I have succumbed to posting on AIBU!

I'm not obsessive about hygiene and cleaning, our house is 'livably' clean. Our kids grew up with pets, dust and dirt and were very rarely ill. A woman I once worked with cleaned her house from top to bottom twice a day and wiped every surface with bleach - you could smell it as you entered the house. But her children were constantly taking time off school because of stomach upsets and allergies.

My Gran also used to say "^We must all eat a peck of dirt before we die^" When I asked what a 'peck' was I was told it's about 2 gallons, so I've probably still got some way to go yet!

I agree that hand washing is important, and I do carry hand gel with me because so many public loos don't have soap dispensers that work. But sanitising your home and worrying about touching door handles and shopping trolleys is just adding unnecessary stress to your life. Germs and bacteria are everywhere we just need to learn to live with them and develop a natural immunity.

NanaMcGeek, you are spot on, allergies are completely different to infections (bacteria or virus) so no amount cleanliness or dirtyness will have any effect on an allergy. The girl who died from eating a sandwich had a serious allergy to sesame seeds and she sadly died from a reaction to eating the seeds as the ingredients of the sandwich were not listed. Nothing to do with hygiene would have altered this, neither being obsessively clean nor filthy, the result would have been the same. I feel for the devastated family.

I believe in moderation in all things. Yes, I try to be clean but one cannot be obsessed.

Obviously, I am very careful indeed about hygiene if I visit someone in hospital, go near young children or anyone I know to have an allergy but, usually, I just live life and hope for the best.

Fermor has just confirmed that hot air dryers are not a good thing.
Years ago I read an article that said they just blew the germs around. Never used one since.

I'm all in favour of sensible hygiene (washing hands after going to the loo, etc) but this obsession with the use of wipes and hand gel is something I can't understand.

The only thing I am paranoid about with germs are outside catering vans when only one person does all. Takes money handles the rolls or buns.Money is so full of germs, I can't eat anything from these establishments however hungry I am or however lovely the smells they emit.

I was coming into a supermarket when I started to have an really good sneezing fit, the type where your pelvic floor exercises come in handy. Anyway I grabbed my tissues and just continued. This woman went mad at me, said I should stay away when I had a cold. It wasn't a cold just allergies that I have that cause these sneezing fits and I told so. Usually take hay fever tablets all year round but hadn't for a few days, hence the sneezing.

I agree about the cloths that are used in cafes! I know it isn't foolproof, but I'm always pleased when I see staff using fresh paper roll to wipe tables - I notice that Pret and M & S do it. I insist that DGC wash their hands when they arrive home from school. It's probably too late for them, but it might just help us avoid some of their school bugs. I've been known to put the hot water and Dettol in the basin for their use!

I only have a problem with other people’s attitudes when using the air dryers.. I know that hands must be completely dry after washing but, other people get impatient waiting for me to dry my hands properly. It takes approximately 15seconds depending n the type of dryer.

I think we all have our cut off point when hygiene becomes a priority. I agree that disinfectant wipes etc are all over used and soap and water does the job just as well.
My own cut off point is a carvery or open buffet where people are coughing etc over the food. The same cloth being used for cleaning the floor and then being used for washing up.

Yes my Mum also used the spit on a hanky method.

I have become more cautious as I’v become older ,especially when traveling which necessitates using public shared facilities, I have become a dab hand at using elbows & little finger for doors, locks, flushing & taps.
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My mother always spat on a hanky to clean our faces and told us "you'll eat a peck of dirt before you die". My kids (now adults) will pick up a bit of food they drop on the floor and copy my FiL saying "Clean meat never fattened no pig". Too much cleanliness prevents immunity developing.
The one that does bother me is my 6 year old granddaughter mucking out here horses and then eating a sandwich. She tells me it's only grass and she's always told to eat more greens.

Yes Willow10, my mum used to spit on a hanky and give us a wipe. lol. I'm only obsessed when the Norovirus is about! I fear and hate being sick. And the other that goes with it.

When I was growing up, my Dad always said, 'A bit of bacteria never did anyone any harm.'

There is a difference between allergies and infections although the immune system is involved in both. Infections occur when the body is invaded by a foreign organism that causes illness. If your body has encountered the infection before then you may have built up enough antibodies for the immune system to identify the foreign invaders rapidly and counteract the infection reducing its length and severity.

On the other hand, an allergy is an exaggerated response by the immune system to a trigger. Hay fever is an allergy to pollen, pollen isn't a germ. I feel deeply for the family of girl in the news (Natasha Ednan-Laperouse) who died because of a sesame allergy, but no amount of hand washing or antiseptic gel would have made any difference to her.

Totally agree. A child's immune system has to have contact with dirt etc so that it can strengthen. The reason for so many children with allergies is this obsession with killing all the germs....

Lully I heard that on the radio only yesterday. Children need exposure to germs so they don't become allergic to things apparently. I also heard that the huge increase in peanut allergy relates to government advice not to give peanuts to under 3s. I heard that such advice may change and that they will suggest that babies should be given peanuts to they don't develop the allergy!

Apparently children born normally are less likely to develop allergies because of what they pick up through the birth canal. Those born by C section are more likely to have allergies. True in the case of mine.

farmor15 that's a great post, from an expert. I already obviously keep raw and cooked meats apart and their implements I'm going to specifically remember the bit about the heated hand dryers.. Thank you !

If you've got any other tips I'd love to hear them!!

Apparently it is now the general view that most of the allergies prevalent today are due to over use of anti-bacterial wipes and obsessive cleaning. My son kindly pointed out that it wasn't surprising that he has never had any allergies! Just saying!

That made me smile Labasz1964. Am I the only one who's mum used to spit on a hanky to wipe our faces?

Spot on, phoenix.

Actually I agree with others posters comments about clean/dirty dirt. Mostly at home, I just keep the place reasonably clean, it’s when outside I get particular. I’ve seen a lot of people leaving a public toilet without washing their hands, and even more who leave after a quick rinse, no soap! That’s why I use gel after a public toilet. I don’t wipe a supermarket trolley handle but I’ve seen a tv programme that looked at the bacteria found on a supermarket trolley handle, and it was shocking, including fecal matter! That’s why I thoroughly wash my hands once I’m home before doing anything else. Just normal precautions I think.

I have read research which supports what many people here say, and what my mother used to say: there is bad dirt which makes you sick, and there is "clean" dirt, which builds up immunity. I agree with PP who wipes down stuff on a plane, but I also allow my 5 year old to make his mud pies in the garden.

Research does show that too sterile an environment is actually contributing to the large numbers of people these days with allergies. One does not actually need to "eat off the kitchen floor."

A doctor specialising in allergies said that our world is too sterile so children don't build up immunities. The peck of dirt saying seems to be correct.

I must be obsessive, I use hand gel quite a lot when I’m out and about, always before eating if I’m out, and often after visiting a public loo, even though I’ve washed my hands. I also thoroughly wash my hands every time I arrive home after being out, and I clean cafe tables with antibacterial wipes. Cafe tables are filthy these days, almost always stained from previous users, and with crumbs left on them. They are rarely cleaned by the staff, and if they are, have a close look at the filthy clothes they use, ugh! I also clean all around my seat and tray on an aeroplane, using antibacterial wipes. Aeroplanes are deep cleaned once every 6 months only, and are said to be a particularly dirty environment. If you use a budget aeroplane, as we do for European trips, they look dirty when you get on, crumbs under the seats, filthy trays. I’ll stick with using my gels and wipes thank you, I prefer them to filth.