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Tales of a Germaphobe

recipe at the bottom!


With all the hype about the Corona virus and people suddenly taking notice and precautions regarding germs, I thought I would share some insight from an actual germaphobe who has been taking precautions about germs for years.

My family used to laugh at me and joke and tease me about how I always carried sanitizer around. I mean, I literally have it attached to the outside of my purse so I can easily and quickly grab it and squirt it into my hands. I also carry wipes like lysol wipes or a version of them in my purse to use to wipe down surfaces that I might come into contact with. For me, this type of living has been ongoing and a part of my daily life for years, not just in the last couple of weeks.

As a germaphobe, i am more aware of the things that I touch on a daily basis, things that you might not even consider to be high breeding grounds for germs and 'surfaces' that other people have touched. For me, this is my nightmare and something I deal with everyday.

Here are some examples of things you probably didn't even think about....


  • When eating out, do you reach for that salt and pepper shaker to add a little spice to your food? So do hundreds of other people, and guess what, these are not something that are normally cleaned regularly! (With the virus scare most if not all restaurants are now making this a practice, something they should have been doing all along!)
  • After using the restroom in a public place, you washed your hands like you are supposed to but then you reach for that door handle and open it up. You just contaminated your clean hands! Think about those people that didn't wash their hands and touched that same door handle. Eww! I always wash my hands, leave the water running while I grab my paper towels, use the paper towel to turn off the water (because those handles are covered in germs too!) and then use paper towels to touch the door handle and open the door. Have you ever noticed their is almost always a trash can right near the door? Its so you can toss your paper towel after using it to open the door. 
  • You are at the grocery store, its time to pay. If you handle cash... you are handing something that has passed through many many hands. If you use a credit or debit card, you have to use the machine where you have to touch the buttons, the same buttons that every person before you has touched, including that person that picked their nose in the parking lot before coming in, including that person that used the bathroom and didn't wash, including that person that coughed or sneezed into their hand instead of their elbow, or that person that wiped their nose on the back of their hand from their allegies or cold... so many things and here we are sharing this same keypad! Even now, they are not cleaning these after every customer. My store said they are cleaning them on the hour every hour. So how many people have come through that line in the last hour that has contaminated that key pad? (Yeah, this is why I carry sanitizer on me at all times)
  • Similar to my point above, at the pharmacy they have you sign for your prescription using that data pad and the data pen that comes with it and has been handled by every person getting a prescription. Only this is the pharmacy, you know its passed through some sick people's hands! (At least the pharmacy has a huge bottle of sanitizer sitting on the counter!) 
  • Going to the movies! Who doesn't like to go out for a date night or to go out with friends or even alone to enjoy a good movie. Now they have those awesome new seats that recline for comfort and they are comfortable! But, you have to TOUCH that button to make it recline. The person that sat in that same seat before you also had to touch that button, and the person before that and before that. (Again, with this virus scare theaters have announced that they are going through between movies and cleaning and sanitizing these things. Why didn't they do this before all this happened?) This is why I carry the lysol wipes on me. I can whip out one of my handy wipes and wipe down that little button, my arm rest and anything else I might touch that others have had to touch as well. You know you got that hot buttery popcorn in hand and after a few handfuls that butter is all over your fingertips. Who hasn't placed their fingers in their mouth to lick off that buttery goodness? ... After you have touched the reclining button!!! Ahhh!
These are just a few of the many many scenarios that run through a germaphobe's head on a daily basis. I don't understand why businesses don't do a better job of cleaning and sanitizing on a regular basis. Why does it come to a major pandemic and world wide scare to get them to open up their eyes and realize, we should be cleaning our stuff better. Ya think??

Another one that really gets me... airplanes. Over the last year I have flown more than I have ever flown, taking multiple vacations. (Which for a germaphobe is a great feat in and of itself!) I was prepared with my wipes and sanitizer and even small bottles of lysol sprays. So back to my airplane stories... I typically fly Delta because that is who I have points with. Everytime I have got onto a plane, I wipe down the arm rests and seats. The tablets for watching movies on the back of every seat, you can visually SEE the fingerprints still on them from the person that used it last. If you pull out the tray table, almost everytime they still have crumbs on them from the previous passengers. I swear the airline doesn't EVER clean these things! Even riding in first class one time I pulled out my tray and about died because of how filthy my tray was. I called the stewardess over and asked them to clean it off. She grabbed a wet towel and did a quick wipe. Sorry lady, not good enough for me! So here I am with my handy wipes cleaning every inch of the table! I think Delta should pay me for my services there. 

And don't even get me started on going to a restaurant to eat. Do you know how many times I have observed the way they clean your table? First they do a little spray (if they even do that), take a wet cloth and do a quick wipe. (More like smearing crap over the table) and then move on. They then clean the next table (they did not clean that rag between tables, its going from one to the next, quick spray and wipe, on to the next). Those tables are not clean. All they did was brush off the visible crumbs from the previous diners. On more than one occasion I have asked to have my table re-cleaned. And of course, being the germaphobe that I am, that is not good enough because I have no idea if that cloth they used had been rinsed and cleaned between uses so I have to grab my cleaning wipes and clean the area off in front of me, followed that up by a squirt of sanitizer to the hand. 

I may over react a bit to 'germs', but that is who I am. Germaphobe is actually a condition of OCD, and it is something that I deal with an suffer on a daily basis. It's like my mentality on germs has been preparing me for this pandemic crisis, although, I fear that even as observant as self conscious as I am about germs it is not enough to keep me or anyone else safe from this virus. 

Am I scared of the virus? Well, yes because I am an asthmatic. I have only one kidney since I am a living kidney donor and it has been shown that this virus does affect the kidney's. I am doing my best to stay out of large crowds, keep myself isolated as best as I can and avoid people but its not possible to completely avoid people. I have a family, I have to go to the store and get groceries and do everyday normal life things. I am not going to let this virus scare me into neglecting the things I have to do on an everyday basis. What is really scaring me is the way people are acting and overreacting. Even as a germaphobe I have never gone to some of the extremes that people are going now. 

It's not that difficult, just be aware of things that you touch, keeping your hands clean and use your sanitizer. Its ok to sanitize after touching a door, or using a cart or pushing a button rather in a theater or an elevator. Use that sanitizer! Not only does it help you but it helps others as well. 

And for goodness sake, stop hording all the toilet paper!!! Go about your normal lives as you would every day. They say be stocked for up to one month. Do you really need 100 packs of toilet paper for 1 month? What has gotten into people? This is crazy. People are going crazy. Sorry to disappoint you folks but having toilet paper is not going to stop the spread of this virus! Even though you got the paper to wipe your ass, you are still as vulnerable as the rest of us to get it. 

Anyway... just a ranting from a germaphobe that probably nobody will read anyway but I did enjoy writing it! 

Have a great day, God Bless and keep washing  and sanitizing those hands!


DIY Hand Sanitizer

2/3 cup isopropyl alcohol at least 91%, 
1/3 cup aloe Vera, 
8-10 drop essential oil (I used eucalyptus oil) 
bottles to fill (I used dollar tree pack of 3)
This is 2 batches, made 6 bottles

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