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August 4

Public health education and understanding

I'm sure everyone here is familiar with the annual news items describing how few people wash their hands after using public restrooms and the like. The worst articles describe how people change nappies on public tables at Starbucks and on airplane tray tables, leaving a measurable amount of germs for others to enjoy with their meals. In the last decade or so I believe I've either observed a decline in public health standards or I've become more aware of it, it doesn't really matter which. I've repeatedly seen cashiers lick their fingers to separate sticky cash bills, restaurant patrons touch the wrong end of food implements in buffet situations and use their hands to touch food they aren't buying, people sneeze and cough on others without using their hands or their sleeves to block it, and all the rest. Just yesterday was the last straw. I saw a young woman eating from a buffet, licking her fingers,and then scraping food with those same fingers from other food items that she left in the buffet, merely so she could "taste" it. I then asked the woman, "excuse me, what are you doing", and she promptly apologized, but I'm concerned this is a growing trend. Are people forgetting the concept of "germs" or forgetting about the concepts of public health? What's going on here? Viriditas (talk) 00:34, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You've been here over a decade, Viriditas. See the top of the pages where it says "We don't answer requests for opinions, predictions or debate". μηδείς (talk) 00:55, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Asking about whether public health awareness is increasing or decreasing is a legitimate question looking for a quantitative answer and has implications for urban microbiology and other fields. For example, see the research on double-dipping and the call for public health awareness on the issue. Viriditas (talk) 02:04, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Children get early training in poor hygiene, and early training goes in deep. I refer, naturally, to the practice of blowing out the candles on the birthday cakes which their guests will shortly consume. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 01:03, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Hence the modern practice of putting the candles on a tiny, personal cupcake separate from the larger one. It's a great solution and works well. However, that's not my question. Viriditas (talk) 01:47, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Seriously? Is that a real thing? Poor kids. DuncanHill (talk) 20:37, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Why does this bother you? What are the chances of harmful germs being passed on in this way? Remote, I would venture to say. --Viennese Waltz 07:41, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Why does it bother me? For the same reason that I'd be concerned if I knew the cook had for some reason blown on my dinner before it was served to me in a restaurant; or if my coffee was served to the wrong table, a person there took a sip, and then the waiter realised their mistake, removed the coffee from the other table and placed it in front of me. Or if a cook emerged from the toilet without washing their hands and went straight back to work in the kitchen. None of these things are guaranteed to cause a problem, but there's certainly a possibility. Why risk it? If you train little kids that it's OK to blow all over everyone else's food (which is what a birthday cake is), why would they think a different rule should apply to any other food? They're not that intellectually discriminatory at that age. -- Jack of Oz ^{[pleasantries]} 23:25, 5 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry about VW, he's like that to everyone. ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 00:18, 6 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

From my recollection, people's hygiene practices have improved immensely since my childhood in the 1960s. There was no soap in our primary school toilets, no routine inspection of restaurant kitchens, no "best before" or "use by" dates on packaged food etc etc... Some believe that the pendulum has swung too far and we are now over-sanitising ourselves - see Hygiene hypothesis. Alansplodge (talk) 10:29, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I also recall that we used to have a bath once a week - whether we needed it a not! Few British houses had showers then. Alansplodge (talk) 16:22, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

More than a century ago, "Uncle Josh" (Cal Stewart) had a routine about staying in the big city, at a fancy hotel: "I looked at that beautiful bathtub and wished it was Saturday night!" ←Baseball Bugs ^{What's up, Doc?} carrots→ 17:59, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Tuberculosis for example. 196.213.35.146 (talk) 12:18, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

No, not a growing trend or forgetting, most people are just sensible and aren't as obsessed as you are. As mentioned above, most of these things are extremely unlikely to cause any kind of problem. 131.251.254.154 (talk) 12:54, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

The exact opposite is true. A quick look at the most current public health surveys and statistics shows that most people aren't sensible about personal hygiene, even simple things such as washing the hands after using the loo. According to the CDCs own website, this is a huge problem.[1] I'm curious where you are getting your information from because it is wrong. Viriditas (talk) 20:32, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

You are basically soap boxing here, Viriditas. There's not been a single reference given besides your own. Obviously you have the answer you want. We don't entertain questions such as, "Are there notable anti-gay or anti-Israeli publications?" simply to elicit agreement with a certain preconceived bias. Is there some actual reference you need at this point? Otherwise it's quite obvious this should have been hatted from the get go. μηδείς (talk) 21:15, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

