tp://uk.health.lifestyle.yahoo.net/dirt ... t-seat.htm


This is an article from the front page of the Yahoo homepage about what is/can be dirtier than your toilet.
What’s got me about this is it just seems like all these measures are counterproductive because someone who leads this disinfected lifestyle is going to have a depleted immune system so that when they come into contact with a serious amount of bacteria they are likely not to be able to fight it off.
Don’t get me wrong I am all for disinfecting and cleaning but it annoys me that it’s becoming the norm to disinfect everything. My girlfriend’s house and my own are clean and reasonably disinfected but only to a sensible measure. I think unless I come into contact with say gone off, badly cooked meat or an unhygienic restaurant. I’m less likely to get an illness than people who live their lives disinfecting and avoiding ill people like in the aforementioned article.

What bothers me more is that this culture seems to be spreading which I think is of great detrement to the health service.

They've obviously never seen Mythbusters.

I couldn't agree more. To quote Persil, 'Dirt is Good', in moderation at least.

I occasionally find myself shouting at the TV when those ridiculous adverts for the Detol no touch hand wash system come on. I mean come on, it's not like you're scrubbing up for surgery is it?

and surely you're washing your hands after touching the soap pump anyway, and with their soap that's meant to kill germs.

I avoid anti bacterial products if possible. It is the way that they develop resistance to them. Simple soaps are good enough. Your body needs to fight the odd infection to train itself. I think the lack of such immune response training is why so many people have allergies nowadays.

The second quote is just common sense, stuff I'd hope we were all heeding since we're grown ups and know how to keep ourselves clean.
No, you don't need to use antibacterial products all the time, but the rest of the advice is sound.
Ironically, the steps a restaurant kitchen should be taking for cleanliness far exceed those that the majority of people keep at home. I'm rarely worried about restaurants - but I've been handed cutlery and mugs in some people's homes that've made me regret turning up.

Have your toilet in a different room. Problem solved.

I do wish more people would "quarantine" themselves. I really hate being squeezed against people on the tube who so obviously have the black breath.

Exactly

Only an idiot could think that a combined bathroom/toilet is a good idea.


They won't because they get called work-shy and lazy and potentially lose their jobs.

This happens because people and businesses haven't thought it thru. Which is worse? One person at 0% production or 30 people at 0% - 50% production?

Go home, stay at home and don't come back until you won't f*** everyone else up.

We used to have just that sort of arrangement until the fifties. It was called an outside toilet.

The problem with a separate loo is you can't wash your hands before touching all the door knobs; unless you leave all the doors open.

It would be nice to have an en-suite sink though; somewhere clean to put your toothbrush.

I'm not allowed to be ill before November or at the least I get a written caution or the worst I get sacked.

I'm not one to throw sickies either. I had some genuine illness last year which put me over their permitted sickness level.

So now I get to a) go into work to infect everyone or, b) use annual leave if I do get ill.

Yeah, you're not alone with that policy.

It should be a breach of human rights or something...

If you have a permanent condition then it could be illegal under the disability discrimination act.