I believe the media has made everyone so paranoid of germs..

i agree with you i think the media is way over exaggerating about germs i dont want to sound gross or discusting but i hardly ever wash my hands i have no problem going outside riding my horse then coming inside and eating a sandwich without washing my hands first i have never been a germ phobe and i dont think i ever will be i think the movies like contagion are just hollywood movies and they are not real so there is nothing to be worried about i think it is a scary thought so i just dont think about it

One of my room mates is not heeding the message. I wash my hands often. I must wash my hands at least 25x a day. I am going to have to begin using the Avon lotion in a jar to keep my hands moist. They are beginning to feel like sandpaper. I studied to be a medical assistant, and the life cycle of a germ can be long. Colds and influenza can be passed from someone who blew their nose and touched a doorknob that you happened to touch right after. I do not like being sick, so I wash my hands quite often.

Trouble is that we then don't expose ourselves to the germs to the extent we did 50 years ago and are therefore more prone to catching the bugs today. You go for a holiday in India or Africa and have to be so careful about what you eat or drink while the locals happily consume everything with little ill effects. Is this progress?

I wash my hand all the time because of my food allergies, since I'm SOOO allergic to corn and it seems so many things have trace amounts of corn, and then there is the cat and dog foods....

A German sociologist, Ulrich Beck, has made a career out of his theory of Risk Society. I won't go into it in detail, but basically he says that Modernity has changed our entire perception of risk. "(He) argues that whilst humans have always been subjected to a level of risk - such as natural disasters - these have usually been perceived as produced by non-human forces. Modern societies, however, are exposed to risks such as pollution, newly discovered illnesses, crime, that are the result of the modernization process itself". There are others, like WMD's and terrorism. His suggestion, and one my own studies agree with, is that since most of these "big" risks are out of our control, our Western society has turned to dealing with the risks we CAN deal with. It;s a bit like looking for a lost ring under the lamplight despite the fact that you dropped it in the unlighted space, simply because you can see in the light. I was a cook for years, and it used to drive me insane the way the health people would keep making it almost impossible to produce good food because of their over-the-top safety and health rules. I have NEVER had a case of food poisoning in any kitchen, domestic or commercial, and I don't wash my hands every five minutes. It is paranoia, perhaps understandable, but we leap onto thje bandwagon because it makes us feel, mostly quite wrongly, that we are doing something to decrease risk. The real answer is much harder: reverse Modernity, which means reversing globalisation. Can't be done, too much vested interest, both ideologically and economically. Probably a bit more information than anyone needed, but hey, I love the sound of my own ... er... fingers typing. Lash

Hiya chrys, Just washed my hands again as I have been out with my Dog and since I have not had a Dog for ages its something to get used to again washing my Hands more than what I normally do and I wash them an awful lot anyway. Not that a Dog has obvious Germs but I do it anyway I always wash them very well and shake the excess water off. Especially when I have a Cold I always wash rinse and then shake the water off withoug contaminating Towels or Kitchen Cloths. Yes all this Germ stuff can be scary at times but we have to live with it too. Sounds like a great Film gal.xxx

chrystaltears, I just have to disagree that the media has made everyone paranoid of germs when it is a fact that most of us are not doing enough as far as personal hygiene is concern. I do not know if you've actually read about statistical compilations which reveal a big majority of under and post graduates that literally do not wash their hands after visiting the toilets. Also, thanks to the media - we are made to be aware that the best preventive measure against the spread or catch of flu virus is not to increase with the intake of health supplements or medications but to wash our hands and keep them clean. Or, that we should not use our bare uncleaned hands to touch our faces to prevent the spread from accelerating. So, I wouldn't say that the media is making everyone paranoid of germs.

This is true. Everyone is so obsessed with being clean and germ-free, but really, you're putting yourself in more harm than good. If you try to prevent any contact with germs, you're putting your immune system in danger, because your body isn't used to germs. So, when you are exposed to them, you can easily get sick. And this whole frenzy about germ killing and sanitizers isn't helping much, either. We're just creating more deadly forms of germs as the stronger ones develop. People make germs look like the most horrible things ever now, but really, they're just a part of life. Get one with it. Happy mylotting!

I have to agree with you;when I was young my mum used to say that everyone had to 'eat a peck of dirt before they die'! These parent who wrap their children up in cotton wool run the risk of them being more open to infection if (or when) they do come into contact with any dirt or bacteria!

I have worked in the medical years for several years, therefore, germs is something we guard ourselves from immensely. We are trained from the very beginning to treat all people as walking germs. Granted I am not afraid to touch people and or eat with them as well, but when it comes to the working and or unknown public I obsess with washing my hands. I bet that it has to be scary watching this show, but in reality it is true that we just do not know what we are exposed to on a daily basis.

A new movie? I might just check it out I'm actually scared of germs too, I wonder how my friends could like touch the floor or touch something I consider is dirty and then use their hands to pick up food and eat. When I was a kid, I use to wash my hand all the time, several times a day to the point my hands got all dry because of too much soap. I still wash my hands often but I try to just wash only before I eat. I remember watching a show how being a clean freak isn't too healthy. There was a Doctor who dipped his hands in the toilet and tried to touch the lady who was a clean freak, it was pretty funny!