean t.p. and i yell at DS to not touch anything while we are in there. I also wipe off all grocery carts before DS touches them, but my grocery store has the wipes waiting for us as soon as we enter the store.
Maybe i am a germaphob lol??!!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Oh... and another thing - I remember watching a TV show about this and they did a study that the door know on public restrooms going out (not in) was the cleanest item in the restroom! Because people do wash hands after using the bathroom...

I see so many people leaving the restroom without washing their hands, though. Blech! I don't refuse to touch the handle, but especially if I'm in a restaurant and will be going back to eat, I try to avoid touching the handle.

What is the show? It would be interesting to see more studies done on this. Here's one about germs in an office setting. http://www.ergoweb.com/news/detail.cfm?id=1270

 

[pearlieq]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

OMG!!! I thought I was the only one left!

I'm not much of a germophobe (see tag! ) I take basic precautions (regular handwashing, careful handling of raw meat, etc.) but you'll never find a bottle of Purell in my purse!

 

[Kahana-ri]

I am a decent germaphobe. I have hand sanitizer-at least a dozen, in my purse, work space, car, stroller etc. Sanitizing handy wipes everywhere as well. I lay toilet paper in the seat if they don't give out toilet seat covers, flush with my foot and use a paper towel to open the door.
Germaphobe maybe, but I rarely get sick.

 

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

Not at all germaphobic - but I was floored by a conversation in a resturant bathroom - there was a mom with her child in the stall

"Leave that alone, don't touch that, it's nasty"
Clink-Clink-Clunk
"I said to leave that alone, that is nasty and gross, stop touching it"
Clink-Clunk
"Would you leave stuff alone, you can't touch things in this bathroom, they aren't clean. Everything here is nasty and you are getting it all over your hands!!'

I am done with my business so I go out and am washing my hands and listening to the rest of their conversation. When the mother and her son come out and ..... walk right by the sink and out the door without washing their hands.

Maybe they used Purell in the stall -

 

[bettyann29]

Not at all germaphobic - but I was floored by a conversation in a resturant bathroom - there was a mom with her child in the stall

"Leave that alone, don't touch that, it's nasty"
Clink-Clink-Clunk
"I said to leave that alone, that is nasty and gross, stop touching it"
Clink-Clunk
"Would you leave stuff alone, you can't touch things in this bathroom, they aren't clean. Everything here is nasty and you are getting it all over your hands!!'

I am done with my business so I go out and am washing my hands and listening to the rest of their conversation. When the mother and her son come out and ..... walk right by the sink and out the door without washing their hands.

Maybe they used Purell in the stall -

Thats funny..

I remember before toilet seat covers were everywhere, when we were growing up my mother taught us how to pee semi squatting without sitting on the seat at a public restroom.. This is actually one of my talents

 

[disneymama73]

I walk on the wild side, I actually sit on public toilets and use my hand to flush .

Same here. I am not germaphobic at all. I do not carry antibacterial anything, I do not wear slippers in our hotel room or put our remote in a ziploc bag.

Livin' on the edge!

 

[J.Cooper]

I'm a tad germaphoebic. I don't touch any toilet handles. Always use my shoe. Never sit on the seat either. Use paper towels to open bathroom door handles at work and in public restrooms. I see sooo many woman leave without washing there hands (GROSS)!

Even in hotels, I bring a pair of flip flops for use in the shower. I don't use my barefeet. Always bring house slippers. I even bring our own towels. Don't want to use hotel towels. If I could, I would bring my own sheets. Seen some gross stuff on hotel sheets .