What hygenic procedure do you think will turn out to be wrong?

Veganism.

Sanitising hands at every opportunity. It leads to weak immune systems, and an inability to bounce back from disease. There is no reason to wash your hands with anything stronger than water unless you are working with an immuno-compromised person, you have worked with a person with a contagious disease, you are preparing food, or your hands are visibly dirty.

Going to hospitals to get well. Duh!!! I avoid them like the plague.

Attempting to isolate ourselves from dirt and germs is not a bad thing in itself but it can be taken too far.

I’m with @perspicacious on hand-cleaning; apart from anything else, few people actually do the procedure thoroughly enough to be useful.

I think the fashion and obsession with ‘bactericidal’ sprays and cleaners for kitchens and bathrooms is excessive and again, people are less inclined to really clean ‘deeply’, accepting this superficial spraying as enough.

Ordinary detergent, using ‘ole fashioned’ products that are much simpler and cheaper – such as salt and washing soda – together with proper rinsing and wiping down is basic, but absolutely enough!

Using antibacterial soap (ugh), air fresheners and perfumes (they’re made of chemicals-who needs that sh*t?

And…in 1980, the cesarean section rate in this country was 25%. Now it is one out of three women give birth by cesarean, and our maternal death rate has risen accordingly. Oh, I had better stop here.

Yes, I’m with the whole hand washing at every opportunity group. Using soap for your hands at any given opportunity like they say to do could lead to the bacteria being able to eventually resist the antibacterial agents, and then where would we be? The antibacterial soap would be of no use to us if the bacteria were resistant to it.

The use of anti-bacterial soaps is wrong, wrong, wrong. All it does is strengthen germs.

Triclosan is actually a sort of drug, and that’s what they put in a lot of antibacterial soaps. If I have no other soap on me to use instead, sometimes I’ll just rinse my hands rather than use that crap.

However, at home I do have an antibacterial soap laced with 2.5% tea tree oil. Works very well, and I have no problem with using that.

Are you all ready for an unpopular opinion? Okay, here we go!

I think that people are going to eventually realize that unless you actually get something on your hands, it is not necessary to wash your hands every single time you go to the bathroom. I know it seems gross, but, generally, my hands are in the same state right after I’ve gone to the bathroom as they were before I entered the bathroom. I flush with my foot and if there is no one else in the bathroom and I haven’t gotten any fluids or excrement on my hands, then I just leave the bathroom. gasp!

I don’t understand why we haven’t gotten in the habit of washing our hands BEFORE we eat instead of after. I think every eating establishment should have a hand washing station at the front door.
In the future I think we will be grossed out by people who don’t wash before they eat. Just like not washing after going to the bathroom.

@KatawaGrey I do the same thing. I’ve had women literally gasp or say gross when I start to exit the bathroom without washing my hands. I’ve told a lot of people now: I only touch the toilet paper, I don’t pee or crap on myself, and I flush with my foot. Touching the sink handle to turn the water on and off is more unsanitary than simply leaving the bathroom after you piddle.

I also only touch the bathroom door with my elbows, my behind, or when I have to “pull” the door, I use the underside of my shirt hem to grab the handle.

@WillWorkForChocolate: An army soldier and a Marine are in the bathroom. The soldier finishes up and goes to wash his hands. The Marine finishes and starts to walk out the door. The soldier says, “In the Army, they teach us to wash our hands after we go to the bathroom,” and the Marine says, “In the Marines, they teach us not to pee on our hands.”

I think it’s ridiculous how people freak out. The soap provided in public restrooms is usually pretty ineffective and, anyhow, if the water is hot enough to kill any germs, then it’s hot enough to scald you. I have also had people “politely” point out that I forgot to wash my hands to which I respond, “My mother taught me not to pee on myself.”

It’s the water and the friction that washes away the germs. Not the soap or the heat. I also use the paper towel to shut off the faucet, and open the door.

I have the same habits as @Judi. I agree that too many people are germaphobes and we breed superbugs by trying to eradicate every “germ” we come in contact with. But porous toilet paper is not an effective barrier. Even if it was, there are people who are not as careful as you were and you’re exposed to their fecal remains.

Nobody thinks vitamins and supplements do as much harm as good?

@6rant6 On balance, or in themselves? It seems to me that it depends on whether or not they are used properly. There might be at least as many people who use them improperly as there are people who use them properly, so on balance they may do as much harm as good. But for individuals who use them properly, I do not think the vitamins and supplements do as much harm as good in themselves.

Okay, I tend to be the person that washes my hands, a lot. However, I have stopped using “anti-” whatever products and only use hand sanitizer when I have no source to wash dirty hands. (say camping, I’m talking more like primitive camping.)

@6rant6: You mentioned supplements. I tend to think that they do more harm, because people don’t really pay attention to how they take them or what is truly in the supplement.

I try to do what my doctor recommends on that front; I get my vitamins from natural sources, as much as possible. If I feel that I must take a supplement, I take it as recommended by her and don’t fall into the, “I need twenty different single supplements to go along with this one supplement” category.

I’m not sure if it’s been said yet but, mouthwash. Although I think it’s already proven to be ineffective.

This is purely a question…I wonder if deodorants/anti-persperants aren’t detrimental to health. Our arm pits are designed to sweat, so it only seems that clogging up the pores with their ingredients might not be healthy.

The use of anti-pespirants…. not healthy at all…

@Pied_Pfeffer Confession: I don’t use deodorant. When I did use it it didn’t seem to work like it was supposed to. All that happened was I ended up with white powder all over my clothes. I tested just how much I smelled without it and it took me 3 days of not showering or washing before I even began to smell. I stopped using it immediately. There are too many chemicals in that stuff.

I say antiperspirants as well.
I also have to say, I would die without hand sanitizer after a day at a place like Chuck E Cheese!

We should note that there is a difference between deodorant and antiperspirant. It’s the latter that clogs up our pores. That’s not to say that many deodorants don’t have problematic ingredients, but deodorant seems less harmful in itself. That is, it’s more likely that there could be a harmless deodorant than a harmless antiperspirant.

Anybody have concerns about oral hygiene practices? Mouthwash? Tongue scrubbing? Flossing?

Discouraging kids from going outside getting dirty.