No, you are not going overboard. Our daughter works at a grocery store and she is always cleaning her phone. And anything else that other people touch.

FoodWorld where I buy some of my groceries is offering wipes at the buggies to use on the cart handle. I like that. I have heard they have found feces on shopping cart handles. They were out when I went yesterday so out came an alcohol pad .

You work with sick people who are breathing the same air as you and you worry about a germ or two on the telephone? Yeah, to me that's going overboard. I worked in a drugstore for 11 years. I used the same phone as my sick co-workers and we also allowed our sick customers to use that same phone. The worst I ever got was a cold which I could have picked up at the grocery store, or from my kids at home. If you don't let yourself come into contact with germs, how are you going to defend your body when one does come into it? Your body has to build ammunities to these things and by keeping them out, you're asking for trouble down the road. That's how superbugs are created.

if you had the cold i do now?? go for it! and all i did was sleep with dh, lol, never mind the phone!

i've seen office phones that were so dirty, it was gross...we were forever cleaning desk tops as well...

what is to me a crime? the offices that NEVER clean out heating/cooling vents...

I guess I just hate being sick so bad I want to do what I feel like will prevent it. Most patients are not contagious at our office as we see diabetics and thyroid problems.

In retrospect, I have to laugh about the days when I was the high school secretary. Kids would come in to call home....hack, hack...that Mom should come and get them, then hand me the phone to confirm it. I guess I built up an immunity, as I was very seldon sick.

I think it sounds like a good idea. As far as other people in the office who are giving you a hard time about wiping off your phone, it's none of their business.

Yep, I agree you should wipe your phone off - just don't get to germ a phobic about things in your daily life as your body does need some dirt in/around it in order to be able to fight for you...
Suzan J

What bothers me is the things in restaurants you handle--salt and pepper, ketchup, etc. You know those never get cleaned. And those serving utensils at buffets--everyone touches those and they're probably washed at the end of the day. Sure, I believe you need to build up your resistance, but it's hard to think about that when you've had pneumonia and you sure remember that!

My DH does this all the time...when I call him at work he always says "hold on" and I can hear him wiping the phone down after he saw someone on it! I never used to be a germaphobe until I met him! Too many ways to get sick...and this is one of them!

You know they say the best way to keep from getting sick is to just wash your hands but this too can be done too much. Over in China you see people wearing masks on the street. It this because they are sick or do they fear germs? I'm a long way from wearing shoe boxes like Howard Hughes did but my dad was always a "wash your hands before you eat" type of person so I guess I get it honest.

Kathy - I think wiping down the phone is a good idea.
In China, if you are looking at pictures of the large cities like Bejing, the masks are worn because the pollution is horrendous there.
I agree that washing you own hands is a great way to prevent infection - but don't count on everyone doing that unfortunately.

from 2000-2006 i worked in an office for a landscape grower, it was a double-wide trailer :-/ i was often sick infact during those yrs i had chronic bronchitus for 2 yrs and i was in my early 30's, don't smoke or know anyone who does. from 2006-to aug 2007 i worked outside and was only sick once w/ a nasty stomach virus, norwalk type. now i'm back in that same office (can't turn away even more $$ and benefits lol) and taking every precaution possible. i don't deal w/ the public usually, thou occassionally i do leave my backroom office and chat w/ customers upfront. since leaving the inside office i have weaned myself off all asthma & allergy meds so i'm taking it as a challenge to stay well this time.

take every precaution you can, it will make a difference. we do not share phones in my room and if i have to p/u someone else's phone i wipe it first and afterwards too. we have already had 2 rounds of colds/flu go thru the office in the 3 months i've been back! i keep my window into the garden open and will be getting an air cleaner this weekend for the room and a new hand sanitizer.

the masks in the big cities in china are for pollution right now, thou in the past they have had SARS outbreaks. ~ liz

Know what? I'm seeing an awful lot of hand sanitizer lATely. At the hospital, at my yoga class.

