Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with germs

Germs on my hands

MrMulan — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:17:15 -0800

Is it possible for bacteria, and/or viruses to ever physically adapt to soap, alcohol, peroxide, iodine, ect.? Washing your hands is the best way to cut down on a known vector for germs to spread. Could bacteria adapt physically in a similar way lice or hookworms have? Or does their size make it impossible? Same for viruses.

I know bacteria can and are adapting to chemical solutions like anti-bacterial soap. When hand washing with soap, the soap is not suppose to kill the bacteria, but it is the physical activity of rubbing that gets rid of the bacteria. The soap just makes it physically easier to transfer bacteria from your hands to the soap which is then washed down the drain.

As for viruses, could they ever evolve to the point that the usual disinfectants would not work? (alcohol, lysol, ect.)

Personal answers, opinions, anecdotes, are all welcomed, but links are always preferred.

As always thanks in advanced.

Germs: pretty much everywhere

Busoni — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 05:37:21 -0800

Epidemiology-and-Germ-Theory-Filter: are bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc. that cause common conditions (such as warts, conjunctivitis, and ringworm, for instance) pretty much everywhere (already)? The relevant literature suggests that they are fairly contagious, and spread by contact. But while one can take precautions towards limiting contagion, doesn't it seem that given the prevalence of these diseases and the lack of precautions most people take, that the agents that cause these diseases must already be pretty ubiquitous, and that the only reason that not everyone has warts and pink eye is that people's immune systems are functioning properly?

In other words, am I right in saying that: although you probably want to avoid wrestling nude in the shower room at the Y, and farting bare-assed on people's pillows, people usually get warts and pink eye not because they failed to take these precautions, but because the germs that cause them are already pretty much everywhere, and happened to catch these people on a bad day, immunologically speaking?

water water everywhere!

kidsleepy — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 07:23:52 -0800

Is "old" water safe to drink? I have no problem leaving a cup of water on my bedside table for a straight week and drinking out of it. I'll also drink out of a (previously opened) water bottle that's been rolling around on the floor of the car for days. SO doesn't even like to drink water left out over night, and has a half-dozen half-empty water bottles in his floorboards. I argue that water doesn't "go bad" or "spoil" under normal circumstances. SO claims this is "gross!"

Who's right?

Sexy sex that will avoid transferring a cold

Anonymous — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 17:08:11 -0800

I do not currently have a cold. My girlfriend currently has a cold. What sexual activities can we do that will minimize my chances of getting a cold? Yeah, we know it's probably slim, but I really can't afford a cold right now and celibacy is so '50s.

1. Oral sex is out, yes?

2. Would any particular position help?

3. Kissing is out, but what about kissing the skin in areas not near an opening, say the chest or back, say the chest or back?

4. Would having it in the shower help?

Anonymous 'cause, well, do we really have to explain?

COUGH

The Straightener — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:21:52 -0800

Is there any utility to this quasi-germophobic tic I've developed? When I'm in a public space, especially in a tight space like an elevator, and somebody coughs or sneezes I've started doing this thing where I like exhale until I can't anymore and then I hold my breath for a second. Obviously you wouldn't want to directly inhale from somebody's freshly sprayed, noxious germ cloud, but does exhaling and then holding one's breath for said germ cloud to disperse actually result in any lesser risk of getting sick? Or I'm crazy and I should stop doing this because it's crazy and does nothing?

Do you eat the dirty fruit?

MaryDellamorte — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:53:15 -0800

This question is for chronic hand-washers that use soap. Why is it not alright to wash your hands with just water before a meal, but it's perfectly kosher to just rinse a piece of fruit off under the faucet before consumption? This is a serious question and I've really, really pondered this. Tons of people have their nasty, grubby hands all over the fruit at grocery stores, yet we only rinse it with water before eating. Are the same people that eat these fruits the same ones that insist on washing their hands with soap before a meal? It doesn't make sense to me. Or maybe people actually use soap to clean fruit? Please shed some light on this for me since I'm a non hand-washer.

STD aren't the only "bugs" I fear catching

sixcolors — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 19:19:02 -0800

I fear that my OCD will interfere with my sex life. I am a complete germaphobe, I have been since I was little. I wash my hands around 20 times a day. I have a stash of antibacterial wipes and Germ-x gel, for the times when I’m no where near a sink. I avoid crowds during flu season. I was diagnosed with OCD in my mid teens, and was prescribed Zoloft. It didn’t help me at all, and I discontinued after a year or two.

