Hygiene

LeoN88

LeoN88

LeoN88

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29 Jan 2007
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Ritefast HQ
How clean should we be?

Now I've always been one to wash my hands everytime i go to the toilet be it whatever business i do and since i got ill really badly last year i put it down to either a sandwich or touching something and since then i have resorted to using the old antibacterial gel or washing hands when i can before eating food.

Now how far should we go i mean when you look thousands of years ago or even just over a 100 or so ago they didnt have the kind of substances we have now to keep clean but then again i know disease was rife but that was down to vermin wasn't it? or am i being ignorant (haven't really researched it).. But now you have commercials harping on all the time on tele about how powerful there bleach is or like dettol the handless soap dispenser and the list goes on...

Then again on the other side you hear from people that you shouldnt try to be so clean as when you do get sick at one time or another which i guess is inevitable it will be far worse due to the body's immune system not being utilised as much as it should?

Now in a perfect world if everyone were to be perfect when it came down to hygiene would a lot of diseases be non exsistent?
 
I think that overly clean environments and protection children have now a days is leading to higher numbers of allergies and weaker immune systems.

Yes we should be clean as to not spread infection but we need to keep our systems protecting us by letting them work. Never done me any harm as a kid(or now) playing all day in muddy fields and eating who know what.
 
No, many diseases are not related to an individual's hygiene. Also, the antibacterial gels/sprays should only be used if you can't use soap and water. Whilst they're better than nothing, nothing beats soap, water and knowing how to wash your hands properly.
 
I do agree it's possible to be too clean, and that this can result in people falling ill at the slightest hint of a bacterium. But we do need to be somewhat clean. Too often, in the toilets at work, I hear someone flush then walk out without washing their hands. It's disgusting, they're going to be touching door handles and computer keyboards with hands that have been wiping their fat hairy bums.
 
I'm more of a mud pie than dettol man myself but washing your hand after using the toilet is a given.

I couldn't be bothered to wash before eating anything, I just wash when I've touched something dirty. I do tend to use a knife and fork though so how much my hands have to do with it I don't know. Keeping surfaces clean and storing food properly is probably far more important.
 
LeoN88 said:
Now in a perfect world if everyone were to be perfect when it came down to hygiene would a lot of diseases be non exsistent?
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I wouldn't have thought so. I doubt we come into contact with that much harmful bacteria on a day to day basis (obviously washing your hands after using the toilet or getting stuck into something really dirty makes sense).

The immune system benefits from exposure to relatively harmless bacteria/diseases. Sterile/near sterile environments can leave immune systems vulnerable.
 
I always, always wash after going to the toilet as the type of germs you could be spreading can genuinely be harmful.

I sometimes wonder how often those people who wash their hands religiously before eating touch their mouths with their hands during the day, without them even realising it. I rather suspect that you are far and away more likely to get ill because the food itself is contaminated than from anything on your hands. Unless of course you regularly handle really dirty stuff!

200,000 years of being exposed to bacteria. What do people think has changed in the last 100 years?
 
TheCrow said:
I think that overly clean environments and protection children have now a days is leading to higher numbers of allergies and weaker immune systems.
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I'm allergic to nuts because my mum used to give me lots of peanut butter when I was a baby/toddler. It's not always protection from it that causes allergies etc. ;)
 
my hands are clean but they could be cleaner

this light switch must be turned on and off 3 times before being left in the desired setting
 
Maybe going off topic a little now and also hypothetical as well but colds for example if everyone in the world is confined to themselves and are not in touch with anyone else for the period that they have a cold would that eliminate the cold virus.
As i'm aware that there are around 200 types of viruses that creates a cold/flu etc (correct me if i'm wrong). Now i've heard from some that the cold/flu virus can never be cured due to that its constantly changing but my opinion on is that the large corporate organisations such as glaxosmithkline will not ever create a cure due to the revenue that they bring in from their products and also public institutes won't bother to invest in making a cure due to that it isn't a life threatening disease.

i hope i make sense getting tired been working on uni work all day..
 
I always wash my hands before eating and after the toilet. I wash my ass as well. You'd be surprised what toilet roll can miss on your backside.
 
I wipe my keyboard if I happen to read anything in GD

It's only polite to wash your hands in the Gents, other people have to touch the same door handle,
I happen to use that hospital gel stuff at times, but that's because of my work

Vita said:
I wash my ass as well.
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how do you get your ass under the tap ?

or maybe I don't want to know ._.



,
 
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I wash my hands after visiting the toilet and as many times as necessary during cooking.

Also when working deskside I'll wash my hands after touching some peoples (shudder :() keyboards.
 
LeoN88 said:
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Now in a perfect world if everyone were to be perfect when it came down to hygiene would a lot of diseases be non exsistent?
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No, because we're talking about hygeine, not sterility. There's a big difference. If you wash your hands, they'll be clean. They won't be sterile. Hence, for example, surgeons using gloves even though they've just thoroughly srubbed their hands.

There would be a bigger effect if more people coughed less or at least tried to reduce the effects by coughing at the ground rather than on whatever or whoever happens to be in range. Spraying spit, snot, dead cells, chemical contaminants and assorted bacteria and viruses is a quite effective way to spread disease.
 
SiriusB said:
[..]
200,000 years of being exposed to bacteria. What do people think has changed in the last 100 years?
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Life expectancy. People die from diseases and infections a lot less often than they did in the past. How much of that is due to better living conditions (including far better hygeine) and how much is due to advances in medicine? Who knows?
 
Angilion said:
Life expectancy. People die from diseases and infections a lot less often than they did in the past. How much of that is due to better living conditions (including far better hygeine) and how much is due to advances in medicine? Who knows?
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But then there are those who believe that Allergies/Intolerances are being boosted and even caused by the modern Hygienic environment messing with our immune systems.
 
doofer said:
But then there are those who believe that Allergies/Intolerances are being boosted and even caused by the modern Hygienic environment messing with our immune systems.
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It's not "messing with our immune system", it's our immune system behaving exactly as expected. Without stimuli, our immune system can't learn what is good and what is bad, or how to cope with the bad stuff. So it thinks good stuff is bad, bad stuff is good, and occasionally attempts to kill you.
 
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