why do some people not wash their hands after changing a diaper?

[ella822]

I hesitated about presenting this topic-but what the heck! It really, really irritates me when I witness this. I am by no means a neat freak, but, I am diligent about hand washing. Germs from not washing after a bathroom break or changing a diaper can make you very sick. The first time we took our DD to disney- she caught a nasty stomach virus. It was on the last day of the trip which I guess is good-she threw up all over herself and myself right before boarding the plane! I understand that any number of things could have triggered the virus, being that there is thousands of kids running around.
I just think that as parents, we need to be careful so we are not facilitating any of the germs running around! Please wash your hands-there's no excuse!

 

[tiggger1]

It depends where I am. If I am out, I usually use a baby wipe and purel ( I am allergic to some soaps) after I change his diaper and he is back in the carriage or stroller. if we are home, i wash my hands but after he is in the pack n play. while to some people it doesnt look like I wash my hands, I usually wipe quickly with a wipe and then use the purel when he is settled!

 

[twinspluscade]

I always used diaper wipes out in public, simply because it was faster and easier--especially since I have twins and another one 17 months younger.

Also--changing babies in public places has always grossed me out; so we always changed our kids's diapers on the floor of our minivan in the parking lot (not at Disney--we never did Disney when they were babies--but at other places). Obviously no running water out there; so diaper wipes it was!

 

[KandiB47]

Also, if you are just carrying a baby at the store (or at WDW), where is the baby supposed to go while you wash your hands I didn't always bring a stroller everywhere. That was always my problem. I wasn't going to set DS on the counter while I washed my hand. Baby wipes work in a pinch.

 

[Minniemouse07]

I always use a wipe as well. Ds is a bolter, if I put him down to wash my hands...he would be in playing w/ one of the toilets or out the door!

 

[QJ411]

Same here, it may seem like I don't wash my hands, but it's not the case. We rarely change DD's diaper/pull up when we're out (sometimes we change her in the trunk of our SUV), if we take long trips and stop at the rest stops to change her, DD and I both use Purell afterwards. IMHO, I think it's safer to use Purell afterwards than her leaning towards the germ filled sink where some people just 'rinse' with water!

When DD was an infant we were in the city and there was no where to change her but a very busy McDonald's where the restroom was SO gross (there was only one restroom, it wasn't seperated for men and women...and when I went in, the last person didn't flush-can you imagine if they bothered to wash their hands?!) but she had a poopy diaper that needed to be changed immediately! So I changed her in her stroller and was skeeved the whole time...there was no way I was going to put my hands on that very nasty, very public sink. Purell was my saving grace!

 

[Lady V]

I know some use sanitizer but I think the ones who don't do that or wash with soap for more than 3 seconds are disgusting. I see people all the time do this and it makes me sick. It's bad enough they don't care about themselves but I want to tell them thanks for getting the door all covered with your mess. Sick.

 

[LilGMom]

I usually use a diaper wipe to clean my hands after changing DS's diaper. It is much quicker and that way he won't get away from me or try to get into things around him that I'd rather him not touch.

What gets me are the people that don't use any sort of changing pad or paper towels or anything and don't wipe the changing surface before or after using it. Yuck!

 

[meandtheguys2]

LOL, I never pay any attention to other people's habits...Too busy dealing with my life. Somehow I doubt the virus came from an idividual who didn't wash up after a diaper change. Statistically speaking I don't think that is the most common way tummy bugs are spread...

 

[AuroraBeauty]

Some people are just nasty! It's super gross.

But, these are the same people who don't wash (use wipes/purel/sanitizer/etc) their hands anywhere.

I have been in the bathroom with the Executive VP of the company I used to work for and she DID NOT wash her hands. Nope! Came right out of the stall, smiled and me and walked out. Imagine the non-political correctness when seeing her a few hours later in a meeting and being offered her hand to shake. GROSS!!

The fact is that humans are animals, and like animals, some are cleaner than others.

As to the OP that stated the child probably did not get the 'stomach virus' from someone not washing their hands you're probably right. I've seen people cough into their hands and then wipe them all over the ropes/poles while standing on line. I've seen adults wipe a kids runny nose with their bare hand and wipe it on their pants and then proceed to get on a ride. I've seen kids put their mouth on the ropes/poles while standing on line -- parent oblivious to what they are doing. NASTY!!

