Worrying about germs or who has touched what is not something that is of high concern with me.......it is just not something I focus on or even think about much. As I said previously, germs and bacteria are everywhere and impossible to avoid. But have no issues with anyone who wants to swab down their shopping carts as long as they dispose of their wipes properly.....I probably worry more about litter and garbage being tossed around willy-nilly than I do germs :-)

And FWIW, I only use the smaller carts with no child seats so that eliminates whatever dreadful contamination (sarcasm there, folks!) small children might contribute to the mix.

I don't use a shopping cart very often. When shoplifting, it tends to make things difficult. BUT, when I do use a cart, I try to remember to sneeze into my hands and then rub that all over the handle.

Lisa...I remove the gloves before I actually touch product. I wear them until I've emptied my carriers and spray the carriers with a decontaminate before I store them. It's difficult to explain but you may be assured that it's a cautious maneuver.

When I first started using the surgical gloves it was because the area I live in had a massive flu outbreak. At the time, I took a senior service bus to and from the market that I use. I was astounded at how careless people were during this time and I adopted habits that would help to protect me when I had to venture out. I retained the glove habit when I saw how filthy the gloves became after just one short excursion. Being clear in color...it was very easy to see what the gloves picked up. It was appalling and an eye opening exercise others might want to take at some point in their daily life.

I, too, have used Purell...or an equivalent...when the gloves weren't in use.

Currently I've solved most of these issues. I now use a personal shopper. :-) None of these measures give me 100% protection from anything...but they help and that's all I expect. I've always been a careful hand washer. The gloves are just an extension of the same protective attitude.

I just accept the fact that it is a filthy plant and necessarily so. If I think about it too much I feel like the TV character "Monk". I keep my home clean and bathe/hand wash very often. That's really the best I can do. I eat well and exercise and trust my immune system to do it's job. In many ways, life is a crap shoot.

Yep, I do Almost always. Only time I don't is if I forgot my purell or ran out of it.

Gee, I'm glad I've never seen or heard anyone laughing at me for wiping a cart handle. I do it mostly because it just feels better to grasp a smooth, rather than sticky (sticky from what?), handle. I hope all this amusement doesn't reach the point where it's considered hilarious to spot some of us wiping our hands when we get back in the car.

Gosh Elmer. People from all walks of life sneeze, cough, spit while talking. Bad manners arnt reserved for only the underprivileged. ..

My suggestion is for the hypothetical of what I would do if I encountered some number of the impolite and disgusting behaviors you listed above. I don't. We clearly have different experiences.

Elmer, coughing and sneezing is not a disgusting action. It happens...to everyone.

I was thinking of this thread when I was using the washroom at the hospital. I always, always use my foot to push the lever to flush. I never use my hand.

I tend not to worry about public restrooms much as most here have appliances that are motion activated - the toilet flush, the lavatory water, the towel dispenser. It is just the soap dispenser that you really need to touch and since you do that before you wash your hands, I figure I'm safe! And the restroom door, but elbows or jacket sleeves seem to work fine and do the trick.

I recently started wiping cart handles during a severe flu outbreak. I’m sure it’s not 100% effective but we managed to not get the flu or any colds. I’m not a germaphobe but I’m not out looking for extra germs, either.

Beesneeds, people are slobs. I learned that in the Air Force and later when I worked at Target. They just don't care where or what they throw down. I hated working Target, having to put back all the crap that people flung wherever.

Bleah, this thread has put me right off my lunch. :o]

I seem to remember from clinical microbiology courses that money is one of the worst fomites that we have regular contact with.

Since I'm allergic to the perfume in those wipes I skip buggy handle cleaning and wash my hands later. I do carry fragrance free sanitizer so I can wash my hands away from home. I worked with pediatric patients for over a decade and only had one illness during that time.

Money does have a lot of germs and is just plain nasty stuff , soooo, I'm willing to take a chance with my health and dispose of any money you may want to send me! :-) :-)

marylmi, always willing to give of herself and "take the bullet" to help protect the general public

All of these paper towels can be recycled (I'll forbear mentioning that they might be reused).

