I don't want to reach the stage where I begin to behave as though I've a phobia, but what about germs...
Germs on money for instance. Money, whether notes or coinage, must be heaving when you think how many people's hands it passes through...
It isn't practical to ferret in your pocket or handbag for the anti-germ gel every time you hold your hand out for your change...
I mean...people would tut wouldn't they... if they had to wait while you cleaned your hands and actually I'd feel a bit of a prat.
When I sign the docket for my pension the biro is one that everybody uses...old men down from the mountains who might not have washed in a very long time...young men collecting their dole, who didn't bother to wash their hands the last time they had a wee...
Even ole Lemon Features doesn't think to give the oxymeter a quick squirt of something anti-septic when she slams it back on the shelf in a temper...
The Vet is just as bad...there she was cuddling the kitten with the gammy leg...someone brought her 'phone and she answered it and then she took my money for sorting Eilis's in-growing nail...and she picked my oxygen bottle up to see how heavy it was.
And there's the second-hand books.
Especially my very old books...one was printed in 1760...makes me shudder to think what could be lurking within its pages...plague and cholera perhaps. Not to mention a touch of anthrax from the cover...
Obviously I haven't succumbed to anything ...yet.
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very true my brother caught ecoli few months ago was very bad with it in hospital said to consultant how do you think I got it he ask what job he done he said I work in a bank he said could have caught germs of the money and that money was one of the dirtiest things around for germs
she is doing well thank you think she was in bit of pain last night herd her whimper few times in night and was very restless yesterday evening but been fine today they gave me one off the lamp shade things to put on her head if she try to pull the dressing of or lick the stitches but she hasn't touched them so that is good . its amazing how quickly they recover after an op if only humans could be so quick
In the early days when I was not well,breathing not good coughing a lot,I was very worried about the things I touched when out shopping I used to wear gloves,but as the panic passed I just carry on as normal,hoping not to catch anything,
I remember when I had Scarlet Fever over 60 yrs ago that anything that was bought into the hospital for me,books clothes pencils colouring books,all had to be burnt,not sure if the same safe guards are practiced today.
when I was in hospital for a spinal fusion nurse put my tablets on bed side table I turn round and dropped them on floor as I wasn't allowed to bend I called the nurse she picked them up of floor and said here take them and she was surprised when I said I wasn't taking them after the been on hospital floor she said just wipe them they will be ok . At the time they had that winter vomiting bug going round the hospital ,
Easy to avoid friends who have colds but it's my husband who is down with the cold/flu gremlins at the moment. Hard to avoid him hahaha so hoping that the gremlins pass me by as dreading my first cold following Sarcoidosis diagnosis... Bit of a poem going on there me thinks.
Sarcoidosis diagnosis,
Living hell for many,
All we ask of those in the know
Is what's long term prognosis 😜
Don't worry I won't be giving up my day job unless they force me out x
I go by what my grandmother used to say. Eat a peck of dirt before you die, just don't die knowing it.
I take meds to suppress my immune system, but I will not flinch from hugs and shaking hands and sitting in a pub or restaurant. I will not be dictated to by my body. So far I have been out of hospital 3 years and not had a further residential visit. In 3 years I am on my 3rd set of emergency antibs. If my lungs weren't b......d I'd be healthy.
hey dozy you're back hurrah. i was never particularly ill as a kid and we didn't have the cleanest house growing up. and you nan was right, if you thin about it anti b's are mostly made from germy things look at penicillin and some people love blue cheese(yuk)
I certainly agree with you Vashti. Money is probably the dirtiest thing we will ever touch. Saw on a TV programme a while ago that most bank notes have traces of drugs on them. I get through a lot of hand gel. Xx
'Fraid I'm another germphobe. Never ever use my hands on a door handle, or God forbid, a flush button on a public toilet. The other thing is food that's on display where kids can put their hands in and drool or worse. Pick 'n Mix sweetie displays no longer attract me, or scones or buns or any food that people are breathing over. Every time I come back into the house I wash my hands and use gel. Maybe it's a bit extreme but I didn't get a single cold all last winter, so maybe I'm taking that as a positive. What a shame there isn't a way to cut down exacerbations. All the handwashing in the world won't stop our lungs from having their wicked way with us.
