2008 Woodie Awards
Could Someone Please Pass the Antibacterial Gel
Sherenna Clinton: for the Muleskinner
Issue date: 2/21/08 Section: Opinion
I took the last paper in the pile and passed it back to the student sitting behind me. "Uh! That is so nasty," I thought.
The instructor had used his left thumb to collect saliva from his tongue in hopes of dampening the corners to separate the stack of papers. And people wonder why illnesses reign supreme on college campuses.
I walked through the computer lab in the library and watched intently as a young man sat at the computer, eyes glued to the screen, rubbing his index finger and thumb back and forth, all after vigorously rubbing his nose.
I doubt he was in deep thought, but was instead secretively trying to dispose of a foreign object. So I made a mental note: "Remember not to use another computer in this lab."
I've been known to use a napkin or two to pick up the ketchup bottles in the cafeteria.
Who wouldn't when you've witnessed one person sneeze right into their hands, moments before picking up the same bottle?
Or maybe when you look across the cafeteria and see a guy's hands in his pants. I suppose this would not have been so bad, if he wasn't standing in line to fix his plate.
Germs and viruses saturate the vending machines, door handles and public restrooms.
It is important for college students, instructors and those who we often encounter to know there are specific rules to follow to prevent the spreading of these invisible tyrants.
Poor cleaning habits and poor hygiene are two major issues. According to totalhealth.com, a Web site designed to inform people about health-related issues, people should wash their hands about five times a day or more, for at least 15 seconds. However, I know for a fact that people don't.
There is no excuse for those who enter the restroom at the same time I do, and appear to make a clean exit, without washing their hands. "How is this possible!?" "Don't you at least feel dirty?"
The instructor had used his left thumb to collect saliva from his tongue in hopes of dampening the corners to separate the stack of papers. And people wonder why illnesses reign supreme on college campuses.
I walked through the computer lab in the library and watched intently as a young man sat at the computer, eyes glued to the screen, rubbing his index finger and thumb back and forth, all after vigorously rubbing his nose.
I doubt he was in deep thought, but was instead secretively trying to dispose of a foreign object. So I made a mental note: "Remember not to use another computer in this lab."
I've been known to use a napkin or two to pick up the ketchup bottles in the cafeteria.
Who wouldn't when you've witnessed one person sneeze right into their hands, moments before picking up the same bottle?
Or maybe when you look across the cafeteria and see a guy's hands in his pants. I suppose this would not have been so bad, if he wasn't standing in line to fix his plate.
Germs and viruses saturate the vending machines, door handles and public restrooms.
It is important for college students, instructors and those who we often encounter to know there are specific rules to follow to prevent the spreading of these invisible tyrants.
Poor cleaning habits and poor hygiene are two major issues. According to totalhealth.com, a Web site designed to inform people about health-related issues, people should wash their hands about five times a day or more, for at least 15 seconds. However, I know for a fact that people don't.
There is no excuse for those who enter the restroom at the same time I do, and appear to make a clean exit, without washing their hands. "How is this possible!?" "Don't you at least feel dirty?"
Viewing Comments 1 - 3 of 3
CiCi
posted 2/21/08 @ 2:11 PM CST
It is good to be clean and hygenic but I think our society can be too clean and afraid of too much. If you were worried about every single germ out there, then there is no point in leaving your house! Since we're so worried about disinfecting this and that, we have made our bodies more prone to more illness and allergies! I have read somewhere that increased hygiene and lack of exposure to various microorganisms may be affecting the immune systems of many populations especially those in highly developed countries like ours to the extent that individuals are losing their bodily ability to fight off certain diseases. (Continued…)
Features Editor
Chris
posted 2/22/08 @ 10:29 AM CST
Cici said pretty much everything that I was thinking. One thing that I've read about (and I'm not saying this will happen, it's just a possibility) is that atibacterial gel, which we all know kills 99. (Continued…)
Kevin
posted 2/28/08 @ 5:16 PM CST
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-antibacterial-products-may-do-more-harm-than-good
Even Scientific American agrees they're overused. (Continued…)
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