I have a hard time eating something without washing my own hands. It is even harder to be physically intimate with other people, fearing that I will pick up germs. Germs that can make me sick in particular. For this reason, I have an aversion to oral sex, I have an even bigger aversion to making out. Many times I flat out refuse to make out. Giving and receiving pecks on the face or anywhere else on the body is fine and I enjoy it, but not sticking my tongue in someone’s mouth.

I hate being like this because I think it’s positive to be open-minded about various sexual practices, and I want to please whoever I’m messing around with. Has anyone had this problem? How did you cope?

I love you, but you're covered in the hand germs of the masses.

phunniemee — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 11:18:31 -0800

How do I get my boyfriend to wash his hands without nagging him? I wouldn't describe myself as a germaphobe, but I was raised to have a certain awareness of the things that I touch (and get touched by a thousand other people), and to wash my hands upon coming home, especially before doing something like eating or touching all up on my face. Grabbing onto the poles and straps on public transit really skeeves me out, as do bathrooms and public computers. If I'm carrying anti-bac gel with me, I'll do that as soon as I'm done, and/or I'll make sure to wash my hands the next time a sink presents itself. I tell you this so that you know I'm not some crazy wash-the-hands-till-they-bleed person.

Anyway, the boyfriend hasn't been instilled with this ability to notice potentially gross things. He'll full-handledly grab onto a rail on a bus, touch his face, pick something up off the ground, touch his mouth, open a door, and then sit down and start eating. He also often doesn't wash his hands after peeing. None of this seems to register with him. If it were just him, I'd sit back and watch in horror as the scene played out, but when he tries to hold my hand or touch me or (gasp) put his hands anywhere, excuse me, but no.

When we sit down to eat, I'll (always nicely) ask him to wash his hands first. If we're at home he'll usually comply, but if we're out, it's almost always a no-go. And I don't sit there like his mom and say "go wash your hands;" I'll get up and say, "be right back, going to go wash the bus off my hands," and give him a look. I know he knows what I'd like him to do, he's just being difficult. Same goes for the bathroom and everything else. Also, I worry that when I refuse to hold his hand (and tell him it's because his hands are dirty), he thinks it's because I don't like him (because he's just like that).

Long story short: How can I get my boyfriend to wash his hands with regularity, without nagging him constantly?

p.s. He is almost 22 and should know better.

Statistics on kids and germs needed, stat.

mdiskin — Sun, 03 Dec 2006 13:10:22 -0800

Looking for statistics on kids and germs. I'd love to see some from a recent study on workplace absenteeism -- i.e., people with kids in daycare (or school) have X% absences more or less from work than people without kids. Even daycare- or school-worker health stats would be helpful. Specific studies, anyone? Any other stats regarding kids + germs could be useful, too.

Please don't just point me to CDC.gov -- I need actual stats and am having a hard time finding what I want. Most of the occupational stuff I find is focused on workplace fatalities.

U.S. stats are preferred but other countries/populations may also be useful.

Germs for me to play with?

Powerful Religious Baby — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 20:29:41 -0800

Plastic germ action figures that were sold in test-tubes: does anyone remember these toys? As far as I can remember, they were just called "Germs" and were sold at places like Toys 'R' Us. My googling turns up a few plush germ toys, but these appear to be unrelated. Does anybody know what I'm talking about? I had the hots for these things so intensely when I was a kid, and I want to find them again--they were incredibly weird, and those test tubes might be good to take shots out of. Thanks!

Hand Sanitizers: Friend or Foe?

SSinVan — Fri, 04 Aug 2006 09:13:39 -0800

I have been having an ongoing argument with some friends about alcohol-based hand sanitizers. They say that it is very important for people to be exposed to germs so that we develop a natural immunity. They say that hand sanitizers prevent that natural process and leave people more exposed than those that don't use them. "People that use them are germ freaks."

I say that people living in an urban environment get exposed to enough germs on a daily basis just eating, riding the train, using the ATM.

I use hand sanitizer to help prevent getting colds and flus from people at work, and passing germs on. I use it when I come back from the bathroom, when I've used someone elses computer, when I sneeze etc.

