Margit’s Note: Going Viral

tuenight germs editors note handitizer
(Photo: Adrianna Dufay/TueNight)

My niece mashed up the word “hanitizer” when she was just five years old. I doubt she was the first, but her accidental insight was evidence that she’s growing up in a germ-obsessed world — one that includes hand sanitizer in every handbag.

As kids, we didn’t think too much about microbes while crafting our mudpies. I probably wash my hands 30 times more a day than I did then, singing “Happy Birthday” twice as I go. The five-second rule, however, still holds strong.

Now germs are hotly debated. They are gross and dangerous; really, really good for us; or all of the above. We’re witnessing the rise of mega-bugs. We have a few good reasons not to go in the pool. And we’ve learned how your gut bacteria may even affect your mood.

But while we’re not exactly licking the subway floor for added resistance, neither are we living in a head-to-toe body bubble (yes, that was a nod to John Travolta). We live somewhere in between.

This week we’re killin’ em on contact:

Washing my hands,

Margit

Tell Us in the Comments

What do you think?

One Response

  1. Chandrakant Kulkarni

    Occasionally, we may just rub our lips on one another, or touch them with tongue. Some women are in a habit of giving a mending touch of lipstick to their lips. A mother kisses her kid, People kiss each other.
    Millions of air-borne germs might have been deposited on our lips exposed to atmosphere.
    ‘Horrible’ things we do with our non-sanitized lips (and lipsticks)!
    We need some sort of a ‘Lipnitizer’! -and keep lipsticks in boiling water for 15 minutes to sterilize them.

    Reply

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