No gloves

In kitchens?

Yes in the kitchens. And at several places, the cashier also packs to go orders.

It's not just not wearing gloves that drives me crazy. It's seeing a food or health worker wash his/her hands, put on gloves, then touch something that has not been sanitized. I can't tell you how many times I've noticed this.

For example, a food worker making my sub runs out of some ingredient, walks over to a refrigerator to get more of that ingredient, then continues to prepare my sandwich. I always say, "You're going to have to throw away my sandwich and start over." They'll say, "I washed my hands and put on gloves." Then I'll say, "Yes, but after you put on the gloves, you touched the refrigerator handle which isn't sanitized. You are protected because the inside of your gloves are clean, but I am not protected because the outside of your gloves have touched something that has not been sanitized. When the delivery person loads the refrigerator, he opens the door, loads the refrigerator, and doesn't wear gloves. So the door handle is dirty. Another example is that frequently the sandwich maker will answer the phone with the gloves on, and then start to continue making my sandwich. I just say, "Excuse me, but you need to wash your hands and put on fresh gloves before continuing to make my sandwich because you just touched the telephone."

The same thing happens in doctors offices. The nurse will wash her hands, put on gloves, then touch something in the room or even leave the room for a few minutes, and then, as an example, attempt to start thumping my veins so she can draw blood. I always say, "You'll need to wash your hands and change gloves before you touch me." She gives the usual answer, "I washed my hands and put on gloves." Then I'll say, "Yes, but after you put on the gloves, you touched things which aren't sanitized. You are protected from me because the inside of your gloves are clean, but I am not protected from you because the outside of your gloves have touched something that has not been sanitized." They usually get really ticked off, but I don't care.

If a food worker or nurse just touches the glove to his/her nose, that puts others at danger. About 94% of people carry staph in their noses, according to my physician at Emory Midtown who specializes in infectious diseases. At Emory Midtown when you check in, you are given a questionnaire to fill out when you check out. Questions such as, "Did the assistants and physician always perform hand-washing and put on fresh gloves every time s/he entered or exited the room or touched anything unsterile in the room?" You'd better believe that I watch their every move. I picked up a staph infection at a gym that took about a year to get rid of. It was a miserable experience. I'd rather be paranoid and seem *****y than get staph again.

Other ideas: make sure that the drink server doesn't touch the rim of your drink, make sure that hot dishes are brought out on a tray and not served to you with a potentially dirty towel or pot holder touching the upper rim of your plate. Plastic menus are typically dirty, as are ketchup containers, etc. These ideas come from Robert Irvine on Restaurant Impossible." I always use hand sanitizer after touching such objects on the table.

When someone passes around a joint, make sure they're wearing gloves.

Did your mother wear gloves when she fixed meals for you, three times a day, for the first eighteen years of your life ? Just wondering?

Did your mother wear gloves when she fixed meals for you, three times a day, for the first eighteen years of your life ? Just wondering?

This sounds just like something my Mother would say. When we had our first (and only) baby, Mom was offended when I asked her to put covers on her electrical outlets in the kitchen and den, put our baby in a car seat instead of holding her, sterilize a dropped pacifier, not to let our baby eat anything that wasn't on the pediatrician's list/schedule, and even suggest to her that we all should use seat belts. She'd say, "I raised you for 18 years and you turned out okay!" But we were exposed to Daddy smoking 2 packs a day. Was that okay?

My point is that if now we have knowledge about how to avoid diseases, especially now that HIV and MRSAs exist, why not be careful? Otherwise, let's just smoke like a fiend, never wear seatbelts, risk dying from improper practices at a hospital, risk getting sick from improper food handling in full view at a restaurant, etc. I'll admit, I don't know what happens back in the kitchen that I can't see or what happens when I go in for a procedure and am on Versed. But in my opinion I've avoided some risks. Impossible to control them all.

I agree with everything you said. And then a jet plane fell on my house.

i agree with everything you said. And then a jet plane fell on my house.

lol.