But how about the wipes - are they recyclable?

How about the disinfecting agents that they carry (apart from the contamination achieved through use)?

We hoomans are building a mountain of garbage. Canada's largest city's "landfill" (double-sized word for "dump") is within a couple of miles of my house ... and I was somewhat less than enthusiastic about making more garbage long before that took place.

I grew up on a farm, aged 10 when World War II started and the hired help went off to war, so for the next several years what Dad and I and a couple of younger brothers got done ... got done: the rest didn't. I can assure you that pigs, cows, chickens and horses don't clean up after themselves.

So I got exposed to lots of germs, microbes and what have you, early on, and have never been super fastidious about cleaning stuff.

I guess my immune system got an early start, for I've enjoyed good health, with few colds, flu or other such inconveniences, through many years of living.

I wonder whether our being so concerned about raising our kids with such a great emphasis on semi-sterile environments may have contributed to there having been so many allergies developed in recent years.

When I was a kid, if someone had said that we mustn't bring peanuts to school ... we'd have looked at such a person as though s/he had two heads.

ole joyful

l

Elmer it is a dirty job but someone has to be willing to step up....

I have autoimmune diseases but I don't use those sanitizers, nor do I wipe my cart with them (ie. touch them on my skin). It actually isn't a good idea to kill bacteria, especially by touching antibiotic sanitizing wipes because I think it makes you more resistant to antibiotics. Having said that, I do wash my hands frequently, but with regular soap. I don't like when my hands don't feel clean so I wash them right away whenever I come home from anywhere.

"It actually isn't a good idea to kill bacteria"

LOL! Hopefully you meant to say something else.

https://www.hfmmagazine.com/articles/2838-hospital-deploys-copper-infused-surfaces-to-decrease-infections

I would rather get my good bacteria at home working outdoors rather than on a grocery cart where I'm also touching the bacteria from some strangers mouth, nose, or...

Here's a little background nosocomial infections come from pathogenic bacteria and that's why hospitals are using copper to reduce infections. Joyful is correct that killing all bacteria is not only bad but impossible. The bacteria that would be on a buggy handle is going to be mostly non-pathogenic.

The real issue is people that go to a public location such as a grocery store with a highly contagious illness such a influenza or strep throat. If you're sick STAY HOME! You don't know that another shopper could live with family member with no immune system due to chemotherapy. Your choosing to pass on your illness (they are airborne spread) that could be a deadly infection for others. Ok, that's my soapbox, I'll climb down now.......

Tissues. Why don't people use them properly anymore? I was raised to use a tissue to catch a sneeze; not to sneeze on other people. Tissues aren't just for blowing your nose. And if no tissue is available, sneeze into your elbow. It's not 100% but it is better than having the droplets land on other people's faces. Children have to be taught this by parents insisting that they do it this way and repeating that over and over.

" Joyful is correct that killing all bacteria is not only bad but impossible. "

No one has said otherwise. That isn't even the issue in this thread.

" sneeze into your elbow"

YES. I don't understand why more people don't do this.

I use tissues but they aren't a substitute for staying home and choosing to not spread illness. Tissues don't stop airborne pathogen spread, breathing and speaking send droplets into the air that carry the germs. When appropriate I let others know that my sneezes/runny nose are from allergies and not contagious.

Gets on soapbox:

Most school districts get paid based on student attendance, not on enrollment. In an effort to increase money for the school budget (and I totally understand the need for funds) schools everywhere have made attempts to increase attendance. Some of these efforts are admirable, convincing parents that their children should not play hooky and take a shopping day with mom.

Other efforts I have a problem with, some of the prizes for perfect attendance all year would include drawings for bicycles and other really nice items, so the children would come to school ill in order to qualify for prizes. The parents who could not afford bicycles were sometimes on board with this.

There was peer pressure from other students as class pizza parties would be given if the entire class had perfect attendance for a month, and teachers were pressured as well, and would allow the student to stay in the classroom until 10AM when official attendance was taken.

