this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2024
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[–] ExtravagantEnzyme@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago (2 children)

Well, urine is sterile, and if only touch the door in and out of the bathroom, washing doesn't always seem necessary. If you get pee on your hands, then by all means. But if the only option is air blades for hand drying, you're better off not washing. Those literally lace your hands in fecal matter when used in a public restroom.

[–] my_hat_stinks@programming.dev 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Urine isn't sterile. While it's true that paper towels are better than dryers, drying your hands (even with a dryer) is better than not drying. Washing your hands is, obviously, better than not washing your hands.

If you don't wash your hands you're already in the worst case. It makes no sense to complain about the methods of drying available.

[–] ExtravagantEnzyme@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Other peoples fecal matter will contain many forigen bacteria, and these microbes are proven to coat the hands of people after using air driers. My apologies about the sterile urine comment. Nonetheless, you'd be in a better situation with bacteria on your hands from your own pee vs from a strangers feces. One's apart of your microbiota, while the other is entirely foreign. IDK, I've seen many cases where washing your hands after a piss made no sense due to cleanliness issues or a lack of a sink and never heard anyone around ever having any issues. Yet many pathogens are spread via the fecal oral route. So I'll take my chances of maybe having some of my urine vs having someone else shit on my hands everytime in that situation.

[–] my_hat_stinks@programming.dev 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure I follow your logic here. You believe you'll come into contact with other people's piss and shit less often when people don't wash their hands?

[–] ExtravagantEnzyme@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago

Air hand driers cover your hands in other peoples fecal matter. That's a massive biological risk, especially with how many pathogens are transmitted from poop to mouth. Using a urinal will most often result in no backsplash, keeping my hands pretty clean. To wash off that minor, if any, urine which got on my hands and end with others poop on my hands from the air drier has put me in a much worse position. That's all I'm saying, is there's 100% situations where washing you hands makes no sense after a piss. But it's good practice for sure, unless an air drier is involved.

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I bet you also refused to use masks because you couldn't breathe.

[–] ExtravagantEnzyme@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago* (last edited 6 months ago) (1 children)

I told folks to start buying masks in March 2020 and found a new gig as the one I had didn't enforce any mask requirements. But I'm also a backpacker who knows bacteria and the immune system pretty well. I don't read much research on urine, so again, please forgive that oversight. But funny how people aren't easily categorized, ah?

[–] Nibodhika@lemmy.world 0 points 6 months ago (1 children)

So you only trust science sometimes? There are contradictions on whether air dryers are more or less hygienic than paper towels. But there's no contradictions on whether you should wash your hands.

[–] ExtravagantEnzyme@lemm.ee -1 points 6 months ago

This study from the American Society of Microbiology specifically demonstrates how air driers at least add 3 bacterial colonies, and up to 254 colonies, when using an air drier in a public restroom: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/aem.00044-18. In addition, a Harvard review of the research also identifies that the chances of picking up a serious pathogen in the bathroom are quite small.

So, having little chance in general yet using the air drier, which has shown to add bacteria to your hands in every single test, doesn't make sense after understanding this data. I'm a man of science, and this involves assessing all available data regarding the topic at hand. This being the case, the data provided above highlights how just not touching your face and washing your hands at the next opportunity after leaving a bathroom with only hand driers is the most logical move. But to each their own, I know microbiologist and virologist who are much smarter than I that refuse to use air driers, so I took note and make moves accordingly.