For airplanes, you're suppose to use titanium gloves.

@furymom...do you and your family take antibiotics for a common cold? the Flu? All those virus that antibiotics have no affect on but DO contribute to drug-resistant bugs? The human immune system needs to be exposed to different things in order to become immune. When I was born the way to go was boil everything, when my children were born they told me to just wash stuff with the rest of the families things. I and my family are very healthy and there isnt one container of "antibacterial" anything in our house. (since ALL soap is ANTIBACTERIAL).

@furymom...do you and your family take antibiotics for a common cold? the Flu? All those virus that antibiotics have no affect on but DO contribute to drug-resistant bugs? The human immune system needs to be exposed to different things in order to become immune. When I was born the way to go was boil everything, when my children were born they told me to just wash stuff with the rest of the families things. I and my family are very healthy and there isnt one container of "antibacterial" anything in our house. (since ALL soap is ANTIBACTERIAL).

Not all soap has antibacterial agents. But I agree that what I have read recently advises that to reduce the chance of even more antibiotic-resistant bacteria evolving, if you can use non-antibacterial soap and water, do so. If you are in a place where you can't use soap and water, hand sanitizers are okay.

That being said, I wouldn't want someone who had just picked a bugger and gotten human nasal matter under his/her fingernails to be making my sandwich or putting in an IV line. Handwashing won't get rid of that -- they'd at least need a fingernail kit. I want them to use gloves.

I think almost everybody's mother prepared, in the neighborhood of 20,000 meals, without using gloves, for each and every one of is, before we were 18 years old. I think every one of us prepares meals on a daily basis without gloves. Doesn't it seem odd that there is no devastating plague because of this? Methinks the answer is there is a minuscule chance of transmitting disease this way. In my lifetime, I'll bet that 98% of the meals I have eaten have been prepared by people not wearing gloves. However, I am worried about airplanes.

No comment. Just sneezed on my ungloved
Typing thumb

30A Skunkape is suspiciously absent from this thread.

A certain level of germs is okay. You don't need to sanitize the world.

Wash your hands before eating and after using the bathroom, choose dining companions that do the same, and eat with utensils and you will be fine.

Your cell phone and purse are probably dirtier than anything in a typical restaurant. Cell phones and purses are always being carried into bathrooms and set down on dirty surfaces.

I think the toilet flush handle must be the most germ-ridden thing in the world. No one washes their hands before using it, and just think about where their hands have just been.

I think the toilet flush handle must be the most germ-ridden thing in the world. No one washes their hands before using it, and just think about where their hands have just been.

I use the sole of my shoe to flush it.

Why worry about gloves unless you're on the operating table, and even then you would be under and wouldn't care. Life's way too short. I think clean hands are important but I don't expect food prep folks to wear gloves to work their magic.

I understand some folks are very concerned about germs but I can't live like that. We used to play in the dirt all day every day. My mom never used gloves in the kitchen that I can recall. We somehow survived.

Gloves have their place in a restaurant, I'm sure, for certain food prep, but I'm not sitting there watching for them.

I do not like hand santizer but will use it if in a hospital or have no way to wash my hands properly.

We all have our little things that are important to us. For my kid, I try to teach him to wash his hands and take care of his body and keep his things neat and organized, and to be aware of safety in all situations. I don't want to make him OCD about these things though. and I've seen taught OCD behavior in kids regarding germs and I think that's kind of sad.

30A Skunkape is suspiciously absent from this thread.

I need a break, too!

I don't worry about it too much. And unless the gloves in question are sterile gloves (ie, wrapped individually in a pack like a surgeon would wear) they are being pulled out of a big box of non-sterile gloves crawling with bacteria anyway. Life is too short to worry about things like this.

Bacteria are more scared of you than you are of them.

People wearing gloves scare me.

People with OCD give me panic attacks.

For some bacteria is the only culture they have.

Whut?