Other parents would send sick children because the parent had something to do, or had to work.

It is amazing how quickly one coughing snot laden child can spread germs which are then taken home by the other students to Mom,Dad, and siblings.

With the flu you can be contagious a day before any symptoms show and up to 7 days after. Strep you can be contagious a few days before symptoms. This applies to a lot of the airborne or surface spread illnesses. How are people going to avoid public places when they don't even know you are contagious? People staying home when they are sick just isn't going to happen. There are lots of people who just can't take that amount of time away from work and still have a job or live without a paycheck or tips. Some people don't have the capacity to keep a weeks worth of grocery's in their homes and have to go to the grocery stores. Beside that the infected person is probably in the grocery store to pick up their script at the pharmacy anyway. Just simple frequent hand washing is always the best prevention. I can't see wiping the shopping cart handle does any good when you are touching everything else in the store anyway. We are becoming too sterile a society and it is doing us more harm than good. All this sterilizing is causing the super bugs.

Wiping a grocery carts handle is far from sterilizing. ..I don't even think its possible to sterilize.

Reducing germs is not sterilizing

Many of the comments are about patrons sharing germs at the grocery
store, not a work situation. But since it was mentioned, there's no
excuse for going to work with others when sick either.

Requiring sick children to attend school is just wrong and those policies should be changed.

Last time I had either flu and strep the desire to eat is gone very quickly, if you need food send a health family member or friend.

Picking up a prescription in a grocery store? OTC stuff yes but I can't think of a grocery store connected to a pharmacy anywhere I've lived.

During the incubation period I can understand that someone wouldn't know to stay home but the issue is the people that know they're sick but choose to disregard others health.

Every chain grocery store - with the exception of Whole Foods and Trader Joe's - where I live has an instore pharmacy. Even the local or regional chains.

Wondering how many of the cart wipers wear sandals/flip flops all day and go to bed without washing their feet. How many shower in the morning, go around all day picking up all sorts of environmental "cooties" and then jump into bed without a thought.

Bottom line, is if I am out in public all day I want to wash off all my exposure before bedtime, not sleep with it. No I don't shower daily but I am am aware of where I've been. I can spend the the afternoon at the ranch and come home animal smelly and not give it a thought. However is I go to a place where there are crowds I am showering and washing my clothing before wearing them again. I wear flip flops all day. No way do I go to bed or even put shoes on without washing my feet first.

You don't shower daily?

Yikes.

Okay this thread has officially become TMI.

Chess time for a wakeup call for you. Depending on how dry a persons skin is doctors now suggest not taking daily baths/showers. If needed a shower but no soap. Some suggestions are every other or every three days. A wipe down is fine but no soap.

Not every chain grocery store in my area has a pharmacy, many don't. It's 50-50 or fewer, by location.

Of course children should not go sick to school. It is fair to the child and the other children. But a lot of working adults have no choice. Not everyone has jobs that pay unlimited sick days. There is a lot of jobs that if you don't work, you don't get paid. For some people if you don't work you can't feed your children or pay the bills. I worked for a major health care system for 30 years. Yes, I had sick days, but if you used more than 6 a year it reflected in a decrease raise on your review. I knew of a girl who was dismissed for taking 6 sick day in one year. I contribute my healthy immune system to working all those years among all the germs and bacteria plus parents that didn't shield us from germs and bacteria. The doctors encouraged everyone not to use the anti-bacteria soaps, wipes, etc. They do more harm than good. Soap and hot water did just as good or better job and does not contribute to the super bugs.

Some of these wipes say they are 99% effective against bacteria. No it isn't sterile, but dang close.

