Confessions of a Germophobe-How clean is too clean?

I have to admit, as a small child, I was a big nerd.  My favorite television program was 20/20 with John Stossel and Barbara Walters.    I think Barbara Walters was even my role model for a while.  She was so poised and dignified.  So, of course, when I heard a 20/20 report on HIV in the early 1980's, (and was still too young to have had any sex ed.), I panicked.  I was worried that I would get HIV from petting the dog and not washing my hands before I ate.  I agonized about the time that my big sister dared me to eat dirt and wondered if I should get tested for HIV.  

I started washing my hands every time I touched anything....my desk at school, my hair, my shoes and especially other people.  Eventually my hands started bleeding from washing them too much so I guess that it was fortunate that in that time frame I saw a 20/20 report on obsessive compulsive disorder and learned that people go to the hospital with that too.

I had to seriously evaluate my habits and decide what health patterns seemed to take priority.   I think that there may be a lot of people out there who face the same struggle.  They want to avoid getting sick, so they might go on overkill to wipe out the germs around them.  So how clean is too clean?  I still probably don't know the answer to that question, but I know of some things that are definitely dirty and should be avoided.

1) Promiscuous sex.  Okay, this seems like a no brainer, but there are girls out there terrified of the seats in public restrooms, who sleep with all kinds of strange men.   There are all kinds of sexually transmitted diseases that you can pick up through intercourse... HIV, chlamydia, gonorrhea, and so on.  So you practice "safe sex"and the list gets smaller, but still includes syphilis, scabies, herpes, human papilloma virus, and bacterial vaginosis  because close body contact is all that is required for transmission of those diseases and condoms don't prevent that.  Probably being monogamous with a monogamous partner or abstinent is the #1 thing you can do to keep yourself free of infectious diseases. More info at CDC STD link.

2)Sewage.  Most of us take sewage treatment for granted, but in parts of the world that lack proper sewage and water treatment plants, diseases such as cholera and typhoid are still rampant.  Sewage treatment saves a lot of lives.

3)Restaurants.  Food poisoning is super common in some parts of the world 

(like Merced, CA).  I end up with food poisoning about 1/3 of the time that I eat out in Merced and so I have come to the conclusion that restaurants make people sick.  I didn't always feel that way, but I do now and I eat out a lot less.

The most common form of food poisoning is Norwalk virus.  This comes from people not washing their hands after using the bathroom, and then handling your food.  Only about 1/3 of the population is susceptible to Norwalk virus so lots of people are carriers and they get everyone else sick.  The symptoms of Norwalk, if you are susceptible, are vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours.  You know, the 24 hr flu....it's really food poisoning...probably from a restaurant.  

4) Cuts and abrasions.  These weren't such a big deal 20 years ago, but now they are because Staph aureus strains are becoming more virulent and more resistant.  It makes you a lot sicker a lot faster and is harder to get rid of.  Athletes especially are prone to getting Staph infections.  This doesn't mean that you have to freak out every time you get a cut or scrape though.  Just take care of the wound.  I prefer hydrogen peroxide because bacteria aren't going to become resistant to it because peroxide oxidizes and destroys the molecules they are made of. Probably any disinfectant will work though.

5) Rodents and cockroaches.  When tested, these organisms really do carry more pathogens than other creatures.  There is a good reason we hate them.  

6)Bathrooms.  This one is reminiscent of #2.  Human waste is dirty and people touch knobs and handles and all kinds of other places in the bathroom before they wash their hands.  If there is one room to keep super clean, it's the bathroom.  I think bleach is the best disinfectant in a bathroom because bacteria will never become resistant to it.  Bleach oxidizes the molecules bacteria are made of so as long as life is carbon based, bleach will disinfect.

7) The noses of little children.  Little kids carry around Streptococcus in their nasal passages.  Children in both clean and dirty living arrangements have Strep in their noses....it's just part of being a kid.  Little kids now get Strep vaccinations and that helps some, but there are so many different types of Strep that no vaccination can wipe all of them out.  There is not a lot else to be done with this one, but if you want to keep your kids from getting sick, probably keeping them away from other sick little children with runny noses and coughs is a good idea.

8)Pets. I guess it depends on where they go and what they eat, but pets can spread diseases.  Rabies is an example, but of greater concern is probably intestinal parasites.  There are other diseases that are spread by pets, but they aren't very common. Check out the CDC link for more info.

9) Shoes, keys, money, security badges, wallets, purses, and things that get handled a lot, dragged everywhere, set down everywhere and rarely to never get washed.  This is honestly starting to get pretty picky, because I can't think of ever really getting sick from any of these things, but I confess that I occasionally run my keys through the dishwasher and I cringe when parents let their little children suck on keys.

So the upshot of all of this is that with the exception of so many people having multiple sex partners, most of us are probably clean enough. All you people out there who aren't neat freaks might be doing better than you thought.