I actually wash my hands BEFORE I take a leak when there is a lot of handshaking or doorknob grabbing that my hands have done previously (for my own sake). Then I do wash my hands afterwards as well, for the sake of others. And also, what control-z said.
I’d like to see some evidence that others have ever been harmed by someone else not washing non-existent piss off their hands.
I don’t know, don’t societal norms count for anything? What’s the scientific rationale for shaking hands when meeting someone or saying gesundheit after a sneeze? If society has decided that washing your hands after using the bathroom is part of good manners and common courtesy, what’s the big deal?
When did society decide that? I didn’t get the memo. I though that in polite society, people didn’t go around pressing their ears to bathroom doors to monitor other people’s handwashing habits.
I always wash my hands, especially because of work.
They look like Hell. Between all the hand-washing and having latex or nitrile gloves on most of the time, they’re hating life.
That is what I am trying to determine. Are we supposed to do it because it’s “good manners,” or because there is a real bona fide health threat?
If people like the OP are going to rant and rave about it, I want to hear some good convincing evidence to back it up. Not just “it’s common courtesy.”
If there is no true health danger*, then the people who are obsessive about hand washing might seem to be blowing the whole thing way out of proportion.
*I do agree that one should always wash hands before preparing or serving food. I have heard of cases of e coli and salmonella being spread from hands to food.
Here’s a mini-rant on this subject.
What I don’t get is the assumption that there might exist any burden of proof at all on people who don’t want the E. Coli of strangers rubbed all over their hands, faces, pens, keyboards, chairs, telephones, and whatnot.
I mean, it’s like saying “present evidence that you can get an STD from having my bodily fluids sprayed on you, or else I’m going to spray them on you – you’re phobic if you object, buddy, it’s just a personal habit of mine.”
WHY would I want to be exposed to whatever germs you’ve just handled, and Cecil himself says you have just handled germs, even if I won’t contract an infection?
Don’t I have some right to the expectation that you won’t secretly wipe your ass on me?
It’s not hard to wash your hands. It’s not trouble. Do you have some kind of phobia about washing them?
What’s up with that?
Sailboat
Besides, if I’m a girl, you don’t even know what I’m doing in there. Unless you hear me pee, of course. I could be in there adjusting my pantyhose or my slip. If my allergies are acting up and I have no Kleenx generally I’ll go into the stall to blow my nose (although mostly I won’t close the door.)
I’m just saying, you have no reason to think I need to wash my hands.
I know Cecil did a report on this some time ago, the kind of stuff you can really catch from bathrooms, and the odds were so low of catching anything from the toilet seat it was interesting. Maybe someone can hunt it up? No searching for me at work.
It was that Far Side comic with the hapless dude on a blind date setting off the “Didn’t Wash Hands Alarm.” 
Agreed. That is definitely over the top. However… I make a default assumption about people I’m interacting with: they have washed their hands since the last time they touched their genitals. If this isn’t the case, then frankly, I can’t say I wouldn’t want to know in advance.
Get a grip on reality. There are millions of people who wash with urine, or at least used to. Urine is almost completely sterile. If you are paranoid about germs on door handles then I suggest you wear disposable gloves. Buy them by the box of 100s and they are as cheap as 7 cents apiece. Be very careful however when you take the gloves off. Pinch the first glove with out touching your wrist and carefully remove the second glove without touch the contact area.
If you do not have gloves, may I suggest that you wash the door handle before you use it? Also, keep in mind that the round handles on the taps are frequently used by dirty hands. Obviously you have to shot the tap after you wash your hands. (I once worked with a Czech architect who was a firm believer in lever type handles that could be worked with your elbow)
You are never going to ensure that others wash their hands after going to the washroom. Especially guys. Most of us have been in plenty of situations where we have to pee without washing facilities. We’ve learned that there are no harmful consequences to peeing without immediate washing. I’m afraid we do not take the practice too seriously. I suspect many of us only wash when being observed.
Also, the degree of hand washing I generally see in a public washroom is a joke. Ten seconds, which is more than I’ve generally seen is not going to be effective.
Because you’re the one who wants other people to do something for you. I see it as none of your business. Your hyperactive imagination is not my problem. Like I said, there are meds for that kind of thing. I promise, if I piss on my hands, I’ll wash them.
Nope. Just lazy.
Do any of the pro-washers have a cite showing where a normal healthy individual either got or transmitted an illness of any type by not washing after urination?
I promise, too.
Sorry, I overlooked **Dio’**s previous request for a cite- still waiting for it, though.
That is what I am looking for… show me a case of someone catching a bathroom-related illness from a pen, keyboard, or telephone.
I certainly know you can pick up flu bugs by touching doorknobs etc. But that isn’t what we’re talking about here. Give me some sort of example or proof that not washing your hands after urinating is a health hazard to others. If it is as bad as everyone is saying, isn’t there at least one documented example?
You’re right on all counts, and you’re right that even the handwashing that does go on in men’s rooms tends to be cursory at best and I suspect you’re right that it’s mostly done only to avoid getting the stink eye from observers. Even so, I’d estimate that 50-60% walk out without washing at all (depending on the situation. In a workplace, they’re more likely to do it. At the mall or some other public place where you’re only in there with strangers, it’s probably like 80% who don’t wash.
Wow. While agreeing with you that the germ phobia thing is way overblown, I can assure you that nearly every guy I know takes handwashing seriously as a common courtesy and basic rule of good hygiene, like washing your hair or wearing clean clothes. Before this thread I wouldn’t have imagined that there even existed people who aggressively oppose… handwashing.
Mental note: Stop assuming that everybody washes their hands. :eek:
And remember: bacteria love surfaces that are warm, moist, and have nooks & crannies for them to hide in whereas door and tap handles are cold, smooth, and dry off quickly.
I can assure you that the guys you know are probably lying to you. They’re at least the exception rather than the rule. If you’ve ever observed a men’s room for an hour, you’ll see what I mean. Maybe one guy in ten really takes the time to carefully wash with soap and water. A bunch just run some water over their hands for a few seconds. A whole bunch don’t wash at all.
FWIW, getting piss on your hands, and by that I mean a good stream of piss, might even be more hygenic than if you had just held or rubbed your genitals and gotten no urine on them at all. Coliform bacteria are virtually absent from the urine of healthy people, and the sorts of parasites that can be borne in urine tend to be rather rare in developed countries with temperate climates. Almost always, if there are bacteria in the urine, the excreter is infected with a foreign pathogen, and you’re likely to find leukocytes in the urine as well, as another hallmark of disease. Healthy people tend to have pretty clean urine, really, and while it can be yellow and smelly, if you were stuck for an antiseptic in the wild, peeing on the wound wouldn’t be such a bad idea.