No, you don't have to shower every day. Especially babies and older adults. Showering everyday drys out the skin and hair. 2-3 time a week is sufficient. Of course certain regions of the body should be washed everyday. Remember the sponge baths that our grandparents used. Well they knew what they were doing. That being said I still shower every day out of force of habit, but I do notice that my skin is getting dryer with age and have to use body moisturizer where before I never had to,

Well, this thread certainly did spiral out of control. LOL All I was trying to do is show you all what we see on a typical day, to let you know cleaning the handle of your cart is the least of your worries. And look what it turned into. ……… btw, I have worked retail for most of 25 years. Almost all of it in a drug store where most of our customers are sick. And have only been sick once. It was a co-worker who coughed all over my back last November who made me sick (I had the next two weeks off to recover from my varicose veins stripping surgery, so I was home and thought I was going to die [should have gone to the ER but I didn't want to make people sicker while waiting in the waiting room]) Anywho………… Just remember that the box of crackers you picked up today, could have had a pair of sweaty socks laying next to it, or the bottle of pop you're drinking from could have also been in the hands of someone who picked their nose before picking up the bottle, then changed their mind and put it back. Cleaning your shopping cart handle is the least of your worries.

Chess, yes, I meant it isn't a good idea to kill the bacteria on your body by using sanitizers because it messes with your body's natural balance. Plus our bodies actually need bacteria (ie. good bacteria), so you don't want to kill those off too. The sanitizers are actually absorbed through the skin.

No wake up call needed. Unless you are a complete couch potato and never do anything, you should shower or bathe daily. . Do what you want, but you’ll be doing it alone, most likely. I’m out - thread is over.

Yikes. lol

you should shower or bathe daily.

I STILL remember visiting Grandpa and Grandma in the winter when I was a child. Freezing cold and snow outside. No indoor plumbing at that time, that was put in years later. Cleanups were done but no one showered daily.

And older people, not only is daily showering a skin issue but showering can be a safety issue because of balance problems.

Debby, thank you for starting this thread. Many important issues have been discussed. What is important is not that there should be any sort of agreement, we all have our opinions, but that we visited the subject of germs and thought about it. The germs and the dangers from them are there whether we think about them or not, but forewarned is forearmed.

dee, maifleur, lucille -

What are you doing making further comments? Chess proclaimed this thread is over.

Raye Smith, Wal-Mart, Kroger...and I'm sure others all have pharmacies and are grocery stores.

Elmer J Fudd - LOL. Over for me dear...meaning past its usefulness. But you guys carry on! :-)

Kath - somewhere hot will freeze over before I set foot in the first listed and as for the second, I only go there as a last resort. I've always had access to better choices to grocery shop and no they aren't connected to a pharmacy.

I did a little calculation and I've had no less than seven to ten years between colds and have only had the flu once as an adult, so I'd taking that as typical. Employers may be strict but one illness a decade shouldn't affect employment or financial situations.

As to bathing, I shower daily and more when working in the yard. There are variables to take into account such as climate, activity level, etc.

I don't shower daily unless I'm doing something gross. I live in air conditioning, work a desk job in air conditioning, I don't really get dirty or stinky in 24 hours. Everyone's bodies and environments are different.

Showering daily is pretty much a modern thing. Not too many generations past people took weekly baths. Many areas of the country still do. People used to camp and vacation all week without showers. Swimming in the lake or river was considered good enough.

As a teen I drove my parents nuts with all the bathing and hair washing I did. LOL Probably tripled their water bill.

Of course if you do manual labor or get dirty or are in a polluted environment you should shower frequently. But many of us aren't like others have stated.

I think part of this is generational. If you grew up when/where daily bathing was the norm then that is what you know.

There is even far less reason for daily bathing now that we have wet wipes, live in cleaner environments, even bidets have reached many American bathrooms. As long as your hand,face and exposed areas of your body are washed then the covered parts of you should be fine unless you are a nudist.

Expect those wet wipes to be going the way of the dodo since there is a move to remove them because of their plastic content. Many cities are having problems with people flushing those and the ones sold for personal cleaning causing major backups in the sewer systems. Apparently not just a simple send an auger down, couple of twists, and flush but hours of pealing back layers.

Last night I was looking at my bathroom thinking I would like one of those toilets that are in use in Japan that are multifunctional.

One of the best sanitizers of shopping carts is the sun but wonder how many would like to go outside to collect their own cart. Aldi's and some others do keep their carts outside but generally in an area with protection from the elements overhead.