- Man claims germs from hands will spread to her genitals when wiping
- She posted debate on website due to concerns she was unhygienic
- Only applies to women because men don’t touch their penis, he says
- Leading hygiene doctor says washing hands after is ‘far more important’
Anna Hodgekiss for MailOnline
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It’s a routine most of us have ingrained – and one would hope perform several times a day.
But one woman’s husband has sparked fierce debate over the seemingly innocuous task of hand washing.
Rather than lathering up after going to the loo, he claims she should also wash beforehand.
His theory is that germs on a woman’s hands will be transferred to her genitalia when using loo roll – with potentially harmful consequences.
The debate was sparked on the Mumsnet website by a user called ‘mallorcanmummy‘.
One woman’s husband has claimed that in addition to washing her hands after going to the loo, she should also wash them before – to prevent the spread of germs
Recalling a discussion she’d had with her husband, she wrote: ‘He insists that it doesn’t make sense for females to only wash their hands after going to the toilet.
‘They should wash them before, too.
‘This is, according to him, as we will be transferring germs to our lady bits if we don’t wash our hands before.
‘I did point out that most of us use toilet paper so we don’t actually come into contact with our bits. His response to that was why do I bother washing my hands afterwards then?
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‘I had to think for a bit and then concluded that a) it’s habit, b) who knows who else has/hasn’t been touching their bits/not washing their hands and c) occasionally the paper isn’t quite thick enough and a feeling of dampness seeps through. bleurgh.’
She added: ‘Note: this only applies to females apparently. Men don’t touch the ‘important bit’ of their apparatus when they wee. Obviously if they do a no.2, the same applies as above.
‘So, am I a disgusting unclean person, or is he being unreasonable?’
Readers were quick to share their opinions.
Hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley said: ‘If you are simply going to the toilet then washing your hands properly afterwards is far more important’
KateLivesInEngland wrote: ‘Nope, never occurred to me to wash hands before. Unless I’ve just been elbow deep in the garden and am wearing my white jeans or something … Otherwise it’s a bit pointless.’
And PresidentCJCregg argued: ‘But…but….he actively touches his w**** when going to the loo, we don’t actually touch our bits?!
‘He has this all back to front!’
ShatnersBassoon added: ‘I don’t wash my hands before blowing my nose either, which is essentially the same as wiping after weeing. Paper-covered hand goes near orifice. It’s not exactly a high risk activity.
‘Afterwards, of course, but no need before.’
Meanwhile Juniper40004 said the advice she had been given as a new mother was to wash her hands before going to the loo on a post-natal wards.
She wrote: ‘I guess [it’s] because you’re so open to infection after you give birth.
‘But I wouldn’t normally wash my hands before using the toilet, unless I knew I’d been doing something germy like emptying bins etc.’
Dr Lisa Ackerley, a hygiene and public health expert, said it depended on what someone was doing while using the toilet.
Speaking to MailOnline, she explained it would always be advisable for a woman to wash her hands before inserting or removing a tampon.
‘If you’re putting a tampon in then it makes perfect sense to wash your hands before to stop the possible transfer of any germs,’ she said.
‘Perhaps if you’re susceptible to urinary tract infections, there’s a slight possibility of infecting yourself within the opening of the vagina.
‘But if you are simply going to the toilet then I would suggest washing your hands properly afterwards is far more important.’
AND MANY PEOPLE DON’T BOTHER WIPING AFTER THE LOO, SURVEY FINDS
If you’ve ever harboured doubts about the personal hygiene habits of your work colleagues, look away now.
A staggering 62 per cent of men do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom, a survey has revealed.
And while women are slightly better than men, 40 per cent admit they too share this dirty habit.
An alarming 62 per cent of men do not wash their hands after going to the bathroom, research claims
The survey of 100,000 people, carried out by a washroom services company, was the largest ever analysis into hand-washing habits.
The company, Initial Washroom Hygiene, is now suggesting using technology to shame people into improving their hygiene habits.
It has launched a new product, Initial Hygiene Connect, which it claims causes 50 per cent more people to wash after visiting the toilet.
The product involves putting sensors on bathroom doors and soap dispensers to monitor how many people go to the bathroom and wash afterwards.
The anonymous data is then reported back to workers in real-time on LCD TV screens in the bathroom.
A previous study by the firm found that after using the loo, a person has on average 200m bacteria per square inch on each hand.
People can then transfer the bacteria to their hands or mouths, as well as on to doors, keyboards, phones.
This means office workers come into contact with an average 10 million bacteria a day.
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