Is it time to give up hand shaking?

[dockman]

Shaking a person's hand has been around all my life.  It is often done almost as a reflex when we see old friends or meet new strangers.  It is often seen as a polite thing to do.

 

But is it really a good idea?  Most studies I have seen say shaking hands is a primary way that a variety of nasty bugs/viruses are passed from human to human.  One generally has no idea of the hygiene habits or status of the proffered hand. Many cruise line party invites now contain a line that the staff asks no hand shaking.

 

Of course it seems the fist bump is slowly evolving as a new way to "shake" hands with the idea that virus transmission is lessened (or maybe that you are cool/hip).

 

I was lucky to live many years in Thailand where shaking a person's hand is not the norm.  Instead the Thais typically give a "wai" as a means of respect when greeting old friends or meeting new ones.  The Thai wai has been around for generations and there are a variety of wai "styles"  as to how the wai is offered depending on the situation and/or class of who is being greeted.  I always loved the gesture of a simple wai, the clasping together of your hands along with a slight bow of the head.  No person to person physical contact at all.

 

So the question is...Is it time for other cultures to perhaps copy the Thais, do away with handshakes and often awkward fist bumps etc?

 

I really do not like shaking peoples hands and then wondering where that hand may have been.  But when someone sticks their hand out it seems rude not to respond with something...and it just seems off to have to say sorry i don't shake hands. 

 

So is a simple "wai" ok or do people somehow find that offensive?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[bEwAbG]

I don't think it would be considered offensive but people would probably talk about you behind your back.  I think it's unrealistic that cultural norms will be completely replaced because germaphobes are squeamish.

 

Handshaking in and of itself is not really a big problem.  Just wash your hands with soap and water before eating and train yourself not to put your hands on or near your face. 

[canadianbear]

On our cruise on the Oosterdam for 2 weeks in December  I was pleased the officers did not shake hands.  For personal reason we have chosen not to shake hands and as far as I know, no one has been offended.  If they ask why, we tell them.  

[Krazy Kruizers]

Many years ago, hand shaking was given up by the officers because of the Noro virus.  It didn't matter whether the sickness was on the ship or not.

 

So this is not new.

[Mary229]

If you are a handshaker I think it is time to have a pocket sized hand sanitizer, something I have done for years as I sell at international trade shows.   It has kept me healthy for years too even though my hands look awful at the end of the week😋

[DivotMaker]

I'm not one that will initiate a hand shake, but my job has me meeting clients and when I do, they almost always offer a hand so I will take it.  But I immediately use the restroom and do a good scrub down.  And on the off chance we're somewhere without a bathroom, I just be sure to order something where I can confidently use a fork or the wrapper.

[canadianbear]

50 minutes ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

Many years ago, hand shaking was given up by the officers because of the Noro virus.  It didn't matter whether the sickness was on the ship or not.

 

So this is not new.

They had stopped for awhile then started again. What we found over the last few years it depended on the Captain.   When they say just before you walk in they will not shake hands I always thank them for that.   If they are shaking hands I politely decline.  Personal choice.  

[fatcat04]

I find washing my hands often and thoroughly plus taking my immune system with me no matter where I roam serves me well. 🙂

[iancal]

I stopped shaking hands on cruise ships a long time ago.   Noro, and seeing the occasional person fail to wash his hand prior to exiting the restroom did it for me.

[dchip]

I stopped shaking hands when I got arthritis. One gentleman squeezed my hand so hard it was swollen for a week. 😖 

 

Cheers, Denise 

[rafinmd]

Crystal gave it up back in 2002.  For things like the Captain's welcome party, before All Inclusive they used to say "If you put out your hand we'll put a drink in it."  Still like the no handshake policy.

 

Roy

[Himself]

6 hours ago, dockman said:

Shaking a person's hand has been around all my life.  It is often done almost as a reflex when we see old friends or meet new strangers.  It is often seen as a polite thing to do.

 

But is it really a good idea?  Most studies I have seen say shaking hands is a primary way that a variety of nasty bugs/viruses are passed from human to human.  One generally has no idea of the hygiene habits or status of the proffered hand. Many cruise line party invites now contain a line that the staff asks no hand shaking.

 

Of course it seems the fist bump is slowly evolving as a new way to "shake" hands with the idea that virus transmission is lessened (or maybe that you are cool/hip).

 

I was lucky to live many years in Thailand where shaking a person's hand is not the norm.  Instead the Thais typically give a "wai" as a means of respect when greeting old friends or meeting new ones.  The Thai wai has been around for generations and there are a variety of wai "styles"  as to how the wai is offered depending on the situation and/or class of who is being greeted.  I always loved the gesture of a simple wai, the clasping together of your hands along with a slight bow of the head.  No person to person physical contact at all.

