The motel/hotel thread got me thinking. Have we become so overly concerned with germs that it's out of hand? Do we want to kill every little germ? Don't we need to be exposed to some of this stuff so that our bodies can fiight it off?

I consider myself to be fairly unconcerned about "too many" germs. We wash our hands regularly, and all that, but I don't worry about going barefoot, or touching a shopping cart or a phone etc. I don't worry about what's on the toilet seat, but I don't like getting my butt wet. I do get a flu shot. I work in an elem school where it's full of snotty, sneezy kids, and I rarely get sick.

I read somewhere that we shouldn't overuse anti-bacterial products. What do you all think?

I'm probably somewhere in the middle. I notice that I'm more concerned about germs than a lot of my friends but not as concerned as some people I've known.
I hate touching shopping carts. I will not sit on a public toilet unless it's an extreme emergency and then I cover it with toilet paper. I wash my hands a lot, as soon as I come in the door from anywhere. I wash them before I put away my groceries or touch anything else. I really don't think it helps but it's all in my head, lol. I have germ x in my purse and car and use it frequently. I don't touch the door handle coming out of the bathroom without a paper towel or something because the person before me may not have washed their hands. I don't get a flu shot. I don't get sick often except with allergies or sinus.
Am I overboard? Probably to some degree.

I am very similar to you. I am barefoot all summer long (but not in a hotel!), I do use the wipes on a shopping cart, but that's more to avoid the viruses that are going around, not that I'm afraid of germs. We wash our hands regularly with soap and water, but I quit buying antibacterial soap years ago. My kids get plenty dirty. None of us are sick a lot.

I guess, I'm more trying to avoid the viral/bacterial bugs going around - I hate being sick. But I'm not so concerned about everything else. I think exposure to germs makes your immune system stronger. If it isn't exposed to the little day-to-day things, it won't be able to fight off the big things.

Lisa

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"It's not having what you want,
It's wanting what you've got"

I am somewhere in the middle. I always wash my hands before eating food, before cooking/preparing food, and, of course, after using the restroom. I don't get too freaky about going out of my way not to touch shopping carts and door handles since I could probably make myself crazy. I don't buy the sanitizer gel as it probably causes excessive dryness and it's not something I need to keep thinking about. Now, I do try not to touch my nose or eyes with my hands.

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I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!

Not even close! We practice good sanitary skills like washing your hands and using a toilet seat cover if they are available and I'm careful when cooking as not to contaminate things...basic stuff you should do. I do not wipe the shopping carts or carry wipes with me and we don't buy anti-barterial anything because I think those products are getting more people sick than keeping them healthy. I don't clean my house to pass a white glove test. It's always dusty..just the climate. I don't go barefoot but my kids do. I don't like the bedspreads at motels but I just pull it down. My parents weren't germ-a-phobes and I'm just fine I wasn't sick a lot as a kid and my kids are rarely sick. We don't get flu shots...just eat well. I know a couple germ-a-phobe families and I swear their kids are sick with something new each week. I would hate to pay their doctor bills.

I think a lot of people take it to the extreme (my MIL does) but hey, to each his own.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

I don't touch handrails on the stairs in any public place. I don't flush the toilet with my hand - I use my shoe. I like the swing doors in public better than handle doors - swing doors can be shoved with my shoulder.

I don't think I have a significant germ issue, since it's so easy for me to accomodate my little germ hangups.

While I say this, though, every time I read a new poster's response, it makes me think, "Oh, yeah - I should be doing that, too!!" LOL

I would not say I am germaphobic, and my kids definitely are not. If wipes are available for the shopping cart, I'll use one, if not, that's fine, too. It's required usage on the gym equipment. I was a lot more concerned about it while my DS was in the hospital recently, since we did NOT want him to get sick. I even carried my own bottle of anti-bacterial hand stuff. Did I worry about the person bringing our food into the room??? Nope. Did I worry about the floors, toilets, etc.....NOPE. I too, think we (general we) can get a bit out of hand with worrying about this stuff. I also think some parents are WAY too quick to demand antibiotics for their children, and doctors sometimes oblige just to shut them up. Gee, little Johnny is running a fever, must be something an antibiotic will fix. Not if it's viral.....but, that's why we now have antibiotic resistant strains of some things.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I'm not overly concerned with germs......I take precautions when I'm around someone I know is sick, or I've somehow wound up in very disgusting situation...I agree that antibiotics are giving out too freely these days, the more they are used the less effective they are.