Ive read that tests have been done on salt when its put into a little dish so that you take a pinch with your fingers. Apparently all samples that were tested were full of E coli
Our lungs WILL have their wicked way but i do believe that we can cut down on the number of exacerbations by taking good care with our hand hygiene. I use tea tree oil on mine - its highly antiseptic. Hand gel often has alcohol in it and can damage the skin if you use it a lot.
I'm kind of the opposite, apart from coughs & colds. I like to think that I build up immunity , as I live my life, however after having chemo I feel it wiped it all out and starting to build it up again ! Money and especially library books are notorious for germ carrying, I agree! It's not what I touch, it's what I breathe in that bothers me lol.For example if someone if coughing I hold my breath as I'm passing them, so I don't breathe in.
Filthy Lucre, I don't care if it's dirty or clean! every penny counts I used to have to count through hundreds of notes and coins every day when I worked as a Stewardess ...... I suppose you could get quiet obsessed about germs like Howard Hughs! I go a bit like that if the kids get a bug, I hate being sick!
I sometimes think about wearing disposable gloves when I go food shopping, I just block it from my mind and then reach for the anti-bac stuff when we get outside, I have had some odd looks, I've also done it while waiting at the check out and I'm getting worse the older I get. When I think of how it was when I was growing up have no idea why I'm like this now
I think the secret is to always avoid touching your mouth or nose with your hands/fingers. If you have to touch them, then clean your hands first or use a tissue. Secondly if you have to put something into your mouth e.g. a puffer, clean it first. Thirdly breath through your nose.
I guess I'm a germ aphobe! I never use cash always my debit card. I wear a mask from October through April. In the stores they have wipes with bleach in them I wipe down any place I may touch the shopping cart. When I go for a doctor visit I always ask for first appointment of the day and ask if I can wait in the exam room verses the waiting room. I will say in the 5 years since my diagnosis I've had pneumonia once and bronchitis twice. I don't believe in the flu vaccine, but I do get my pneumonia vaccine. I only take antibiotics when confirmed by increased white blood cell count and at least one other indication (fever over 100° Fahrenheit, positive chest xray, positive culture). I rarely take prednisone 3 times in the last 5 years. I'm thankful for every day I wake up and have with my loved ones I don't care how silly people think I am or if they think I'm nuts... be germaphobic if it gives you more time!
To docMel I would like to know what your Dr. thinks about how you are dealing with germs. My Dr. puts m on antibiotics when needed and checks to see that i get all my shots. this year had two-Flu and pnumonia 13. The only hospitlization i have had is for Meningitis in about 2005 and in 2010 I was coughing up a lot of blood. The blood was from a bronchiectasis. So far i haven`t had a hospitalization for exacerbation. I was diagnosed in 2007 with stage 4 copd.
Last year my husband and I went for coffee in very trendy coffee shop, the only place with a few empty chairs left, 20 minutes before our bus home was due. Coffee cost a bomb but they did give a homemade cookie with it, they were in a jar on the counter. While I waited our turn the fellow serving took notes out of the register and began counting them. He licked his fingers on every third note.I was horrified when he served the person before me and put his hand in the jar for her cookie.
I told her not to have one and explained why, she hadn't noticed what he had done. This bloke hit the roof, tried to make me feel an idiot and said he " didn't have anything catching " Other people behind me had seen it all though and told him off. Such a fuss that another member of staff came along and tipped all the cookies into the waste bin. I wonder if he ever did this filthy thing again. Polly.
Being over cautious about germs can kill your immune system. You're then open to every nasty that's just sitting, waiting to get you and nothing to fight back with.
The latest product on TV that makes me laugh is yet something else to put in your washing machine which supposedly kills 99% of germs on your clothes? Just another gimmick by the manufacturing giants to get your money! It's a scientific fact that exposure to everyday germs/bugs etc., Gives you immunity from them.
Not so sure about the Plague or Cholera though? Lol.
Hahaha, nice one vashti, not to mention the cocaine (and faeces) to be found on all bank notes!!!
I believe an athlete was banned due to cocaine in his sample. After much investigation it was found to have come from cash? Research shows traces are everywhere. Grim eh, just don't sniff 😉
I was a normal kid played in the dirt, got all my shots, and so on. My home is very lived in, I have 3 dogs, I see my grandkids (and they are full of germs). Over use of antibiotics, prednisone, and so on helps to create super bugs that end up killing people. My doctor is quite fine with how I deal with germs. I only wear a mask when out shopping during the flu season. I'm beating the odds according to all my doctors...I like it that way! Beaton the odds!
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