Hand Washing...Too Little or Too much

When Musings spotted Beverly Hills Plastic surgeon Dr. Robert Rey waving around a hand washing report on TMZ as his "latest" news, we knew how he felt. Dr. Rey was obviously grossed out by the facts that human feces were found on fresh fruit and vegetables in markets and farmers markets as well as salad bars. "People just aren't washing their hands!" Brazilian born Dr. Rey exclaimed. If one pays attention and looks, trash picking recyclers rarely wear gloves when they gingerly dip their hands into garbage cans around town and who knows where they work...do they touch food and if they do, do they ever wash their hands before they do? How many people wash their hands after using the toilet? According to a report recently released, not enough as hepatitis and other illnesses spread among the city's inhabitants for lack of proper hand washing. Given the fact that the USDA has altered it's requirements for meat packers and handlers such as gutting machine cleaning, and saw sharpening and there is an allowable amount of feces in the meat products that you purchase...one needs to keep cleaning every time they touch or cut a piece of meat. What does this have to do with me you may be asking. Simple, no one is immune to their fellow community members' germs. Most stores now carry sanitary cloths to wash the handles of their shopping carts. The National Association For The Education Of Young Children (NAEYC) has a list of when to wash your hands. Some have seen this list and have said it's from the food handling regs, maybe it is. The NAEYC wants us to wash our hands when: we transition from one area to another that is where the children are; every time a person wipes a child's nose with gloves on; whenever a child's diaper is changed as well as them washing their hands; when they use the toilet they wash and we do, before and after eating; if a baby spits up one has to put on gloves and wipe it up with bleach water and wash/change the baby; if one sneezes washing one's hands is required; before and after handling food. Excessive...maybe, but in a society that likes to sue perhaps it does limit a child-care facilities' liability. So, where does that leave the average person you may be asking. Wash your hands whenever you know that there has been an opportunity to spread your germs to others. Get ready, aim...WASH!

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