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Nicole

I am absolutely germophobic - because I have to be.

I will not use any public railing, (stairs, escalators)

When at a public rest room I have to squat and then when I wash my hands I turn off the facet with the paper towel and open the door with the paper towel and then throw it away outside the Restroom.

Yes I keep antibacterial wipes in my purse for shopping buggies.

I Never go barefoot.

Before I got sick, I really didn't think twice about germs - Washing my hands after going to the bathroom was about it. Actually children who have germophobic parents end up with many more problems when they grow up because they have not been exposed to minor germs when they were children.

And, this is the part I hate - I cannot eat at buffets.

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Mary

I am more germaphobic than most people. I have seen many instances of people becoming very ill from not being careful. The motel/hotel thing is an extreme for me though. I do wipe the cart handle and seat, I wipe my purse and work security badge and lanyard daily. I wash my hands often in public, right when I come into the house and before handling food. I would prefer not to shake anyone's hand partially for germs and partially due to my carpal tunnel.

I do think we have to be careful about germs there are things that are uncurable. And there are ecolis, flesh eating viruses (which I know someone who had it and it was ugly she almost died) and other things who knows what.

If everyone else washed their hands and were half as coscious as I am there would no need to be a germaphobe.

I like going barefoot in nature. It's man I fear not the Earth! LOL I enjoy nature dirt.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I am probably like you, OP. I practice general rules of cleanliness -- wash hands before preparing food, after handling meat, handling, caring for or playing with animals, after using the restroom, etc. But I'm not overly concerned about germs. I do try to wipe off the handle of the shopping cart just becuase I don't want to catch the bug that 'going around', but otherwise I don't worry about it too much. I go barefoot outside, at the pool and sometimes in hotels.

I do carry wipes & hand sanatizer in my car, mostly for convienience if my kids have been playing outside (like at the park) and we're going to eat afterwards or if they've touched animals.

I don't go out of my way to buy anti-bacterial products and if there's a choice, I choose the one that isn't anti-bac, which is getting hard and harder to do these days. I think all the anti-bacterial stuff is getting out of hand and maybe one day we'll find out that it's done more harm that good.

Sarah......mom to Jason & Devin

Nope, not a germophobe here at all. I dunno, I'm old enough to have been raised in the days prior to having disposable wipes for everything and antibacterial soaps and handwashes and we all did fine, just the regular viruses and such.

Kinda OT but I'm a big "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" fan....and tend to feel that when things were simpler we didn't have as much asthma, autism, diabetes, cancer, you-name-it, etc. I worry that our "advancements" are hurting us in the long run - that there are cause-and-effect relationships that will be figured out eventually..... I try to avoid super chemical cleaners, OTC and prescription meds, eletronics hanging off my head, etc.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Oh, I did have one question from the other thread.....it seemed that there was a big concern that someone else's dead skin and/or hairs (pubic or otherwise) were incredibly gross. Well, it kinda is if you think about it too much, but I guess I don't get how my skin, or anyone in my immediate or extended family is less gross than the next guy's. Is the fear that a few or a lot of other people have diseases or bad habits?

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I tend to agree with you, did we get sick more often before we had all this anti-bacterial crap? I don't think so! We all did just fine just washing our hands on a regular basis and still do. Now, I'm not telling you I NEVER get sick, because a sniffle here and a cough there do arise occasionally, but not the full blown flu or anything like that in a very long time.

We touch such gross stuff on a regular basis that you can't make yourself crazy over it. They say your money and your computer keyboard are some of the nastiest places germwise. People pick their noses and then handle the bag of bread you just picked up and put in your cart. Workers scratch themselves on a regular basis and then put your burger in the bag. Ya know?!?

In a nutshell, my opinion is that any phobia can be similarly as debilitating as a lot of physical ailments.

It's all about balance and I don't want to let my mental status rule my life any more than I want to let my physical status rule my life.

If we get sick, we deal with it. I'm too young/old to constantly worry about things that are out of my control.

To all the squatters out there, if you sprinkle on the seat when you use the restroom, do you wipe it off? Squatting and sprinkling makes things all the worse for everyone else. (A pet peeve of mine)

Isn't using toilet paper on the seat or a seat cover precaution enough?

Most don't!! It's a pet peeve of mine too. I HATE gettin my butt wet from someone else's pee!!!

