I love MamaSource, but sometimes I wish it was set up so the questions posted could be more of a forum. I'm concerned about an aspect of the soiled underwear issue that wasn't raised, so I thought I'd pose another question to the group.
My daughter is past the age where it's an issue for us, but not all of her friends have caught up in age/hygiene habits. A lot of the kids I know have their hands down the front of their pants quite a bit of the time, & sometimes they scratch their little bums. If their underwear is soiled, then they could be getting fecal matter on their hands & under their fingernails. Then they go and play, eat, pick their noses, etc. Need I say more?
So what I want to know is, does that pose any danger to them & the kids around them? And the adults around them, for that matter? By danger I mean, beyond the possibility of a urinary tract infection because they are sitting in it. What happens if food or toys get soiled? We hear warnings all the time about proper hygiene, but I've never heard what bad thing actually happens if someone in close proximity doesn't take care. Am I worrying over nothing? If so, I'd love to relax about this!
Thanks from a poop-o-phobic mom,
C.
Of course it's a valid concern, but kids have been pooping, scratching and eating without washing their hands FOREVER. And I've been in the bathroom with adults who don't wash their hands. If you really obsessively think about it, it's gross! You can teach good hygiene, but short of your own child and yourself there's nothing to do!
i think that if's their own poop it's not a big deal, after all, it came from them. i think it's more of a health issue for other kids/adults. i think that encouraging them to always wash their hands regularly or keeping some anti bacterial solution handy and just constantly applying it on their hands might ease your worries a bit. as far as soiled underwear, i pretty much did the wiping myself when it came to poop until just recently, for fear that my daughter would not be doing a good enough job. she is only just starting to do it on her own and she has been potty trained for almost 2 years. good luck!
Hi Colleen, you are so right, I am constantly taking my daycare kids in the bathroom washing their hands because like you said they have their hands in their pants, and that is one of my pet peeves, Kids and get sick and die from ecoali if another childs feeses get in their systums. ( sorry forthe missed spelled words) a child died after injesting some feeses at a water park because a child diareha in the water from swallowing to much clorine from the water. My friends used to look and me as rasing my kids to be selfish, because I didn't push the share your toys issue for the resons were talking about, I was one of those moms who washed toys in bleech water, used lysol dissinfect on everything, I do that now in my daycare, these kids kniw I better not see them with their hands in their pants, it is nasty, hygieneis very important, that's why to i made sure my kids were potty trained before they were two, I made sure they learned how to clean themselves, and I would go behind them sometimes, and then I always had antibacterial soap handy for their hands. So trust me you are right, now we don't need to be paranoid, we just need to taech our kids good hygene while they are small. J.
Yes it does. Hand Foot and Mouth disease (among other things)can be spread through fecal matter whether it is yours or somebody elses.
Hands can never be washed enough!!! Adults and kids alike. Keep wet wipes and hand sanitizer in your car and purse for emergencies. Hands should alwasy be washed after touching mouth, nose, private areas, before and after prepping or eating meals. Before and after the park, school, grocery store etc.
You don't know what other people do or don't do in regards to hygiene. Best to be ont he safe side and wash up often.
I alwasys use a paper towel to hold the door knob of public restrooms-you never know...
Having worked in child care and with DD adults who had very poor hygine this is a concern for care takers. That is why they spend so much effort on hand washing etc. I always had hand sanitizer on me and used it all the time. I think that to ease your concerns you should make sure that your child is washing her hands often. Especially before and after eating as well as after potty time. Even as adults we should be washing our hands more often. We all assume that other adults have proper hygine but the harsh reality is that they don't. I currently work for a vocational school that trains for medical jobs and each program has several lessons on hand washing! Studies have proven that this is one of the best ways to prevent illness and transmission of illness.