 

So the question is...Is it time for other cultures to perhaps copy the Thais, do away with handshakes and often awkward fist bumps etc?

 

I really do not like shaking peoples hands and then wondering where that hand may have been.  But when someone sticks their hand out it seems rude not to respond with something...and it just seems off to have to say sorry i don't shake hands. 

 

So is a simple "wai" ok or do people somehow find that offensiv  

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tend to be a fist bumper. 

[*Miss G*]

14 hours ago, dchip said:

I stopped shaking hands when I got arthritis. One gentleman squeezed my hand so hard it was swollen for a week. 😖 

 

Cheers, Denise 

 

I feel for you.  Some people don’t know their own strength.

 

I’ve seen changes where females used to shake hands gently, and vice versa.  (I wish that were still true.) Then we were told to shake hands firmly if we wanted to be taken seriously in the workplace, which was fine at the time.  Except for when you encountered hand-shaking zealots or men being jerks.  Now I don’t want to shake hands at all because it hurts.  The wai sounds like a great idea! 

[gwilli]

They use the knuckle bump on Azamara.  Thought it was strange then realized it was for health reasons. 😉

[cb at sea]

Just carry hand sanitizer and don't touch your face (eyes, nose or mouth) until you've used your purell!

[NightReport]

I'd like people to go back to wearing gloves so that people's hands are always clean.

[doublebzz]

I wonder if people have gotten paranoid since the outbreak of the coronavirus.  In another thread about elimination of libraries,  there are posts warning of germ contamination from borrowing books in libraries.  My suggestion is to "cool it" and take the recommendations of some posters on this thread to wash your hands often.

[dockman]

  The coronavirus like others will come and go and then we will have a new one or ten.

 

  I really don't think it's paranoid to try and protect yourself from colds, flu, viruses etc. Some people have great immune systems and seem to never catch a bug..and i know several of these types who are not known for being all that great with hand washing..others tend to catch a lot of colds etc.  Airplanes for me seem to be especially viral with people hacking and sneezing and crammed together for hours.

 

Easy to say wash your hands often but not always practical.  Example:  You are on anytime dining and your new tablemates all want to shake hands.  Then you pick up a dinner roll and eat it with your unwashed hand. Of course you could I suppose excuse yourself and head off to the bathroom to wash up again or you could whip out a bottle of hand sanitizer...OR you could avoid it all by just not shaking to begin with.  As said I have no idea of the hygiene habits of strangers but I suspect some of them are questionable at best.

 

I now  give a simple wai and avoid the whole messy mess as much as possible.

[bEwAbG]

I've personally never had anyone want to shake hands at the dinner table, but that wasn't the scenario you offered in your opening.  As with anything in life, it's situational.  Is handshaking going away?  No.  As an adult, are there things you can say or do to not shake hands depending on the situation?  Of course.  The idea that handshakes are a big source of germ contamination is quite overblown, too, but I didn't want to bother with that assertion of your OP since you already seemed so convinced.

[Winters in NZ]

4 hours ago, cb at sea said:

Just carry hand sanitizer and don't touch your face (eyes, nose or mouth) until you've used your purell!

A very good suggestion that you have presented.

 

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently issued a strongly worded letter to the company that makes one of these hand " sanitizers " regarding its claim that it can prevent viral diseases like influenza, Ebola and others.

 

Cleaning one's hands thoroughly seems to be a reasonable option, but what to do about door knobs, grocery carts , etc. create their own pitfalls.

 

Perhaps carrying around a lucky teddy bear or a four-leaf-clover is the future.

[kathy49]

Simple answer to the question posed is YES YES YES.  Frankly this is true cruise or anywhere.  With the strains of flu going around, people not that careful with their own hygiene and of course this latest virus I say stop shaking hands period.

[sfaaa]

I don't hand shake when I am on a cruise. I do fist pump. Way more cool and hygienic.

[HokiePoq]

I've been on a number of cruises where handshaking was discouraged.  Officers put their hands behind their backs and greet people in line by nodding and talking with them.   That works for me.  

I dread passing the peace at church and have used sanitizer afterwards for years.   People may talk but that's okay.   Son's church has had sanitizer in every pew for several years.  

Noro, flu….plenty of reasons not to handshake even before coronavirus.

[Lovely other]

I don’t do handshakes simply because I hate being touched by people in most situations. I stopped caring if people thought I was weird or rude. The worst thing is the last night of the cruise when people get all huggy 😳😱

[iancal]

Same here.  Quite some time ago we were at an assigned table in the MDR.  Several people at that table wanted, and expected others to join hands and pray.  We found it distasteful.  
 

I had no intention whatsoever in joining hands with a stranger nor did I appreciate the expectation that  everyone at the table would participate in someone else’s faith practices.

 

Don’t like being touched by strangers...especially the hugging business.