I'm sorry, you must have me confused with someone else or you must have misinterpreted something you read. There is no "soapboxing" concerning the question as to whether public health awareness is increasing or decreasing. I still am looking for an answer. The IPs contention that most people are sensible about things flies directly in the face of actual evidence. Hygiene education is a huge issue, especially in hospitals with medical professionals who don't wash their hands and instruments that can't be cleaned properly. How you could possibly think a question about this is "soapboxing" is just weird and off the wall. Viriditas (talk) 00:11, 5 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Don't worry about Medeis, he's like that to everyone. Now, I'm wondering why you have addressed the IP's point above but ignored mine. What evidence do you have that people are getting sick because of lax hygiene practices? Note, I don't mean can get sick in theory, I mean actually are getting sick. What percentage of sicknesses are actually caused by lax hygiene practices? As I said above (a point you ignored, maybe you won't this time), you need to give some evidence as to why this is a problem, because I don't believe it is. --Viennese Waltz 06:11, 5 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Technically the response to the IP partially addressed your question:

About 1.8 million children under the age of 5 die each year from diarrheal diseases and pneumonia, the top two killers of young children around the world 1.

Handwashing with soap could protect about 1 out of every 3 young children who get sick with diarrhea 2, 3 and almost 1 out of 5 young children with respiratory infections like pneumonia 3, 4.

Of course although it talked about education, it's not clear how big a factor education actually is here compared to access issues. If you don't have water, let alone soap, teaching you to wash your hands with soap isn't particularly useful.

Also, the ref did only deal with one aspect namely handwashing. It didn't deal with the other aspects the OP complained about like blowing candles, licking fingers to seperate bills etc. (Nor does it suggest the practices have gotten worse, as the OP's original post suggested.)

Nil Einne (talk) 12:48, 6 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

OK, let's try to look at the factors which affect attitudes towards hygiene:

1) First, obviously, is education. You have to be aware of the existence of microbes, that they cause disease, and that they can be removed by certain practices. In the US, we have PSAs talking about food contamination and how to avoid it, and they occasionally mention coughing into your elbow, etc.

2) Next, there needs to be a feeling that disease is a threat. If there haven't been any disease outbreaks in a while, you can expect people to become lax. On the other hand, during an outbreak, and shortly thereafter, you can expect people to be more careful, such as the various Asian nations with people wearing masks in public during some disease outbreaks.

One particular bad practice I've seen is buffets with no covers for the food. Mongolian BBQ is one example. Now, there is an issue with the tops potentially falling on the floor and then being put back on the food, but this can be fixed with tops which are attached on a hinge at the back of the vat of food (the serving scoops, spoons, tongs, etc. should be attached for the same reason). StuRat (talk) 04:11, 5 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Skrill

Why does Moneybookers has changed their name and why can I not buy the stock of Skrill Group in my Broker? --185.51.85.16 (talk) 10:17, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Our article Skrill says the service is operated by Skrill Ltd. That "Ltd" on the end means it's a private business, and the shares are not for sale to the public. You may be able to buy shares in what will become their parent company later this year, Optimal Payments PLC. A Public Limited Company may be (but isn't necessarily) quoted on the stock markets. (None of the preceding should be taken as advice or recommendation) Rojomoke (talk) 12:00, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

housing

I have daughter with 2 month old and another 6 years old...we have tried every place to live..all we get the shelters are full I am a senior...subsidized in a 1 bedroom..she can no longer stay here...we are at wits end.. she wants in oakville to be close to family she applied to housing 4 weeks ago....we just need help...i have lived here since 1982..I am..73.

[Name redacted] ty for at least reading. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.150.211.38 (talk) 19:58, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

This is not the sort of help that Wikipedia provides, and it's difficult to offer advice (even if we were allowed to do) from the other side of the Atlantic, but have you contacted Halton Family Services, applied for social assistance or applied for subsidised housing? It's unlikely that we have an editor with a house in Oakville available to let. Dbfirs 20:24, 4 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

May I ask, you expect to be given a house for free? Why do you expect this? Most people work for their whole lives to buy a house, and you want it, in a plate, for free? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Erunaquest (talk • contribs) 17:33, 7 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

Perhaps English isn't your first language, but "housing" does not always mean a house. A homeless shelter also counts as "housing". And the person posting is 73 so has worked all their life for housing. They are asking about a temporary shelter for their daughter and grandchildren. StuRat (talk) 20:44, 7 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]

We don't seem to have an article about housing shortage, but in some places even persons with a well-paying job can't find a permanent place to live, simply because there are more people than places to live. Sjö (talk) 08:17, 9 August 2015 (UTC)[reply]