Sick of hearing about germs everywhere

In our church service, we have a part called "the handshake of peace."

It's a simple concept. Look at those around you and wish them the peace of Christ.

For years, that also involved shaking hands with those around you. Now, in our germ-phobia world, a handshake has become rather problematic.

Many mimic Howie Mandel. He doesn't want to shake hands, doesn't want hugs and doesn't like anyone to touch him.

Hearing the constant barrage of information about germs we can get on contact, many opt out of the handshake of peace.

I tend to hug my husband and my friends who sit around me. When it comes to strangers, I take my cue from them. If someone extends a hand, I shake. If not, I just wish them peace.

As I looked around me this week, I saw two different people follow the handshake of peace by squirting antibacterial cleaner.

One man in the pew in front of me quietly withdrew hand cleaner from his pocket and wiped his hands. A woman liberally sprayed an aerosol can of some kind of cleaner that smelled like Lysol. Some of her spray reached into the pew behind her.

What next?

Are we taking our germ phobia too far?

I have friends who won't open the door of a store or restaurant without a germicide wipe. Ditto for restroom doors.

How many decades did we go about our everyday lives without worrying about being attacked by germs?

There are a few places where I think it's wise to be extra cautious. I try not to touch any surfaces when I visit a hospital, and I always scrub my hands and arms when I leave.

When it comes to airline travel, I'm even more cautious. I think the stale air recycles germs. Why else do so many of us get sick right after a flight?

On a long flight home from Italy, I scrubbed my hands so often they were red and dry by the end of the trip. I was super cautious in the bathrooms, even though I thought it was probably fruitless with so many people using that small space.

Sure enough, the day after the flight I was so sick I had to go to the doctor's. He said I had both a bacterial and viral infection.

I wasn't surprised. Cruise ships and airplanes are breeding grounds for germs.

It seems like every week or two we have another news story about needing to watch out for germs in places we might not have worried about before.

One news story said research found our desktops and office telephones had more germs than a toilet bowl.

Another news story warned us not to pick up the well-worn magazines in a doctor's office because they harbored too many germs.

Although I bring my own book to read, every time I put it down it occurs to me the book is like a snowball rolling downhill - it gathers germs as it goes along.

The bottom of my purse is probably a petri dish of bacteria and germs. Many of my friends won't carry a big purse because of that. They take their money and credit cards in a small holder.

Friends frequently laugh at the big purse I always carry so I've learned to just join in the jokes. I sing the old children's nursery line about the lady with the big fat purse, knowing I mimic her.

Every now and then I used to wonder about money. Our bills and coins pass through so many hands before it comes to us.

Well, with the research report that came out of Penn State this month, people may think twice about their money habit.

In a story titled "the dirt and dope on your cash," we were reminded we live in a dirty world where bacteria, fungi and viruses live on our phones, bus seats, door handles and park benches. Penn State research found money can be even dirtier. The list of things researchers found on our dollars includes DNA from our pets, bacteria and viruses that cause illnesses and traces of drugs.

Another study at NYU identified more than 100 different strains of bacteria on dollar bills circulating in New York. That same research also discovered traces of DNA from animals and bacteria only found in certain food. Researchers said they could detect what kind of food people ate in each section of New York.

You might also be surprised to learn traces of cocaine were found on 80 percent of the bills.

The Penn State article added that bacteria that cause food-borne illness, including salmonella and a strain of E. coli can survive on our coins.

The good news is most exposure to those germs doesn't make us sick, researchers say.

By the time you get finished reading how we cannot avoid exposure to germs because they travel with us and on us, you might feel a bit sick.

Or, you can loosen up and know there is a bright side to early exposure to germs.

A recent study concluded today's kids who live in a rather sterile environment have much less resistance to germs than those who were exposed to them early in life.

So, as a kid who unknowingly played in creeks with sewage, I should be able to survive a few more germs.

Contact Pattie Mihalik at newsgirl@comcast.net.