Totally OT-Brushing Teeth/Washing Hands

[Country Kids]

I read something the other day on brushing teeth and you actually shouldn't do it more then two times a day. Its damaging to the enamel, causes them not to whiten as much, and there were some other things they mentioned.

My thought though is-if you brush them in the morning and then not again till night there is just things stuck on your teeth all the time. Then you brush them again at bedtime nothing is touching them till you eat breakfast and rebrush in the morning. It seems you should brush through the day to get everything off of them.

Last night watching restaurant impossible and the host said people working in a restaurant should wash their hands at least 56 times in an 8 hour shift!!!! That is 7 times in an hour! That is quite a bit of handwashing and doesn't count in the times after work. I really think that is a little to much but maybe thats just me.

If they are washing that much I'm thinking as a childcare provider I should be right up there but know I don't come close. How often do you wash your hands throughout the day?

[MarinaVanessa]

I never heard of the brushing thing. As far as the handwashing goes I wash my hands before/after diapering, before/after eating and when my hands get dirty/as needed. When diapering however sometimes change two diapers back to back so I wash my hands before the first diaper, put gloves on, change the first diaper, toss the diaper/gloves (turn gloves inside out over the diaper), clean the pad, put new gloves etc.

At minimum I wash my hands about 20 times a day during DC hours and that's just for meals prep and diapers (only have 2 in diapers).

[MizzCheryl]

geez I probably wash my hand 15 to 20 times just during lunch and breakfast. Then twice at least at each diaper change not to mention washing them with the kid that I just changed. With 2 kids in diapers that is at least 8 changes a day. Then I help the others in the bathroom so another 10 washes. Then if someone has a runny nose look out. 50 times a day, easy.

[DBug]

5 in diapers, 5 changes each daily at the minimum so that's 25 times right there (I only wash my hands after each diaper, not before). Also everytime I go -- I have a very small bladder, so that really adds up ::. Probably 10-15 times/day. And of course whenever I'm getting food prepped, and a few times during, so that's probably another 8-10 times. Whenever I handle garbage, and whenever we come in from outside (another 5 or 6 times). And then whenever there's a yucky nose to wipe, etc.

So yeah, I could totally see 50-60 times a day for handwashing. No wonder my hands are so raw and cracked!

Brushing teeth on the other hand -- that's only twice a day . But during the day I'm drinking water non-stop and chewing gum a few times a day, so I figure that keeps the icky stuff from sticking to my teeth for too long.

[spud912]

The show was outlining how much a restaurant employee who handles other people's food should wash their hands. There is a big difference when compared to people outside of food service work. The average person touches his or her face, clothing, or surfaces that aren't cleaned regularly very very frequently. Would you want someone who touched a dirty apron to then go and handle your food? Or someone who wiped some hair out of their face to go and touch your food? If you think of it that way, you will understand why someone in food service should wash their hands 7 times an hour, AT LEAST!! That's a little more than once every 10 minutes. I guarantee that employee touched something "unsanitary" within a 10 minute span of time.

I personally think that we should be exposed to germs so that we can build up some immunity, but with the way society is with lawsuits, everything has to be sanitary in this day and age.

[daycare]

i probably wash my hands 15 times for each meal, depending on what it is that I am making...

Working with the kids, I help each one wash hands so that is 6 times about every hour and half, plus any in between times that they use the rest room. Plus if anything else comes up, I wash my hands.

I think that sounds normal to wash hands that much in an 8 hour shift.

If you think about cross contamination, you need to wash and rewash just about anything that comes into contact with your skin or another item.

As for the teeth brushing, I believe this is true if you are using a toothpaste that carries a lot "whitner" or harsh abrasives in it, other wise a toothpaste such as sensodyne should be fine to use several times a day...