A New Twist in Hand Washing Ritual

[C 2 C]

There have been many posts concerning the need to wash our hands to avoid illness. This article suggests there might be a hidden agenda behind our desire for clean hands.

Clean Hands, Pure Heart?

Sep 7, 2006(WebMD) You don't have to take it from Pontius Pilate or Lady Macbeth. Guilty minds may really send people scurrying for the soap dish, a new study shows.

 

The study, published in Science, found that people who recall acting unethically are more drawn to cleansing products than those who remember behaving ethically. Chen-Bo Zhong, who works for the Rotman School of Management at Canada's University of Toronto, and Katie Liljenquist, a graduate student at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in Chicago, did the research.

 

"Daily hygiene routines such as washing hands, as simple and benign as they might seem, can deliver a powerful antidote to threatened morality, enabling people to truly wash away their sins," the researchers write.

 

They call the phenomenon the "Macbeth effect," after Lady Macbeth, who plotted King Duncan's murder in Shakespeare's play, "Macbeth."

for the whole story:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/09/07/health/webmd/main1983249.shtml

[Host Walt]

The OP refers to an article that creates an unlikely sounding connection between hygeine and ethics.

 

We've removed several replies that raise other subjects and that contravene our guidelines.

 

If you want to reply, please stick to the subject.

 

Thanks.

[C 2 C]

The OP refers to an article that creates an unlikely sounding connection between hygeine and ethics.

 

I was just curious to see if there are obsessive cleaners on board that want to cleanse their entire cabin prior to settling in.

Other than routine washing of hands and always making use of the alcohol dispensers on board (hand cleansers, not waiters) we never wipe down entire surfaces as some posters suggest. Does that mean I have a clear conscience or just bad cleaning habits?....

Or if you have observed this pattern on board... can you add or detract from this theory.:confused:

Let him who is without sin cast the first stone

[Sow There]

Frankly after the various outbreaks the last few years we have become habitual handwashers. One of our major supermarkets started a few years ago with large handi-wipes by the cart area so one could wipe down a cart handle and hands beore shopping. All the others have since followed suit.

 

We always hit the facilities when we go to a restaurant. Etc.

 

But I don't believe the motivation is anything more than reading about norovirus, reports about the bird flu, etc. The connection between lousy ethics and clean hands makes no sense.

 

By the way, in a statistics class the instructor said he could prove a direct correlation between eating healthy foods and mortality. He had clear and convincing evidence based on research that anyone who ate a carefully developed healthy diet would eventually die.

 

I'll bet that he could also prove that anyone who habitually cheats at cards wears shoes and sleeps at night.

[cavkc]

One thing I was extremely surprised at on our recent X and RCI cruises, was that the automatic hand sanitory machines (I can't remember the exact name) that were outside all the restaurants etc. were all empty half way into the cruise and none of them were refilled.

 

I totally agree with the principle, but what is the point of them being there if they are not working.

[SusieV]

Sow There, your post makes no sense at all. You are drawing a correlation between a specific group and saying they do things everyone does. Forgive me if there is a large population of barefoot people who sleep during the day :P

 

The OP's post was about drawing a correlation between two groups that do not encompass the entire population, so it's an actual study, not just a dumb joke like healthy eaters eventually die. Um, EVERYONE dies so you proved absolutely nothing.

 

This study may actually have some merit.

[rebeccalouise]

I think that handwashing on ships is a really great idea. My friend is a school nurse and she never gets sick. So I do think it is a good idea.

[drfun48]

I think that handwashing on ships is a really great idea. My friend is a school nurse and she never gets sick. So I do think it is a good idea.

It is hard to prove anything with anecdotes.They don't provide sufficient data.My uncle smoked three packs of cigarettes a day and lived to be 100,so smoking must be good for you.

One of the reasons the school nurse may be healthy is that she is exposed constantly to so many sick children that she has developed immunity to many organisms.

As a dentist I have close contact with many sick individuals and have missed only two days in thirty three years due to illness.

There is also the matter of false cause reasoning.A person who takes vitamines may be healthier than one who does not because he is more likely to exercise regularly,doesn't drink or smoke,and watches his diet,as well as has regular check ups.

Issues of health and sickness are often more complex than can be explained by simple ,single causes.

Washing ones hands before eating,or before and after going to the bathroom are a good idea,but the same can be said for a handshake,or using a hand rail.But we shouldn't get crazy either, and be paranoid about diseases.We are all going to die eventually...we just shouldn't be afraid to live.