If I happen to go into a stall right after someone else had "sprinkled" on it, and they are still in the room, I make sure I say in a loud enough voice, "thanks for peeing on the seat!!" LOL

High five, girl!
I wash my hands on a regular basis, am careful about food handleing and keep my bathrooms clean. Other than that I really think you could make yourself crazy thinking about what other people do, where.

The one thing that my sweetie finds a little OCD is that if something that needs refridgeration has been left out too long(to me) I toss it. I had salmonilla (sp?) when I was young from undercooked poulty and so food poisoning is a touchy subject with me.

Other than that, the five second rule applies at our house, I don't carry any kind of wipes with me and I don't really care if restrooms provide ass gaskets.

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Life isn't about waiting for the storm to pass
It's about learning to dance in the rain.

I don't think I'm a germaphob but my son does. I won't touch an elevator button or door handles (use my sleeve), won't touch an escalator railing, won't use a glass in a hotel room unless it's sealed in plastic, won't use an ice bucket without a plastic liner, absolutely posivitely will NOT drink out of a public drinking fountain, have to open a public bathroom door with a paper towel after washing my hands

Now despite all these precautions, interestingly enough, last summer I had to go to a picnic for work and I scratched my hand on the picnic table. It blistered immediately and overnight tripled in size. I watched it for about 10 days and my co-workers finally threatened to kidnap me and take me to urgent care. Turns out I contracted MRSA. So the damn germs can find you no matter how careful you are

Both the Y and our gym at work require wipe downs of equipment by members after use, and I wipe down beforehand as well. Still, I don't care for the icky, tacky feel of the wiped down equipment and also work out to the point of a pretty serious sweat, so I insist on a warm, soapy handwash after my workouts. No wipe in the world can replace that.

FWIW,

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I usually take a full hot shower after my workout, but, to each their own, I guess.

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

Well, of course I do that, silly, but usually not until I get home. Just thought I'd respond on the gym equipment thing that you'd mentioned twice.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

I think I only mentioned gym equipment once in this thread, I don't know for sure, I'm not exactly counting. The fact that you ARE is, well, creepy

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

I totally agree with the antibiotics, my son hasn't had any in at least 4 years (he's only 6), I don't drag them to the doctor with every cold they get.



But we are fanatics about washing our hands, it's the first thing the kids do when they get home from school and the first thing they do when they get to school, school rules.


I'm only seeing one time the gym was brought up? I have an easy cure for that one too, I don't go.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

I'm so sorry for your confusion, ladies. I have the ability to see the big picture and have a good memory for facts and discussions. It's a valued skill in my workplace, thankfully., even if some lady on an internet board finds it creepy. In any event, I originally brought up the gym in the thread on motel and hotel discussion where this discussion more-or-less spun off from. The gym thing was responded to by the poster with the creeps both there and here - that would be twice. Just following the discussion....and "listening" to the responses and/or things that people choose to pick at.


Motels & Hotels & Cleanliness

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Not all of us read EVERY thread on these boards so to mention something twice in 2 different threads is not unusual if it pertains to 2 different topics.

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"A true friend is someone who thinks that you are a good egg even though he knows that you are slightly cracked." ~ Bernard Meltzer

It's the same old, same old. Give it a rest being super mom, super employed, super military donor, super gymgoer and having THE best kids while spouting how superior with alleged abilities anyone can possibly think they are.

It's like watching the movie Groundhog day. Again and again and again and again.

dl

Cluck. Cluck. Cluck.

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

So I was trying to figure out why certain things like the shopping cart and the motel room bother me and othe things like walking barefoot and trying on clothes doesn't.

I am not really sure to tell you the truth I guess certain things based on our own fears and life experience and of course our Mother (or whomever raised us) had a lot to do with it.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I wash new clothing before I wear it...Anyone else??

I wonder why we're all so willing to use the house silverware at any given restaurant. That movie where Jack Nicholson plays someone with OCD (he takes his own silverware to restaurants) got me thinking - he's right! It IS sort of gross - we're assuming that silverware's been sterilized! It probably just ran through a typical restaurant dishwasher, and (hopefully) made it back onto the dining tables uneventfully.

That's a really good point.

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l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

Yes, but, I think that has more to do with good hygiene then being afraid of germs. I even wash underwear that comes in a plastic bag. If I see obvious dirt or mess, I will wipe it up, like at the tables at Burger King or sonic or something.

See I'm almost the total opposite of you. I HATE getting dirty from outside dirt (as evidenced by my horrible garden) or even worse auto grease. I can't WAIT to get inside and wash my hands...LOL

That's because we're both wierdos in our own ways LOL.

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.