No gloves
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In kitchens?
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.
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.
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.
lol.
For airplanes, you're suppose to use titanium gloves.