Hand washing - before meals?

Shopping trolley handles are a personal horror on the germ front for me... as are any doors/handles while out. My bloke and I are both meticulous about hand hygiene after visiting the latrines, and before prepping/eating food, and tend to be rather judgemental towards people who aren't.

That said, I have a very clear memory of sucking handfuls of pennies as a small child, and finding the coppery taste quite pleasing - can you IMAGINE the gazillions of germs I must've ingested? I do sometimes wonder if that sort of behaviour strengthened my immune system in some way, because I seem to get far fewer coughs/colds/tummy upsets than most ppl I know.

We too have been sucked in by the antibacterial wipe/spray brigade, but not really sure how necessary any of it is. It can get quite frenzied around here, with the spraying/wiping of light switches and door handles, when someone's visited who's clearly feeling poorly lol! ;)

Certainly hand hygiene is needed after using the toilet but don't get too worked up about these thousands of bacteria, on money mobile phones etc.

Quite realistically how often do we get stomach upsets or serious bugs from our everyday activity?
We have all coped with most childhood cuts and scratches grazes etc with no serious infection. Our bodies are in general very good at coping with bacteria if just left to their own devices. Those with impaired immune systems do have to be careful but the rest of us survive happily with these thousands of bugs outside and inside our bodies.

Poor hygiene with regard to food preparation cooking and storing is probably reponsible for more food poisoning events than anything else.

I wash my hands after using the toilet and before eating but its probably not to hospital hygiene standards.

I have not become more worried about bacteria as I have got older.

What worries me more is the pressure put on by the the advertising of the manufacturers of antibacterial sprays which implies that without these products we shall all get ill.
I worry also that the overuse of these products will allow the usual familiar bacteria to become resistant and produce more superbugs.

Oh dear is becoming an obsessive about germs a feature of getting older?
I never used to worry too much thinking a few germs were good for me but recently i have found myself thinking about germs in public places , on handrails, door handles and so on.
We have just been on holiday in Florence and climbed the 400 odd steps to the top of the Campanile.I noticed with horror that the walls next to the narrow spiral stairs were covered in an unpleasant black grease where many hands had touched.I couldn't wait to wash my hands!

I've had to use steroid creams for a long while, anno (psoriasis) - mainly on my forearms and upper arms. This has thinned the skin and lightened the pigment. I was given Dibrobase which I use on my face as a moisturiser, but it doesn't help at all on my arms. GP gave me Epaderm which is a really rich Vaseline-type of ointment. It can be used whenever necessary and although it doesn't make the dry skin/redness go away, it does alleviate the dryness a bit.

I have very thin dry skin on my wrists and forearms - a effect of taking steriods - and have been recommended by fellow sufferers to use Doublebase cream or gel which I have started. The unsightly bruising caused by any bump or scrape on the thin skin makes me want to try anything to improve things.

I always wash my hands before a meal but can't get my mother to ever wash her hands! Yet, I was brought up to do this. Anyone any idea how I can convince her its a good idea?

I am a bit of an obsessive handwasher but I also have a skin condition which causes very dry patches on my hands ( my grandson said last week oh grandma you have a lot of hurt on your hands . bless him!). I can't use scented creams and have tried many others but the only one that works for me is Cetreben emollient cream which you can buy from the chemist. It is great for any areas of dry skin.

Yes wash them all the time and carry handgel if out on public transport. My DD washes her baby son's hands before he eats and since she and her partner use trains and trams all the time they wash their hands a lot to try to avoid virus contamination.
MY partner has mild OCD and washes his hands every five minutes (which is not a good way to go!)
Vegasmags I lived in India when I was young and the hand washing is for a very good reason! many Indians eat with their hands (the right I think) and use their left instead of toilet paper!! they actually think using paper is rather disgusting!

