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Mar 9, 2016 at 2:10 comment added user29285 In the US there are signs in restaurant bathrooms that say "Employees Must Wash Hands Before Returning To Work." When I was unemployed I thought, 'well, that is one less thing to worry about!' I saw once where someone wrote on the sign "Everyone is an Employee" which is not quite true. So, watch out for retired and unemployed people in the US!
Mar 3, 2015 at 23:01 history protected Sklivvz
Jul 19, 2012 at 18:32 comment added Larry Gritz @RobZ: I don't know about you, but I don't touch the urine itself when in the washroom, so it's a moot point whether it's sterile. I do, however, end up touching parts of my own body which are in close proximity to, and share an undergarment with, the place where the poop comes out. So I think it's safe to assume some minuscule fecal transfer must happen.
Jul 19, 2012 at 11:25 history edited Oddthinking CC BY-SA 3.0
After discussion on answer, and push from Konrad, changed question to match notable claims.
Jul 17, 2012 at 21:39 comment added Stefan Just based on this example: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cysticercosis#Life_cycle not washing your hands can make you sicker/cause more problems. (if you have already been infected through food)
Jul 17, 2012 at 20:40 comment added Konrad Rudolph @Cory From yourself – no. But potentially from other people who you touch – either indirectly or via touching the same objects as them, and who failed to wash their hands after getting into contact with pathogens from the urinary or intestinal tract.
Jul 17, 2012 at 19:36 history tweeted twitter.com/#!/StackSkeptic/status/225312932517511168
Jul 17, 2012 at 15:53 comment added Jodrell I honestly can't say for sure but I do know I'd prefer to be in the control group. Maybe the matter could act as a substrate for bacterial growth.
Jul 17, 2012 at 15:44 comment added Cory Klein @Jodrell If the amount of fecal matter is miniscule to where it is difficult to see with the unaided eye, which is often the case, I think this is a valid question. Am I going to catch a disease from myself? I don't think so, because then I would already have it.
Jul 17, 2012 at 15:40 comment added Jodrell Forgive me if I misunderstand but, are you asserting that wiping your own feacal matter across your face carries no inherent risk to health?
Jul 17, 2012 at 12:51 comment added rjzii I suspect that this is going to be somewhat dependent upon what you are doing in the bathroom and how you go about doing it. I've heard that for males that hand-washing is effectively unnecessary, assuming that they don't touch any of the bathroom surfaces due to the fact that urine is sterile.
Jul 17, 2012 at 12:46 comment added Baarn In one Southpark episode it is said that it would make more sense to wash your hands before you go to the toilet, because your hands are probably much dirtier from all the stuff you touched than they can get from touching yourself.
Jul 17, 2012 at 2:23 comment added Oddthinking Offered without evidence: Just one of the reasons to wash your hands after using the bathroom, is that proximity to a hand-basin offers a good opportunity to wash your hands several times a day, which is good hygiene practice in itself.
Jul 17, 2012 at 2:18 answer added dave timeline score: 18
Jul 16, 2012 at 23:09 history asked Cory Klein CC BY-SA 3.0