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Post by gato on Nov 25, 2023 6:34:13 GMT -5
I was dislodging a shopping cart from the tangle of them by the entrance to my local grocery store. The woman behind me, apparently impatient because of my liberal spraying of 91 percent alcohol on the handle, jibed with, "still worried about Covid?"
"Nah, said I, "it's the fecal matter that puts me off."
"Research has shown there can be more bacteria on shopping carts than on surfaces in public restrooms, airports, bus stations and shopping malls.
In one study, researchers swabbed 85 grocery carts for certain digestive tract germs. About 72 percent tested positive for some form of fecal bacteria. The bacteria may have originated from many things, including children with dirty diapers riding in the cart, cross-contamination from handling raw meat products while shopping or bird droppings while sitting in the grocery store parking lots."
I'm somewhat of a germaphobe anyway, after my LEO years of handling everything from dead bodies to projectile drunks (both ends).
An EMT I was friendly with, supplied me with bottles of gel-alcohol years before it became a popular store-bought item.
"Shopping carts are noteworthy partly because of the number of hands that touch them and partly because of the amount of time a shopper is exposed to them. Unlike a 3-second swipe of a doorknob or toilet handle, a shopping cart is a longer-term relationship — with more opportunity to come into contact with pathogens as you push it through the store."
--WP
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Post by munkiejunque on Nov 25, 2023 9:02:03 GMT -5
Having a suppressed immune system due to being a transplant recipient I have used copious amounts of sanitizer in full public view since 2017. Particularly on shopping carts and after using fuel pumps and such. I haven’t had anyone actually comment about it but have had a couple of impatient beeps of the horn at the pumps. On one such occasion, after a couple taps of the horn, a particularly self important gentleman got my Tim Conway little old man shtick, I give him a smile and a thumbs up and then took my sweet time getting in the vehicle, adjusting seat, mirrors, seatbelts etc. before pulling off. I earned the one finger salute for that one.
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Post by Laker on Nov 25, 2023 10:05:29 GMT -5
Wow, never gave the handle of a shopping cart any thought as I’ve pushed it through a store. I see a bottle of sanitizer will become part of the future shopping experiences.
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Post by Leftee on Nov 25, 2023 10:11:10 GMT -5
Usually stores around here will have wipes for the cart handles. I’ll use one if they have them available.
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Post by Taildragger on Nov 25, 2023 11:57:15 GMT -5
My mother instilled in me an annoying compulsion to wash my hands multiple times a day. That probably did more to keep me from getting COVID than any stupid paper mask.
Now you're telling me that my frequent hand washing has also help me to literally shed metric tons of fecal matter over the course of a lifetime.
Double thanks, Mom...
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Post by gato on Nov 25, 2023 12:21:22 GMT -5
I had a membership at a local gym once upon a time. It would startle me when in the men's room, I would see a guy emerge from a toilet stall after taking a trumpet-braying dump, and head right back out to put his hands on the equipment, without so much as a nod at the sinks he passed on the way out.
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Post by tahitijack on Nov 25, 2023 12:47:52 GMT -5
In Los Angeles it is very common to see small dogs riding in the grocery store shopping carts in the area designed to accommodate toddlers. Give that area some extra attention during your wipe down.
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Post by funkykikuchiyo on Nov 25, 2023 13:01:18 GMT -5
Washing hands before touching our faces or eating is likely in the same ballpark as disinfecting everything. Many years ago I kept getting head colds, then I got diligent about not touching my face or eating with unwashed hands (not touching dirty stuff wasn't an option - I was working a register with lots of cash), and it helped a lot. I just pretended I had one of those dog cones around my neck.
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deplorablenuke
Quarternote
I really should get back to work. Combining threads will surely get me fired!
Posts: 33
Formerly Known As: systemofanup
Age: 41
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Post by deplorablenuke on Nov 28, 2023 14:58:32 GMT -5
I noticed at my workplace, that when I no longer had to use the hand reader to enter into my work area, I hardly ever got sick. It was a real killer with the immunosuppressants that I took for arthritis. Regarding the lack of handwashing, I see that a lot here. I saw the plumber come in, unstop a urinal, and exit quickly without washing his hands. To gato's point, I see (and hear) a lot of the violent gastrointestinal gymnastics without handwashing either...
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