# Tell me why I should wash my hands **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 27, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905 "2001-10-27T01:51:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/1 "2001-10-27T01:51:15Z")
…after going to the bathroom. In my AP Bio class today we watched a film entitled, _The Wonderful World of Dung_. Many of the animals in the film ate their own dung, especially in times of drought, with no apparent ill affect. I am already a compulsive soap and water hand washer before I eat, after I eat, after going to the bathroom, and in between. I do this to kill coiform bacteria that can build up on your hands, etc., but this film strip prompts me to wonder what the actual dangers of these bacteria are. I know that a number of pathogens such as tube worms live in fecal matter that often goes on to contaminate fresh water in third world countries, but assuming that a human has no specific pathogens beyond floral GI tract bacteria, what can fecal oral contamination do to you. Any other information supporting frequent handwashing is welcome. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/2 "2001-10-27T01:54:14Z")
This is why. > **[Why are men supposed to wash their hands after urination? Plus: urine therapy!](https://www.straightdope.com/21342195/why-are-men-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination-plus-urine-therapy)** > > Dear Cecil: > First, an (elderly) joke. > A Harvard man and a Yale man are at the urinal. They finish and zip up. The Harvard man proceeds to the sink to wash his hands, while the Yale man immediately... Now go wash your hands! Qadgop, MD ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/3 "2001-10-27T02:25:49Z")
Hmmm…that link didn’t answer the query as well as I thought I remembered it did. The biggest problem is transmitting your particular strains of E. coli to someone else, who’s not accustomed to them, and giving them a case of the trots, or worse. Not to mention Hep A and B, and a whole raft of others. So, really, you’re doing it to be selfless, doing it for others, for the common good. Think of it as being Other directed, less self-centered, less narcissistic. More concerned with humanity as a whole. As good a rationalization as any. ---
**Author:** ![threemae](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f9b8f/32.png) [@threemae](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/threemae)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/4 "2001-10-27T03:29:50Z")
And even better, an excuse to be disgusted and bitch at those that don’t wash their hands. Excellent. (Stroking white cat) ---
**Author:** ![Silentgoldfish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@Silentgoldfish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silentgoldfish)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/5 "2001-10-27T11:16:29Z")
Speaking of cats, why don’t they become sick after, um, cleaning up? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/6 "2001-10-27T14:36:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Silentgoldfish \* > \*\*Speaking of cats, why don’t they become sick after, um, cleaning up? \*\* They’re just putting back in the same strains of bacteria that just came out. ---
**Author:** ![scr4](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/59ef9b/32.png) [@scr4](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scr4)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/7 "2001-10-27T15:39:11Z")
So if I live alone, there’s no reason to wash my hands after using my own bathroom? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/8 "2001-10-27T15:50:37Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by scr4 \* > \*\*So if I live alone, there’s no reason to wash my hands after using my own bathroom? \*\* Not if you never have any face to face contact with other living humans. Although you could end up giving yourself a nasty cellulitis, and when the rescue workers come to retrieve your body, it’ll be pretty gross (even if you’re not dead). If you bath regularly (even twice a week, for gods sake!) this is less likely. ---
**Author:** ![Poloin99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Poloin99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poloin99)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/9 "2001-10-27T16:10:32Z")
Dude, just wash your hands… ---
**Author:** ![MrSCOTT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MrSCOTT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrSCOTT)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/10 "2001-10-27T16:27:57Z")
Ew. Nothing like nasty ppl trying to rationalize their actions! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Corrvin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/bbce88/32.png) [@Corrvin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Corrvin)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/11 "2001-10-27T20:59:31Z")
Truly, though, if you live in a very socially restricted group and don’t often touch others outside your household, there’s no need to. I just went through the allergy-like symptoms of getting used to the new Corr-friend’s germs (I mean, we were kissing and stuff, so I got his mouth cooties and he got mine) and it wasn’t that bad. If I dated more than one guy, though, I’d sure be more concerned about sterilizing my mouth a lot more completely and insisting that they do the same. So, should you wash your hands? Dunno, do the people around you share your germs or not? Do you work in a location where you share a desk with others, or common equipment? I do, so I wash my hands a lot. If you work in a mostly solitary environment, then why worry about it? Corr ---
**Author:** ![Poloin99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Poloin99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poloin99)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/12 "2001-10-27T22:07:44Z")
He would infect himself. In a severe case he could infect his stapler. ---
**Author:** ![Zyada](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zyada/32/3028_2.png) [@Zyada](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zyada)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/13 "2001-10-27T22:27:08Z")
Qadgop - what about wounds going putrid? Or does that come under “cellulitis”? It was my understanding that the digestive system handled infectious flora fairly well, but direct blood contact was a bad thing. Thus, wild animals can handle normal exposure to excrement, but even a minor wound can prove fatal. ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tell-me-why-i-should-wash-my-hands/89905/14 "2001-10-27T22:44:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zyada \* > \*\*Qadgop - what about wounds going putrid? Or does that come under “cellulitis”? It was my understanding that the digestive system handled infectious flora fairly well, but direct blood contact was a bad thing. Thus, wild animals can handle normal exposure to excrement, but even a minor wound can prove fatal. \*\* Yeah, basic wound care requires cleanliness. Otherwise cellulitis begets sepsis begets lucky if you don’t die. Washing good. Like any good thing, it can be overdone, but generally the greater risk is in underdoing it.