My daughter and I swear by l'Occitane hand cream. Although it's expensive it does last for months.
Because of my husbands impaired immune system after chem I am washing a lot more than I used to and we're certainly not catching things. It took a few weeks of arguing ("WHY do I have to?") to get my grandson to wash his hands before eating, but he does it without a murmur now (and had 100% attendance in his first year at school)

I do think you are right about money being dirty NfkDumpling, was very careful
each time we went Egypt using hand gel each time we had to handle any money
and never having a gippy tummy we must have been doing some thing right.
I always have to wash my hands when i have been in town shopping for the same reason

I like aveeno harri. I use it on my legs too.

I have L'occitaine hand cream but found that Aldi is good for use on a daily basis and is a fraction of the price. If hands have reached the stage where they are very dry Aveeno works well and quickly.

Having worked in hospitals where we were all trained in food hygiene (despite the fact that I was a secretary!), I always wash my hands before preparing food, and especially after using the toilet. They use a machine that shows all the bacteria left behind after washing your hands; my hands were perfect except for the area behind my rings. Now remove all rings too when preparing food - a bit OCD but once you know, you know!
Tried getting GC to wash thoroughly, singing one complete verse of "Happy Birthday to you" before rinsing. My DIL complained that it was all taking too much time, so no luck there.
Hate the vogue for displaying food, including bread, on open stands. M & S has delicious bread, but all exposed to everyone leaning over it, and this applies to some salad bars in supermarkets, too. Hate to sound over the top, but won't buy food unless it is protected from customers handling it, sneezing, etc. I realise that we can't guarantee how food handled before it is packed, but hope preparation incorporates better standards of cleanliness.
The advertisements for preparations which destroy 99% of all known germs make me smile - what about that 1% busy multiplying itself?!

When my DIL comes home from work, she travels to and fro to the centre of London, she always washes her hands before cuddling her babies. My friend and I carry the little plastic vials of handwash all the time. We always apply before eating out. A LOT of people don't wash their hands after going to the loo. I have noticed this a great deal . Men in particular. If they are still 'adjusting their dress' when leaving the loo, they haven't washed their hands We know who you are!!

You'll all stop me biting my nails (or more accurately the skin round my nails and cuticles) next. Filthy, foul habit and I've done it since I was 15. Liberal hand cream does help, but never quite enough!

And that paint-on nasty flavour stuff is totally no use. Please don't suggest it. I just get used to it after a few nibbles!

anno my two favourites too!

Liz Earle's Hand Repair is luxurious and my less pricey favourite is Body Shop's Almond Hand Cream which reminds me of marzipan.

Be very careful the glass doesn't slip out of your handcreamed hands as you lift it. Now that would be tragic

Thanks isthis, will try.
And then drape my hands around one of jeni's Brandy Alexanders.
Which sounded soo delicious!!!!!

This stuff johanna is brilliant. I got a free sample.

Handcream by Occitaine.

Er.. it costs £18 a tube! I think the words Shea Butter are meaningful, but I always thought Shea was a Baseball Stadium in New York where the Beatles played yonks ago!

www.feelunique.com/p/LOccitane-Shea-Butter-Hand-Cream-150ml

You get what you pay for?

Reading all of the above ,we must be in need of a very good handcream.
Any recommendations please?

I have used them all, from cheap to expensive, but not been satisfied.
Or is the trick to use the cream at least for times a day?

I can remember when I was a child (yes I have a good memory!) my mother made hand washing a game. Everytime I used the loo she would say in a very excited voice that wasn't it great that I could now wash my hands. It was the same before and after eating. However, I was also allowed to play outside making mud pies and getting generally dirty. I think she was of the school that a little bit of dirt doesn't hurt. These days I wash hands almost on automatic pilot (although I no longer make mud pies)

I've not got the cleanest of houses - and I don't disinfect everywhere, believing too, that 'we need to eat a peck of muck before we die', but I do wash my hands frequently during the day. If I can't remember where I've last had them, I wash them!

I always rinse cups etc under hot water, but that because I don't like the taste of washing up liquid and I heard somewhere it was carcinogenic.

I worked with a group of people who caught every cold and anything else that was around and I was the only one didn't get sick. I have always been fussy about washing my hands. I also washed my own cup with boiling water and didn't dry it with the tea towel. Quite a few of them were very lax with washing their hands. One of the men said I must have been a carrier.