Am I a germ freak?

Sanitised for your protection

twine42 — Thu, 03 Aug 2006 08:37:55 -0800

How bad for your health are toilet seats? I got thinking about toilet seats being 'sanitised for your protection'. I know that loo seats are crawling with bugs and bacteria but what real nasties are there on them and does having a sanitied loo seat (or wrapping it in loo roll) actually reduce the chances of catching something nasty?

How dangerous are loo seats compared to (for example) the taps/faucets on the bathroom basin - which everyone covers in germs, washes their hands and then collects the germs again?

It all comes down to cooties

Anonymous — Sun, 28 May 2006 05:50:34 -0800

Who gets to share food and drinks with your child - from the same cup or spoon? I've upset a member of my extended family by telling her I didn't want her to feed my daughter off her own spoon anymore. It's coming up to winter here, so I'm wary of colds and flus, but I also think it's kinda gross.

I feel there are a bunch of common germs to a household, but outside of that household there are different ones to be a bit more wary of - even if the people from outside the house are family. Am I being irrational by asking people who live outside of our household to use a seperate utensil and seperate food? (like not taking turn-about with spoonsfull of yoghurt with a toddler)

Vinegar - tasty condiment or household disinfectant?

catfood — Wed, 12 Apr 2006 12:34:55 -0800

Is vinegar really effective as a household cleaner? A number of people have suggested to me to use vinegar instead of bleach in my household cleaning, stating that it's just as effective as killing germs & bacteria and leaving things nice and clean, without being as toxic as bleach.

I do use vinegar to de-stink things (the dishwasher, coffeepot, etc), but I'm not sold on the fact that it's a disinfectant. Maybe my Google-Fu is off, but I can't find any information about it except from "Frugal Living" sites, and their primary goal seems to be more to save a buck than to clean your raw-chicken-slimed kitchen counters or toilet bowls.

Anyone have any evidence? Or suggestions for other less-toxic household cleaners?

Toothbrushes are grody

schoolgirl report — Sun, 17 Jul 2005 11:54:17 -0800

Why don't our tootbrushes make us ill? They sit out all day with our mouth germs and lord knows what else lingering there. Does toothpaste have anything to do with this?

Flu Incubation

jsavimbi — Sun, 23 Jan 2005 08:06:52 -0800

I've had the flu since Wednesday. I haven't left my apartment since Friday. A friend just told me that I won't get better unless I air out my apartment and take a walk outside. Is that true? Can germs live in your bedsheets?

I'd readily go outside, but there's two feet of snow and it's fourteen degrees out.

Cubicles = Sick?

knave — Mon, 06 Dec 2004 07:48:58 -0800

I'm battling my third head cold this year, which is really rare for me. Usually I have one cold per year, maybe two. This is also the first full year I've had the pleasure of working in a cube farm. I'm wondering, is there a correlation between working in cubicles and the spread of diseases? Does anyone have any information to back up this theory?

Why do women use paper toilet seat covers in a clean restroom?

agregoli — Tue, 02 Nov 2004 11:31:51 -0800

Many times in my various workplaces, I've noticed people "nesting" in the ladies restroom. By this I mean, using one of those papery toilet seat covers before sitting down. Most of these incidents involve a restroom that is spotless, and sometimes it was only used by a few people. I'm of the mind that using these things is if anything, less sanitary, as it increases the chance of (*ahem*) fluids getting on the seat. I can't find any info either way - your thoughts? And a follow-up question - why the fear of germs in a spotless restroom? Do people feel this will actually protect them? Your thighs are the only part touching the seat? Etc?

Sanitation Station

PrinceValium — Mon, 27 Sep 2004 11:10:25 -0800

Does putting TP or one of those safetyguards on the toilet seat actually do anything? Or is this just a salve for our collective germophobia?

Can I get sick from physical money?

feelinglistless — Tue, 27 Jul 2004 11:03:50 -0800

Can banknotes spread disease and germs? [inside] It just occured to me today as I took some slightly crumpled notes from an atm that I was then going to use them to pay for lunch and without anywhere to wash my hands I was them going to directly put the sandwich in my mouth. Can anything nasty be passed from the note onto my fingers then onto the food and then into my mouth? Could I catch a cold this way, for example?