When it comes to germs I have always had a mild to moderate phobia. I don't like to share drinks...not even with my own mother. I will not use someone else's chapstick or lipstick. If I want a bite of what you're eating I will use my own fork...being careful to pick a spot that you have not forked twice. Yes, you could say I'm a touch of a germaphobe.
It comes as no surprise then that I have a bit of useless trivia stuck up here in the old noggin regarding this very subject. If you would rather remain blissfully ignorant, then stop reading here. Okay, I have warned you.
Let's start with the lemon wedge. Nice, refreshing, citrusy goodness that adorns most drinks you order up in a bar or restaurant. These little suspects are a hot house for bacteria. In one study 21 restaurants were tested. Guess how many lemons turned up dirty? Three quarters of them. Yes. A whopping 75%. Not done, the first group tested were loaded with fecal matter. Precisely why I order my water or tea sans lemon.
Yes, I'd like water...hold the poop please.
How about your shower head? Seems totally harmless. I mean, come on, it's a shower. Legionella bacterium housed there causes a potentially fatal, pneumonia-like condition called Legionnaires’ disease. It's contracted by inhaling water droplets which are infected with the bacteria. "The organism feeds on cysteine, a substance produced by a wide variety of waterborne organisms and bacteria found in potable water. Legionella can survive in tap water for many months, and showerheads provide a hospitable environment." Philip M. Tierno, Jr., PhD. Clean those showerheads at least once a year.
I will just scratch the surface of public restrooms. I have this whole OCD ritual whenever I use one. I wash my hands once I am inside the restroom, but before using the facilities. See, I plan on wiping myself, and I do not want to transfer germs from the nasty door handle to...ahem...you get the picture. I do not sit, not even if there is a liner. I am a hoverer through and through. I tear off the first several squares of paper before I get to the part I will use (someone else was there before me...and God only knows what they did). I flush with my foot (I admit this part is silly, considering I will wash my hands again). After getting to the sink, I dispense the paper towels before I turn on the water. I wash my hands again (thrilled when the faucet is operated by sensor). If not on a sensor, I turn the water off with my paper towel. Then I exit the bathroom, careful to use the paper towel on the door handle. Ah...and if there are no paper towels, water goes off with elbow, door gets opened by toilet paper, and hands air dry. I NEVER use the air dryers. Excessive? Maybe. But when I learn things like 42% of men don't wash their hands after using the restroom and 51% of women don't, I choose to err on the side of excess.
Hand dryers are germ spreaders.
I used to work in sales for a company called Cintas. Part of what they offer is restroom products. A tid bit I learned from one of those reps is that the hand dryers are not sanitary and simply spread bacteria. I have even heard that the schools and universities that have had the H1N1 outbreak this year are being told by the health department that they have to take out all of their hand dryers and replace them with towel dispensers because the hand dryers are spreading disease.
Ok, the last on my list tonight are the candies offered up in a bowl as you leave the restaurant. Without giving you any more statistics, I will just paint a picture for you. Let's just say for fun that fifty people before you have dug their paw into that dish of candy. Let's also say that half of those people used the restroom while there. That means, that approximately 25% of those people are dipping in with excrement on their hands. Yummy! I'll just stick with the mints in my purse, thank you very much.
Now, I should say this. Of all the thousands of germs out there, only a fraction of them actually can be harmful. The others are considered good germs. Germs can indeed be our friends. In fact we need them to help us stay healthy. But YIKES! Again, I'll just take my chances, and continue on with my phobia of the little critters. How about you?