Do you wash your hands before going to the toilet, after, or not at all?
That was the question by posed by Mumsnet user 'mallorcanmummy' recently after her husband convinced her that her toilet habits were unusual.
"He insists that it doesn't make sense for females to only wash their hands after going to the toilet. They should wash them before too," she said.
"This is, according to him, as we will be transferring germs to our lady bits if we don't wash our hands before."
Cue mass discussion on toilet hygiene.
The confused wife said she told her husband that as women use toilet paper we "don't actually come into contact with our bits".
"His response to that was why do I bother washing my hands afterwards then? I had to think for a bit," she said.
She went on to muse that hand-washing after the toilet may just be out of habit and asked other women what they do before and after using the loo.
"Never occurred to me to wash hands before. Unless I've just been elbow deep in the garden and am wearing my white jeans or something ... Otherwise it's a bit pointless," user 'KateLivesInEngland' said.
"One of my friends says she never washes her hands after going to the toilet because she never touches herself, and only she uses the toilet so only her 'germs' are on the toilet handle," user 'bilbul' added.
But user 'anyname123' said she has been adivised to wash her hands not only after using the toilet, but also before.
"My midwife told me last week to wash my hands before and after loo whilst pregnant. Maybe it's a thing now. Must admit I haven't taken any notice," she said.
So, what amount of hand-washing do doctors advise?
"We need to balance our awareness of bugs and germs and keeping clean, with being too over-the-top and forever washing our hands (which of course has implications for the environment with water, soap and heating)," Dr Helen Webberley, GP for Oxford Online Pharmacy told The Huffington Post UK.
"Use your common sense. If you have been in contact with anything that may be infective such as diarrhoea and vomiting, then I would suggest being extra careful with your hygiene practices and in considering the person who will use the toilet after you.
"Otherwise, sensible hand-washing after the toilet should be enough to keep us all clean and safe."
