Thursday 24 July 2008

Deeply Sanitised/Sanitized (A bilingual post)

My very last recycled post. I will be back blogging current events this weekend!

I know cleanliness is next to Godliness but I can't help thinking we're all going a bit OTT.

When I was a child I had a weekly Sunday evening bath in preparation for the new week of school. It was sufficient. We were posh though, we each had our very own bath water. I recall going to sleepover at a friends house and being told we needed to go get in the bath that had been vacated firstly by my friends father and then her older brother. Even to this day I am suspicious that third hand bath water probably has very few cleansing properties. I actually think I needed a bath when I got home to cleanse me of my earlier third hand bath.

When I was a child and went to the farm or Zoo there were no signs telling me to sanitise my hands every 10 metres, or child height sinks provided to give my germ infested hands a good scrubbing before exiting. I fed goats and pigs from my hands happily and didn't wash them. In fact I probably fed them and then sat down and had a picnic without considering the fact that I had pig saliva on my hand and subsequently my sandwich.

But guess what??

I survived!

When I worked at the hospital we had a big change of policy from washing our hands every 30 minutes to using hand sanitiser every 15 minutes. Sometimes I'd go a good 45 minutes between doses of sanitiser because frankly it's just not good etiquette to leave someone in mid Barium enema to go sanitise yourself up to your wrists. To my knowledge nobody ever died from my lack of hand sanitiser diligence.

I attended the wedding of my dear friend John in February. The last person in the welcoming line had a big old pump bottle of hand sanitiser to protect us from the germs we just contracted shaking hands with the Bride and Groom and the rest of the wedding party. My friends dad sent me on my way with a handshake and a complimentary pumping of sanitiser.

So if cleanliness really is next to Godliness thanks to that unexpected dose of hand sanitiser I'm happily one step closer.

10 lovely comments:

The Hamilton's said...

What!? Hand Sanitizer for the line at the wedding?????

Heidi said...

THAT is HILARIOUS! I'm wondering why I didn't think of this for my wedding?

Oh, because I don't care. Still laughing!

Anonymous said...

Yes. ashamedly. when I saw Father-of-the-Groom come in with about 3-4 bottles of hand sanitiser, I took one look, and walked away.

John, I think, thought it was a really good idea and says that when they go on their cruises (1+ a year) that they get squirted down every time they enter the ship/restaurant/wherever else.

I hope you will be pleased to know that the Bride did NOT have a squirt of sanitiser... on second thought, Iain may have known that everyone was shaking my hand, and would need sanitisation to follow...


PS. Carol. I'm really sorry I was late. Honestly, I was ready for 11 o'clock...it was the Yank in the kilt holding up the show! But, hey, it made it memorable, right?!

Lauren W said...

I absolutely agree! My husband is a nurse, and extremely germ-aware. I on the other hand, don't really care. I'm of the opinion that you got to build up your immune system by exposing it, you know? :)

Krystyn @ Really, Are You Serious? said...

That is so true! I am the complete opposite of a germ-o-phobe! It bothers me terribly that some people are so obsessed with it!

I've done just fine with myself...even if I don't wash my hands before every meal!

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad you posted (re-posted?) this. I am so NOT a germ-a-phobe (but the shared bath water would do me in just for the yuck factor--EWWWW).

I've heard that all this anti-bacterial soap is actually working against us anyway because we are making SuperGerms (I'd like to see what kind of costume he'd wear)that are resistant to the anti-bacterial stuff.

I have no words for the wedding story. That is just beyond ridiculous!!

Anonymous said...

I am not a germ a phob either although sometimes if I think too hard I could maybe become one, but it is too overwhelming so I quickly abandon that notion! Sanitizer in line at the wedding receiving line cracks me up... def blog material. Glad you reposted.

I love your blog layout.. nice makeover, it is so cheery and fun!

Kelli @ writing the waves said...

I cannot even believe someone was holding hand santizer at the end of a wedding line....what?????? I'm sure I would have laughed, thinking it was a joke. I get giving the kids a squirt after climbing all over an indoor play area, but at a wedding reception? Definitely over the top/OTT.

P.S. Love the recycled posts idea. I know have have several older posts that maybe 2 people have read. haha! I really enjoy your blog. I'm going to be adding a blog roll when I get a chance and was wondering if it would be okay to list yours. I'm not sure about "blog etiquette" when it comes to this, so I thought I'd ask first. :)

Wendi said...

I thought I was a huge germ phobe.
I guess I am not.
Not in comparison to the hand sanitizer at the end of the receiving line.
I. can. not. imagine.
Glad the wedding provided such a great post!

J said...
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