Do you still shake hands with people?

[ruckmarch]

In light of the germs and diseases lately in the news, do you still shake hands with people? I ask because there is a debate going on now on one of the local stations here, with John Tory presenting the show.

I must admit it's scary when you are in the "little boys room" doing your business, and you just see someone walkout without washing their hands  This same person is going to touch door handles, keyboards, equipments and what not, that other people are going to end up touching.

There are some dirty, nasty people out there

 

[North Star]

Yes. To completely echew physical contact with others is a type of paranoia.

For those who feel otherwise, I'm selling transparent plastic bubbles, starting at $999.99!

 

[mariomike]

I don't do spit handshakes anymore.

 

[Yrys]

Yes, I still do.

I just don't touch babies or children anymore,
in case I would be in a ''carrying but not showing''
stage.

I'm not doing it for old people, maybe I should ?


And I still kisses friends, even the one that told me
her doc had diagnosed her with A H1N1... (base
solely on time of year, symptoms, and no lab test).

 

[Michael OLeary]

I just recovered from an H1 virus; I hug everyone, because it is better to give than to receive.    >

 

[Bianca]

Some of my friends/coworkers make me laugh because they use anti-bacterial as if it will save their lives. I shake hands and hug people all the time, and of course being of Italian background do the double-cheek kiss pretty often- yet I haven't gotten a cold or flu in over a year. I wash my hands whenever need be and that's about it.

 

[PMedMoe]

Yes, and that's the key, proper hand hygiene.  I still shake hands, hug, kiss, whatever.

 

[ruckmarch]

Some of my friends/coworkers make me laugh because they use anti-bacterial as if it will save their lives. I shake hands and hug people all the time, and of course being of Italian background do the double-cheek kiss pretty often- yet I haven't gotten a cold or flu in over a year. I wash my hands whenever need be and that's about it.

The double kiss is not an Italian thing, it's done in Eastern and Western Europe and in the Arab world too. Hands should be washed all the time after handling dust, chemicals and using the washrooms.

Also people should avoid sneezing in their hands

 

[X-mo-1979]

I do.However not to the extent the German do.They seem to spend the first 3 hours of the work day shaking hands with everyone saying morning. :nod:

 

[Bianca]

The double kiss is not an Italian thing, it's done in Eastern and Western Europe and in the Arab world too.

I never said it was solely an Italian thing, I'm aware it's done in other parts of the world. I was just giving an example from my life, with my personal reasoning for my actions.
And I believe that some parts of the Middle East actually do a triple-kiss.

 

[SARgirl]

Yes. To completely echew physical contact with others is a type of paranoia.

For those who feel otherwise, I'm selling transparent plastic bubbles, starting at $999.99!

+ 1

North Star, your post gave me a chuckle.  I agree, it has become a type of 'paranoia' which has grown out of hand.

----------

I still shake hands with people. 

I to, with some people, will give and/or exchange a hug and/or kiss on the cheek.

I wash my hands before and after handling food, when visiting the ladies room and any other situation which I feel requires such actions.

Germs are certainly nothing to be paranoid about- all you can do, is all you can do.  Personally, I just go about my business as usual and from there I tend to things accordingly, where possible.

I'm more concerned about people who are sick; coughing, sneezing, hacking etc... who don't cover their mouth (with the inside of their elbow) and therefore expose endless number of people to whatever virus it is they have.  Not only is this rude, but it is incredibly selfish for said person to give so little regard to those around them.  Even still, I'm not paranoid about it, I just think, "hoi", to myself, go about my day and hope that few to none get sick from the exposure.

People get sick, it's part of every day life and simply 'one of those things'.  It is, what it is!

Generally speaking, I'm so relaxed about those things which arise throughout life... it takes quite a lot for me to be really affected by something and 'germs' is not one of those things.

 

[Gunner98]

And I believe that some parts of the Middle East actually do a triple-kiss.

And some parts Europe like the Netherlands do triple kisses.  :-*

I still shake hands and kiss cheeks (especially during PER season.)  It is the smokers who scare me, leaning in for a handshake or cheek kiss can lead to nausea from the smoke residue that covers their clothes and fingers (and their breath).

 

[Blackadder1916]

. . ."little boys room" doing your business, . . .

What kind of business are you doing around little boys?

. . . and you just see someone walkout without washing their hands

Maybe they learned not to piss on their hands?

. . . wash. . . hands before and after handling food, when visiting the ladies room and any other situation which . . . requires such actions.

There isn't time for me to wash hands after visiting the "ladies room"; the shouts and screams of the women in there usually forces me to quickly depart.  I think it's envy because we can pee standing up.

I still . . . kiss cheeks . . . during PER season.

  Doesn't anybody salute anymore?

 

[medaid]

No Blackadder... Salutes are a thing of the past. With one regiment being the exception of course.

We now have switched to the High 5, and in some cases the front cheeks meeting the back cheeks.

 

[VIChris]

Maybe they learned not to piss on their hands?

Win! In my trade (welder) it does you more good to wash your hands before you pee than after.

In all seriousness though, I can't give up what we consider to be a basic, proper greeting because of the slim possibility of catching a disease. The only time I had a tough time fighting off colds etc., was when I was teaching karate. High fiving and kicking around 180 odd 5 to 13 year olds exposed me to all kinds of cold and flu bugs. I think for the most of us in regular day to day jobs, the odd handshake is completely fine if we wash our hands regularly.

 

[Roy Harding]

Win! In my trade (welder) it does you more good to wash your hands before you pee than after.
...

HA!  That's great.

I'm a cabinetmaker - buy me a beer sometime and I'll tell you about the time I failed to properly clean my hands before peeing, after using cyanoacrylate glue (crazy glue)!

I've never worried about physical contact with folks - even the cheek kiss is no big deal.  You may still catch something - but you may have caught it anyway without the physical contact.  I'm with egy sárvédő on this one - if you're doing the "normal" hand washing, why worry about something you can't avoid?

 

[BunnyFooFoo]

I think the whole point of shaking hands is to convey respect; so if you don't (or won't) shake hands, what kind of message are you sending?  If you're that paranoid about germs, don't lick your palms after you shake.

 

[Neill McKay]

If you're that paranoid about germs, don't lick your palms after you shake.

That sums it up nicely!

I haven't curtailed by hand-shaking (nor to I take advantage of the ubiquitous sanitizer dispensers that have cropped up like mushrooms lately).  I'm not quite ready to retreat into the plastic bubble at the expense of civility.

 

[PMedMoe]

In our new section of the hospital, there are no water fountains.  Apparently, it's some kind of infection control prevention protocol.  :

My answer to that is "Stop licking the damn fountains!"  ;D

 

[mariomike]

In our new section of the hospital, there are no water fountains.

Where do you go to get gossip information?