Tag Archives: Neurosis

Do you actually wash your hands?

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A blog posting on iamnuerotic.com was brought to my attention yesterday. Most of the postings are pretty interesting, whether you agree, disagree, or think people are crazy. And anyone can submit a neurosis to possibly be posted. Examples of my personal neuroses would include tying paper straw wrappers into knots and folding them into small pieces before I throw them away. Or eating sandwiches in a circular pattern because they taste better that way.

 “fake hand washing” was posted on September 29, 2008, so I know it’s not recent, but I thought it was valid to talk about.

This person writes, “I don’t wash my hands every time after going to the bathroom because I don’t want to aggravate my dry skin too much. But I want everyone to think I’ve washed my hands so after I flush I turn on the faucet and let the water run for people to hear. I want it to be believable though, so I mime washing my hands to make sure I let the water run for exactly how long it would take me to really do it.”

If you’re going to take the time to fake handwash, why not actually clean your hands? And if it’s because of dry skin, why not use lotions? And if you think your hands didn’t touch anything, how do you know for sure if microbiological pathogens are too small to see?

The website will also be publishing a book, i am neurotic (and so are you), by HarperStudio on October 13, 2009.
 

Should people be neurotic about food safety?

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Neurotic is defined as, abnormally sensitive, obsessive, or tense and anxious.

This morning’s Globe and Mail, out of Toronto, had a piece which said,

Today’s food-safety connoisseurs do not count calories, but the number of days leftovers have been in the fridge, the temperature of a steak’s core, and the number of hands they imagine may have handled a piece of fruit en route to their dinner plate.

And they are aided by a range of new gadgets that allow them to treat their kitchens like culinary laboratories under bacteria lockdowns.

… Brenda Watson, executive director of the Canadian Partnership for Consumer Food Safety Education, said she believes a degree of neurosis is necessary to prevent foodborne illness.

I disagree.

Douglas Powell, the Canadian-born scientific director of the International Food Safety Network at Kansas State University, said many people confuse the issues of food safety and food freshness.

“There are lots of things that are yucky but that won’t kill you,” he said. “And there are lots of things that will kill you and you can’t tell.”

In an effort to protect themselves, Dr. Powell said, some people make choices that have little to with preventing illness – such as buying organic produce – while neglecting behaviours that can truly protect them, such as the use of food thermometers and the proper storage of food.

“It’s not simple, otherwise 11 to 13 million Canadians wouldn’t be getting sick every year, which they are right now,” he said of food safety. “But the biggest risk is not eating anything. You can’t be neurotic about it.”

Cautious, careful, choosey — sure.

Neurotic? Not so sure.