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Unhygienic modern technology

(25 Posts)
giulia Fri 06-Mar-20 13:30:40

I went into a Post office this morning that I have never visited before.

In order to get my number, I had to press my Whole hand onto the lighted glass surface of a large machine and the number came out.

The glass was quite smeary and I thought, what with all the fuss about avoiding contact in public places, that the system was ridiculous (probably very costly) and really unhygienic.

As soon as I got back to my car I used hand gel, also on the car handle and Keys!

Namsnanny Fri 06-Mar-20 13:35:28

Maybe if the po supplied hand gel for users it would have helped.
I dont think the tech can be called ridiculous really. Things move on.
People should take responsibility for their own health as much as poss especially now.

TrendyNannie6 Fri 06-Mar-20 13:47:37

Well everything you touch carries germs, money, door handles, public toilets to name a few, this is nothing new, technology moves on, just make sure you wash your hands,

Pittcity Fri 06-Mar-20 14:27:18

There are touch screens in our GP surgery for you to check in. There is gel beside them and sinks with hot water and soap, but you rarely see people use them.

Callistemon Fri 06-Mar-20 15:07:43

I'm just wondering which number it was you had to get confused
Was it to do with PO account?

Namsnanny Fri 06-Mar-20 15:16:43

Could it have been a number for the queue perhaps Callistemon?

TrendyNannie6 Fri 06-Mar-20 15:23:42

We have touchscreens as we go into main waiting area of our drs surgery to check in, they get a awful lot of useage as you can imagine, no gel beside them though.

Callistemon Fri 06-Mar-20 15:34:46

Oh, perhaps yes, Namsnanny

We just form an orderly queue, very polite people live round here grin
Mind you, it is quite a squeeze at busy times

Ohmother Fri 06-Mar-20 15:44:16

Door handles coming out of the toilets always make me shudder. I try to hook them right at the top as I’ve just washed my hands...a few others may have not! ?

BlueBelle Fri 06-Mar-20 15:50:42

Oh dear I d all keep your gloves on ?
Just wash your hands when you get hone you ll all be fine

AGAA4 Fri 06-Mar-20 16:22:27

I still see the non - handwashers and those who just wet their hands after using ladies toilets. Then they will be going everywhere and touching things. Annoying when I can tell from all the posts on GN that we are all following the guidelines and washing our hands properly.

Marydoll Fri 06-Mar-20 17:07:12

I was at the doctor's today and avoided the touch screen and instead asked the receptionist to log me in.
At the hospital yesterday, there were many heavy swing doors to be opened and no hand sanitizer in sight!

I am about to begin new treatment, which relies on me being infection free, very difficult to achieve, if others don't take care with personal hygiene..
I may have to relocate to the garden shed and self isolate.

GrannySomerset Fri 06-Mar-20 17:16:58

Wonderful excuse for a bit of me time, Marydoll. Sometimes I think getting off the Merry-go-round for a few days would be lovely.

Luckygirl Fri 06-Mar-20 17:21:02

I thought exactly the same thing at the GPs the other day - all these germy hands logging on on the touch-screen. Bit crazy really!

giulia Sat 07-Mar-20 09:08:39

Callistemon It was just the number for the queue. The irony is that I had stepped into my local cafe just before and was made to use hand gel before they would serve me.

I am in Central Italy though!

I was struck by the opposite extremes in different public places.

Callistemon Sat 07-Mar-20 09:37:48

Yes, I realised afterwards!

M0nica Sat 07-Mar-20 12:23:50

How come humankind has been around and multiplied so many many times, if it is at such risk from even the thought of meeting a germ?

I know times are exceptional at the moment. I have put a pack of medical wipes in my handbag. In the OPs situation, I would just have wiped the glass before putting my hand on it.

In normal situations, it wouldn't worry me.

harrigran Sat 07-Mar-20 12:48:44

The self check ins at hospitals and surgeries are just inviting infection. DH complained to our local hospital that they should provide a means of cleaning hands, fancy having to tell a hospital that they need infection control.

giulia Mon 09-Mar-20 10:27:03

MOnica You're right of course. I just got caught out!

JuliaM Mon 09-Mar-20 10:38:26

Thank goodness for Mobile phones! Almost everyone has one, and the old Public phone box type which never got cleaned and carried just about every human bacteria imaginable are long gone. They were once the preferred method of contacting your GP if you had illness in your household, it was only the wealthy and business people who had a private telephone of their own!

anniezzz09 Mon 09-Mar-20 11:31:32

Humankind has been around for many centuries but there has never been the same amount of mass travel as we have today and thus the mass exchange of bodily fluids and germs.

Also the world population has doubled since 1959 when it was 3 billion, in 1999 it was 6bn, now its close to 8bn. That's a lot of people, micro organism and bacteria and viruses flying around the world!

Cabbie21 Mon 09-Mar-20 11:42:10

The plastic shopping baskets in Aldi looked as if they had all been cleaned this morning. If that is correct, I am impressed.

JuliaM Mon 09-Mar-20 12:03:50

I never use supermarket shopping baskets or trolleys to place my food into as l am going around a shop. This is mainly out of necessity as l have to use a small mobility scooter to get around the shops, and hang a couple of the sturdy large ‘bags for life’ on the frame footplate and place my goods directly into those. At the checkout, l empty them onto the counter just like l had used a basket, and give my bags an upside down shake to prove that no items are remaining to any security staff who may be watching me! I’m a regular customer to several shops around the small town where l live, and they have got to know me and are happy for me to do this rather than try and hold onto a basket, reach for items, and steer my scooter at the same time!

M0nica Tue 10-Mar-20 10:08:06

But for most of humankinds existence there were no drugs of any kind, no antibiotics, no doctors or hospitals. We l;l have that now and knowledge of how diseases spread and what type each virus is. Longevity has increased rapidly. Over population is now caused, not by too many births but by us all living so long.

Of course we must all take sensible precautions, but what is our immune system for if not acting as a protective barrier? We need a strong immune system that regularly meets challenges and deals with them.

For those with immunity problems and those in ill health every precaution is necessary, but otherwise - .

TerriBull Tue 10-Mar-20 10:18:16

I think I may have become ultra fussy before the virus struck us, have always been aware of how dirty communal key pads for cash machines are and the money that comes out of them yuk! I've been doing the thorough hand wash for ages. I get annoyed with one of my sons dropping by and placing his work tablet, phone and other paraphernalia on my kitchen work surfaces. I told him I consider them unhygienic for such areas, I got "God when you did you become so fussy" Last week or so he gets ushered into the cloakroom to wash his hands as soon as he arrives....but he gets that now!