[rebeccalouise]

Over the past year, I have not been sick once. I work with the public- in a restaurant. As a rule I drink lots of water and wash my hands thruout the day. It does seem to have made me less susceptible to illness (both the water drinking and possibly the handwashing). It can't hurt and no I don't think anyone should be obsessive about it- just use common sense. It might be a good idea to wash your hands periodically.

[jakers]

Please allow me to elaborate on common sense. I worked for many years in the grocery industry both as a clerk and a manager. While sanitation is a big deal when dealing with raw vegetables and meats, it is not an elaborate dance. Covering your mouth when you sneeze is a grand idea, but not if you cover with your hand and then wipe your cold all over condiment bottles, serving tongs, handrails, etc. All employee restrooms have paper towels ( you'll notice the same thing on ships), presumably because some employees won't wait to airdry. Nobody thinks about licking their fingers to count money, and then hand their cold over on a dollar bill.

I point out these facts to illustrate common sense and polite behavior. These qualities are different than paranoia. I don't think I'm neurotic to expect other people to act properly when 3000 of us will spend two weeks together inside the same building, only to stop every other day and let the ignorant classes recontaminate the enviroment.

With this in mind, I do inspect my room when I board. I open the restroom door with the paper towel before disposing of it properly. I hasten to use the sanitizers when I pass one, and I get properly annoyed when most passengers assume they are for the other guy. Oh yeah, I've been on ten cruises and I've never gotten sick on board. This being the most important study on the subject, PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY NEVER GET SICK.....RARELY DO!

[dkjretired]

Please allow me to elaborate on common sense. I worked for many years in the grocery industry both as a clerk and a manager. While sanitation is a big deal when dealing with raw vegetables and meats, it is not an elaborate dance. Covering your mouth when you sneeze is a grand idea, but not if you cover with your hand and then wipe your cold all over condiment bottles, serving tongs, handrails, etc. All employee restrooms have paper towels ( you'll notice the same thing on ships), presumably because some employees won't wait to airdry. Nobody thinks about licking their fingers to count money, and then hand their cold over on a dollar bill.

I point out these facts to illustrate common sense and polite behavior. These qualities are different than paranoia. I don't think I'm neurotic to expect other people to act properly when 3000 of us will spend two weeks together inside the same building, only to stop every other day and let the ignorant classes recontaminate the enviroment.

With this in mind, I do inspect my room when I board. I open the restroom door with the paper towel before disposing of it properly. I hasten to use the sanitizers when I pass one, and I get properly annoyed when most passengers assume they are for the other guy. Oh yeah, I've been on ten cruises and I've never gotten sick on board. This being the most important study on the subject, PEOPLE WHO THINK THEY NEVER GET SICK.....RARELY DO!

 

I think much of what you said makes a lot of sense but I don't agree with you on the hand sanitzers. I don't use them and will not use them. If you read up about them, the jury is still out on whether they do any good or are actually creating problems. Sorry to respectfully disagree but I do agree with most of your post.

[darrencantwait]

C2C -- I think the article is very interesting. However, I think there is a difference between people who are obsessively washing their hands and people on a cruise preventing illness common to the industry. I've known people with OCD handwashing conditions. They wash at times that make no sense...it truly is obsessive and compulsive. Washing because you just got out of the elevator where germy little ones have pressed every single button at least has some reason behind it.

 

And we ARE one of the couples that does an initial cleansing when we settle in on the first day. We don't obsess after that, and we are aware that we are surely over-reacting. Certainly every room is not riddled with germs. But ONE might just be...and we don't want to be in THAT one.

 

One more thing to think about...one thing that just about EVERYBODY touches that NEVER gets cleaned...the TV remote control! YUCK.

[Host Walt]

C2C -- I think the article is very interesting. However, I think there is a difference between people who are obsessively washing their hands and people on a cruise preventing illness common to the industry. I've known people with OCD handwashing conditions. They wash at times that make no sense...it truly is obsessive and compulsive. Washing because you just got out of the elevator where germy little ones have pressed every single button at least has some reason behind it.

 

And we ARE one of the couples that does an initial cleansing when we settle in on the first day. We don't obsess after that, and we are aware that we are surely over-reacting. Certainly every room is not riddled with germs. But ONE might just be...and we don't want to be in THAT one.

 

One more thing to think about...one thing that just about EVERYBODY touches that NEVER gets cleaned...the TV remote control! YUCK.

 

And another. The telephone.

 

And keep in mind both issues apply in public rooms and hotels as well.

[C 2 C]

And another. The telephone.

 

And keep in mind both issues apply in public rooms and hotels as well.

 

Hi Walt:

My choice for overlooked items is the chair we move forward in any dining room. No-one ever cleans the area we touch when we move our chair towards the table.