There are a few rules of hygiene that are generally socially expected – wash your hands after using the restroom, cover your mouth and nose when you sneeze, and don’t go around licking doorknobs.
Everyone goes about their hygiene in their own way. But the method doesn’t matter as long as it’s getting done, right? Wrong. At least according to certain people online who participate in the “Hygiene Olympics.”
As if keeping up with chores wasn’t hard enough, people are fighting tooth and nail to prove they are the cleanest person alive. For example, some say it is the bare minimum to shower twice per day, and that anything less is disgusting.
But, from a realistic perspective, sweating so much during the night that a second shower is needed in the morning should be cause for concern. If anything, those individuals should go to the doctor because that might be hyperhidrosis.
The strive for cleanliness may even end up backfiring, like for those who insist on rinsing raw chicken before cooking it.
Washing raw chicken is always a bad idea. The bacteria can easily spread, especially once it comes in contact with water. It doesn’t matter if all points of contact were cleaned; there is a chance bacteria is still present.
Believe it or not, the safest and easiest way to eliminate bacteria on raw chicken is to cook it to an appropriate internal temperature. Doing it any other way can actually cause cross contamination.
There are also many debates online over using antibacterial soap. Some say it should be used in the shower before any body wash, and should always be used when washing hands.
It shouldn’t, though. Constant use of antibacterial soap may lead to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, among other things. Feeling superior over hygiene choices isn’t worth risking long-term health and wellness.
This online ecosystem has started to push more and more ridiculous standards. Single-use products are being pushed at an alarming rate already, but people are being shamed for wearing the same pair of underwear twice, even though they’re washed.
It’s convenient that the solution to this “issue” is to buy an obscene amount of single-use garbage. Perhaps people need to consider that this whole thing could be an overconsumerism cash grab that feeds off of people’s insecurity.
After all, it’s starting to sound as if someone doesn’t shower every half hour, they are a disgusting bog creature. Just imagine the water bill.
Life is gross, and it’s everyone’s responsibility to mitigate any risk that could come from it. The method doesn’t matter as long as it’s getting done. This online debate is fueled by insecurity and misunderstanding, and it pushes harmful practices that are worse in the long run.
Don’t feel bad because someone online shames everyone who doesn’t wash their bedsheets every day. They may just have too much time on their hands.