I just try to remember that I am the one who needs to keep my hands away from my face/mouth and encourage my child to do the same. I always think of the spider monkey exhibit at my local zoo that is a total enclosure you can go in to and when you leave there is an attendant who will make you wash your hands with soap/water -- sanitizer will not do for them -- b/c the monkeys 'mark' their territory. I think that many humans do as well.

 

[Zeebs]

If I change my youngest son, and it is not practical to put him down I will not wash my hands, he is fully breastfed and why I think this makes a difference I don't know but I do know that when I started my elder son on solids I tried to wash my hands but sometimes had to resort to wipes.

I am a big believer in not disinfecting everything that moves and allowing my son to get dirty. I am not constantly washing his hands (actually he has really bad eczema on his hands so they only ever get washed with a wet rag) and while this may be completely incorrect I attribute his lack of tummy bugs, colds and flus to (what some would call) disgusting habits.

I wash my hands after going to the toilet but very rarely wipe down the changing table when in a public restroom.

Kirsten

 

[wewantmore]

I don't get it either.

Just yesterday after I changed my youngest I asked a Mom to hold her while I went to wash my hands. (we were at Girl Scouts) The Mom looked at me like a had a second head. I guess she didn't expect me to go and wash my hands.

If I can't wash b/c I'm alone in the bathroom then I'll use my hand sanitizer or a wipe.

Michelle

 

[caracap]

I am so good about washing, I can hold my kids & wash at the same time. You wash one hand then switch the baby to the other side, and wash your other hand. I am a germ freak, and I wash my babies hands over the sink too, after I am done.

 

[Honeymooner04]

I'm another one that just uses a baby wipe and/or purell. I love that purel stuff.

 

[tinkandpan]

purell or wipe girl here as well!

 

[bean]

I was usually pretty good about washing my hands after changing my DDs diapers...but I always remembered after I got menengitis. It was viral which is of course a million times better than bacterial but it was extremely painful (much worse than a migraine which I suffer from as well as natural childbirth which I've done twice). My DD had stomach virus, possibly coxsackie, which the Dr said can sometimes turn into meningitis in adults. Ouch!

On the people not washing their hands. Friends and I were sightseeing a couple of months ago in DC. At the Jeffeson Memorial we see Dr. Phil and his son. My friend was in the bathroom where Dr. Phil went to the bathroom and didn't wash his hands!! Yuck!

 

[annie1995]

If its just a pee diaper and I'm not close to a bathroom, I use purell or wipes. If he's poopy, I always find a bathroom to wash up in .

 

[ObsessedwiththeMouse]

Another vote here for sanitizer. Sometimes, especially at WDW, there is a line behind me, so I hurry up and leave the bathroom. But, I always have the sanitizer out when the little one goes back in the stroller outside the bathroom.

 

[tzolkin]

I am so good about washing, I can hold my kids & wash at the same time. You wash one hand then switch the baby to the other side, and wash your other hand. I am a germ freak, and I wash my babies hands over the sink too, after I am done.

same here. it's not quite as effective as scrubbing your hands together, but i'll wet my right hand, squirt soap onto it, and move my fingers all around to get the soap all over and then rinse. switch baby to other hip and repeat. i use this as a time to wash baby's hands as well.

i always find it funny/sad that every time i'm standing there doing this juggling act to clean up after changing a little pee diaper that someone always walks right out of the stall and out the door. i always look at them in the mirror. sometimes they're rushing out and looking down like no one will notice that they didnt wash their hands and sometimes they look at me like they're wondering what the heck i'm doing washing my hands while holding a baby.

 

[LilGMom]

I wash my hands after going to the toilet but very rarely wipe down the changing table when in a public restroom.

I think the only reason I do this is because it is a habit I got into whenever I'd change my ds's diaper at his daycare. As soon as you were done you were supposed to spray the surface with the bleach-water stuff and then wipe it down. Some of those teachers were the kind that you didn't want to cross so it became a habit with me when using a changing table other than ours at home. That and the fact that some really nasty intestinal bugs are spread through contact with waste. Our oldest got one that lasted for over two weeks so I'm a little anal (no pun intended) about coming into contact with waste.