# Poll... wash hands before sex? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 28, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068 "2002-04-28T06:12:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sublight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/439d5e/32.png) [@Sublight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sublight)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/21 "2002-04-29T02:30:25Z")
Personally, it’s never really mattered. My gf, OTOH, is an obsessive germ-phobe who absolutely refuses any kind of sexual contact without first showering. ---
**Author:** ![capacitor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e47774/32.png) [@capacitor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/capacitor)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/22 "2002-04-29T02:32:22Z")
I’m a virgin, but I do let my fingers do the walking. They better be washed beforehand. ---
**Author:** ![madonnaman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d6d6ee/32.png) [@madonnaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madonnaman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/23 "2002-04-29T06:05:18Z")
No, I don’t purposely wash my hands before sex… but I’m obsessive-compulsive and am always washing them anyway, for no particular reason. So my hands are always clean. 😃 I _do_ definitely wash them (and everything else) afterwards though… ---
**Author:** ![Tsubaki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@Tsubaki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tsubaki)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/24 "2002-04-29T09:42:42Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Gundy \* > \*\*It simply never occurred to me. \*\* Ditto. Mind you, the only guy I’ve ever had sex with is my husband, and he has seen me give birth to our kids, so I’m assuming that possibly dirty hands aren’t high on his gross-factor list. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/25 "2002-04-29T10:48:16Z")
1. Usually no. Unless I’ve been having one of my hot-pepper-eating fits. Capsaicin + private bits = not fun. Or if I feel particularly dirty and sweaty and there’s a little time, perhaps I’ll take a quick shower, but 19 times out of 20, no. 2. No. I don’t recall any of my partners ever washing their hands before sex. And I personally wouldn’t assume it to be standard protocol. This ain’t surgery, after all. (Unless I’ve been doing it wrong all these years.) ---
**Author:** ![Nonny\_Mouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/5e9695/32.png) [@Nonny\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nonny_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/26 "2002-04-29T13:49:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by popokis5 \* > \*\*I think it is important for men to wash their hands first because of the bacteria on their hands and the um, closeness of contact with um, well I think you get the picture. \*\* Yeah, but the thing that put the germs on the hands is going inside you anyway. Think about it. Nonny ---
**Author:** ![Southern\_Rebel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Southern\_Rebel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Southern_Rebel)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/27 "2002-04-29T13:56:07Z")
I like women to be natural, ever tried licking a bar of soap? ---
**Author:** ![lurkernomore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/d6d6ee/32.png) [@lurkernomore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lurkernomore)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/28 "2002-04-29T18:33:13Z")
Who the hell are you dating??? Back when I used to have sex, unless I had been doing something physically dirty (engine work, buffalo wings, etc.) I didn’t wash my hands first. And I was more likely to have to wash my face AFTER.😛 [sub] the smiley is just _so_ appropriate here…[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/29 "2002-04-29T18:49:57Z")
Well, If Mrs. Chef has that look in her eye just before bedtime, I certainly shower and scrub EVERYTHING well… I want to be clean enough to eat off of, just in case. So my hands get nice and clean in the process - but it’s incidental to the general decontam process. OTOH, if Mrs. Chef wants to grab herself a handful, I wouldn’t care if she had motor oil on her hands…just nothing that burns, please. (and a little tip, Mrs. Chef… washing your hands, even with soap and water, does NOT completely remove all traces of Icy Hot. I was willing to take one for the team and play hurt, but I wouldn’t want to repeat the experience.) ---
**Author:** ![porcupine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ac91a4/32.png) [@porcupine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/porcupine)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2002, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/30 "2002-04-29T18:52:34Z")
No, not specifically. But considering the size of my bladder, chances are very good that I will have washed my hands recently anyway. ---
**Author:** ![sailor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a587f6/32.png) [@sailor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sailor)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2002, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/31 "2002-04-30T13:42:54Z")
One of my favorite things to do when a woman is going down on me for the first time is to stop her and say very seriously: “Did you brush your teeth? . . . Did you rinse with mouthwash? . . . No? . . . you are not seriously comtemplating giving me a blow job without first cleaning your mouth are you?” You’d be amazed by how many think I might be serious. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mermaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a183cd/32.png) [@The\_Mermaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mermaid)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2002, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/32 "2002-04-30T14:27:16Z")
I can not get in the mood if I think I need a shower. This seems to bother me more than my hubby. I think I could be covered in dirt from head to toe but as long as I was naked and willing I would be A OK with him. The only time I insist that hubby wash his hands before sex is if he has been using that icey hot gel stuff. Once he had pulled a muscle or something and rubbed some of the gel on his sore shoulder before we went to bed. When he touched me \* down there\* it felt nice at first then started to burn. The dialogue continued as followed Me: my p\*ssy is getting hot Him: Oh yeah, I like it hot Me: No I mean HOT, Yikes I’m on fire!!! Oh hell how do I get this shit off. Yow! Ouch! Oh shit it’s getting worse. Oh Fuck it’s Hot Hot !!! Washing the area with soap and water only seemed to make it worse. I finally got a cool washcloth and held it on there for a while, then put some of that aloe vera with anesthetic on it. Hubby was no help cause he was doubled over laughing. Needless to say, after all that the mood was hopelessly ruined. Not hot stuff for hubby that night and for a couple of days after. The heat has faded but Muffy never forgets. ---
**Author:** ![El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@El\_Elvis\_Rojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_Elvis_Rojo)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2002, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/33 "2002-04-30T16:05:14Z")
I’m a big fan of clean, but for me, it usually consists of showering before getting together. If I ever get something really nasty on my hands, I wash it off immediately, so when it comes time to fooling around, I feel confident that I’m clean enough. I prefer to use my tongue to fingers anyway. I do make it a point to trim my fingernails, though. That’s something I think all guys should do out of consideration. As for the girl, same thing. Unless thier hands are covered in slime, or they just picked road kill off the ground, I feel confident that they’re clean enough. Basically, if I don’t mind her holding my hand, I don’t mind her holding my junk. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Frink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/977dab/32.png) [@Mr.Frink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Frink)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2002, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/34 "2002-05-01T06:01:37Z")
Only if I have a bowel movement before sex. And you’d be surprised how that can put you in the mood! ---
**Author:** ![Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/angel_of_the_lord/32/2949_2.png) [@Angel\_of\_the\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angel_of_the_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2002, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/35 "2002-05-01T06:13:36Z")
My last boyfriend and I always brushed our teeth before we did anything. I found it greatly amusing. ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [May 1, 2002, 6:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068/36 "2002-05-01T06:59:35Z")
No, but insist my girlfriend be appropriately perfumed before sex. _:: d&r ::_ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-wash-hands-before-sex/106068.md?page=1)