Is it enough to just wash your hands toget all the germs off?

[Alt_account356]

So if you lather soap on your hands and don't rinse, are the germs still killed/removed? Or in the shower do you need to rinse off hands between body parts because dirt and germs are on them?

[Sallyskins]

No matter how much you wash, there will still be billions of germs on your skins. They're also in your gut, where they help you to digest your food. This is normal and most of the germs are either harmless or actively beneficial. Get rid of all the germs, and you leave a space for the bad germs to jump in.

Trying to get rid of all germs is like clearing a property of responsible squatters - they take care of the place and keep it in good repair. If anyone nasty tries to come in, they kick them out. Then the owner decides that squatters are all bad, and evicts them. Next thing, some really bad people move in. They leave the place strewn with drug detritus - dirty needles, empty beer cans and then they graffiti all over the walls and wreck the place.

So think of most of the bacteria on your skin as helpful squatters. Soap and water are generally enough, and give your hands a wash after touching your bottom area. No need to scrub your skin unless you want to exfoliate to make it smoother.

I know it's difficult when you have OCD but do some CBT exercises to get yourself used to being normally, not abnormally, clean. And stop googling about how to wash.

I could add that the Japanese are the cleanest people there are - so clean that they shower before getting into the bath! But they don't have a lower susceptibility to bacteria and viruses - they get them the same as anyone else!

[mindy9898]

All these posts are reassurance seeking @alt_account356 :/ I know it all sucks so much. I constantly want to get answers for this stuff on Google -- like how to know exactly how soap works and if different soaps work or don't work etc. But at the end of the day it is all reassurance. Because our bodies are meant to have bacteria on them. That's how our immune systems stay healthy. If you follow the basic guidance that the CDC offers about hand washing etc -- that's rational, and anything beyond is OCD.