Just don't over do it, with antibacterial.
They best defense against getting sick, is washing your
hands, with soap and water.

''Like antibiotics, antibacterials can alter the mix of bacteria; they simultaneously kill susceptible bacteria and promote the growth of resistant strains. These resistant microbes may include bacteria that were present from the start. But they can also include ones that were unable to gain a foothold previously and are now able to thrive thanks to the destruction of competing microbes.''

Here is a link that might be useful: How Germ-Phobia Can Lead to Illness

If you feel better, wipe off the phones as the colds and other illnesses are more antibiotic resistent now. I do not see a problem unless the person make a big deal over it. I have stopped using anti bacterial soaps most of the time, just plain soap and water. Our Dr's here are really cutting back on meds unless a person really needs it, but they do check up on you frequently.

I rarely,(can't remember the last time I did),use a public phone because I always have my cell phone with me.I do wipe down the home phone occasionally but not because it might be germy,just to clean it.I do wipe the handles of shopping carts though.Mainly because I can't stand to think where the hands of the last person that used it might have been!LOL I'm not a germaphobe but I am careful and do wash my hands often.
Oh,and Kathy,I don't think you are going overboard.Yes,there are germs in the air but there may be some on the phone that you won't get from the air.

Well, while you're wiping that cart handle, wipe the whole cart, especially the kiddy seat in front. Can you imagine what's in some of those diapers that sit in that seat? A lot of the larger kids just jump into the cart, dirty feet, dirty hands, dirty behinds and all.

Look, I've never wiped down a cart handle or seat or anything else for that matter, and I've never gotten sick. If you're going to get flu or a cold, you're more likely to get it from someone you're talking to who has one (microscopic sputum when you speak can travel about 3 feet, thus the "3 foot rule" for personal space)

The best health care tip I can give you is to wash your hands before eating, and never put your hands in your mouth. I had a nasty habit of chewing on my nails...not chewing them off, just chewing on them, until somebody asked me if I had washed my hands lately.

I think it is a good idea to wash your phone occasionally, especially if someone used it before who was sick. When I worked at the hospital, we would wash the phones occasionally just to protect ourselves.

When I worked in hospitals and health centers, we wiped down the phones as often as we could. In the ER and admitting we also frequently wiped down the counters and the pens that the patients used.
As soon as I get home, I wash my hands first thing. The things I really hate touching are gas pump hoses and grocery cart handles.

Junkyardgirl-This is what I said,"I do wipe the handles of shopping carts though.Mainly because I can't stand to think where the hands of the last person that used it might have been!" I guess I didn't make myself clear.The reason I wipe the handles is not because I'm afraid I'll "catch" something! I use the motorized carts so the handle is all I'm worried about.Kids aren't allowed to ride in those baskets.
One time,just out of curiosity,I took the cover of a pay phone off (the part you talk into) and you would not believe what was in there! Yuck,yuck and double yuck!

I unscrewed the mouthpiece of my phone,it was all oily and dirty inside. I cleaned it with rubbing alcohol on a cotton swab. The ear part was much cleaner.

No one else uses my phone. I do pick up phones in other office that I happen to be in & use them & honestly don't really think anything about it. The only time I've ever done this was when a co-worker came in really sick & then went home (she shouldn't have come in to begin with; she honestly could barely hold her head up). Our boss asked me to do some of her work & it was easier to do it in her office than to carry all the files to my office. We had a full-time cleaning lady & I had her wipe every surface she could find in that office with a sanitizing wipe - phone, computer, desk, etc. The co-worker was sick for a week (really bad stomach bug - her parents caught it so I was really glad I took precautions). She really wasn't well enough to come back after a week; she still looked pretty sick. But our "nice" boss that I posted about in moonie's post called to tell her that she'd had plenty of time to get well & that if she didn't come back to work the next day she was fired (and this was one of the boss's friends!).