Hand Shaking Is So Medieval. Let’s End It.
techcrunch.com
techcrunch.com
The argument against shaking hands is absurdly stupid. The relatively few bacterial and even fewer viral infections that spread solely through contact, usually aren't going to put you out of work as to spread they cannot stop their host from interacting with other people. Then there's the whole argument about fungal infections being spread through contact, which I personally find hilarious as if you've ever touched the dirt growing up or pet a dog that's dug in the dirt then you're already carrying a huge swathe of fungals on your body. What happens, like in most common infections, is that something (usually the person being too clean can trigger it) causes an imbalance and suddenly you get a breakout.
The infections that affect us today, aren't spread how they were in the 2nd BC. Most major infections are airborne and can easily be caught whilst in a confined space (IE elevator). This is why winter is the major flu season, not because of temperatures and people getting 'cold' (incidentally, a colder body temperature would actually inhibit viral and bacterial growth) but because no one goes outside.
Any virologist or microbiologist will tell you that skin contact is a great way to spread viruses and bacteria. In fact, it's pretty widely assumed that aerosol transmission is mediated via skin contact as well: when you sneeze or cough, the droplets fall to surfaces quickly. Someone else then touches those surfaces, touches their mouth, nose or eyes, and voila -- cold transmission. The same thing happens much more directly via handshakes.
There's a reason that public health people insist that you need to wash your hands after going to the bathroom. Do you sincerely believe that they'd be so worried about it, if there were "relatively few" infections that could be spread by skin contact?
Finally, it really bugs me that your comment is +11, when you spend most of your time insulting Arrington for making a (relatively well-informed) argument, and only a very small amount of time making your own (unproven and incorrect) assertions. If you're going to insult someone for making an argument, at least come to the table armed with something more than the opposite opinion.
#2 is HPV, aka warts, which usually most people would avoid shaking hands with someone covered in warts. The other way is similar to #1, so again good bathroom hygiene wins out.
#3 is impetigo, commonly found in 2-6 year olds whom I sincerely doubt are in business meetings. The only other common way is close-contact sports (rugby/wrestling).
#4 is syphilis, which in very rare cases can spread by direct touch with the chancer (ulceration of the skin).
Besides those four, no infection worth worrying about is contagious.
The next major worry for handshakes would be fecal-oral transmission. However, the reason public health officials espouse good bathroom hygiene isn't for hand shakes, it's for the fact that if this bacteria it has a chance to develop a large enough culture size to beat our immune system. The amount of bacteria actually carried on someones hand is so few and so exposed it cannot survive our stomach acid.
I've taken several courses on all this and I'm certified for food safety, first aid (for all ages) and a few other courses I needed to work with people with compromised or weak immune systems (infants, elderly and immuno-compromised).
Arrington has no fucking clue what he's talking about, he's an office worker spouting BS about personal hygiene. Unless you work in a hospital, you likely wouldn't make a single person sick if you only washed your hands when you showered. It's actually been shown repeatedly, that increased exposure to infectious bacteria increases your resilience(this is the whole purpose of the immune system) and can prevent you from getting worse infections. This is why health officials have been stock piling regular flu vaccinations in case of a H5N1 outbreak, because immunization against one type of flu strain can help against other flu strains.
I know a lot about all this stuff. So please, don't call Arrington well-informed, because he's clueless. He's a programmer, he runs the best tech-news site on the web and should keep his opinions there where he is exceptionally clued in. This article lost Arrington a lot of respect from me because of how sheerly ignorant he is and how clearly he has a serious condition.
Like it or Hate it TechCrunch is the most popular tech blog in existence and there's no doubt a lot of that is due to Arrington's obsessive nature.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying people shouldn't get treatment for OCD. I just think it's important for everyone to realize that, as people, our virtues and our vices are often intertwined. And more importantly every virtue can become a vice if taken to the point of obsession.
The solution is not to end the medieval, heathen practise of interacting with other people in real life, but to stay at home when you're sick - parallel to keeping your hands clean, doubly so if you expect to be shaking hands.
What the author seems to have completely missed is the social bonding and the shear volume of information one can share in that second or two of holding hands.
This seems to be more an article about Arrington than about social customs.
I went to dinner tonight with 9 people from 4 countries and got bowed, hugged, and airkissed, but the only other shaker in the room was the Japanese salaryman. OK, check that, the other Japanese salaryman.
Edit: snark aside, this is a valid question. Especially bathroom doors, considering he admits to rushing off to the bathroom to wash his hands and his claim that people don't wash their hands after visiting the bathroom.
Edit 2: I'm starting to feel a little bad for joining in on the Arrington bashing, the guy sounds like he's got some form of OCD neurosis. Though I suppose calling for a ban on handshakes (unthinkable in many cultures) as a result of it strikes me as self-centred.
I wasn't trying to bash Arrington, btw. He has a point about germs. Especially with the sheeple freaking out about Fludor the Burninator and such. But a handshake ultimately is about showing trust (whether rooted in showing lack of a weapon or not), and here he is saying outright that he does not trust anyone else to keep their hands clean to his obviously-high personal standard. I repsect that he's willing to be forthright about it, though I think carrying a travel-sized bottle of Purell might be a solution with milder social consequences in certain business settings.
Incidentally, the door handle in a public bathroom can have significantly more bacteria on them than the toilet seat. So ladies (and gentlemen I guess) when you hover over the seat, reconsider if you actually want to touch that door handle. IIRC one study found a 20:1 ratio between doorhandle and toilet seat (door handles are wiped down with a regular cleaner, whilst toilets get a professional-grade bleaching).
http://store.pksafety.net/tycbrlevsuit.html
Problem solved.
Perhaps a kind-hearted friend might consider it for his next birthday?
Assume that you only shake hands with people with no visible symptoms, and that the very sickest people do manage to segregate themselves (and their sneezes/coughs) moreso than the mildly sick. Then, the strains you're picking up are the weakest ones. Getting mild versions of infections helps calibrate and train the immune system... often protecting against worse cousins of the same bugs. People passing along mild bugs are doing you -- and your 'herd' -- a favor.
(This is a version of the 'hygeine hypothesis' scaled up to adults, social conventions, and societies/herd-immunities.)
*from the article: "Whenever I do shake a hand I’m completely aware of it, can’t stop thinking about it, until I can wash my hands."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necrotizing_fasciitis
These are rare, but strep throat is pretty common.
I suspect that severely limiting handshakes, hugs, back-pats, and other common contact would harm our health, not help it.
I'd like to announce my Golgafrinchan telephone sanitizer service. We also do keyboards.
Boil it?
NOOOOO I dont want your cash! It has cooties..
He's got something way more insidious than hypochondria.
Sheesh.