“Not that hand-washing is a bad thing, but like Bob said, it’s not the panacea some people make it out to be.”
I agree, eventually it can bite you in other ways, and I do usually wind up washing my hands a few times a day and rarely have them stay dirty.
But I’m starting to think that this may all be placebo, if people feel like they’re doing something to stay healthy, maybe that in itself will make them healthier.
There is such a thing as too much hand washing. Stripping all the natural oils away can lead to reddening and rashes, which would increase rather than decrease the likelihood of infection. Same with alcohol based hand sanitizers.
I do wash my hands after every visit to the toilet, and am especially thorough if it’s a public restroom. All odors are particulate. If that doesn’t make you a little queasy, it should.
Keeping your hands out of your face is probably more important. Rubbing your eyes, chewing your nails or, gross as it is people do it all the time, picking your nose, is going to introduce bacteria and virus into your system. You may or may not be able to fight it off before it sickens you.