I'm a big germaphobe and already been sick once this year. I'm curious how often do you disinfect your iPhone? I clean mine about 2-3 times a week. Mostly because I deal with things a whole bunch of people touched and don't want their germs all over my phone. Strange, I know. So how many times do you clean your phone, if at all?
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Flu season and the iPhone.
- Thread starter ozzyman500
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I've never disinfected it. Aside from the occasional wipe to clear fingerprints (with my palm), my phone sees no cleaning at all.
Never. My screen has smudges. It's in a case, but there's always some white junk that comes off the back (sweat? I have no idea). I'm sure there are lots of germs on my phone. It doesn't bother me.
IMO cleaning your phone should be standard thinking. I could care less if it's just an iPod but your phone is so close to your face at times some of those germs might rub off on you 
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Speaking as someone who is trying to break free of OCD tendencies, germs will not kill you. Paradoxically, the more you disinfect and wash, the weaker your immune system becomes and the more likely you are to get sick.
Stop buying disinfectants. Stop using anti-bacterial soap. Just use regular soap when you need to wash up like after using the toilet and before eating or preparing food. Period.
I am saying this as much to myself as I am to the rest of you. Stop living in fear. Your immune system and skin will thank you.
I washed my hands often when I was at work but I still got sick. I've been sick for the past three days.
Stop buying disinfectants. Stop using anti-bacterial soap. Just use regular soap when you need to wash up like after using the toilet and before eating or preparing food. Period.
I am saying this as much to myself as I am to the rest of you. Stop living in fear. Your immune system and skin will thank you.
I washed my hands often when I was at work but I still got sick. I've been sick for the past three days.
Perhaps you can get ideas from this almost identical thread:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/806127/
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/806127/
sigh you are a sad individual, that will probably continue to get sick at a higher rate than those around you
sounds like you are agoraphobic and a hypochondriac
You are weakening your immune system by not exposing it to low levels of bacteria/germs
Exactly... that's what your immune system is for!!!
Just like the rest of your body, if you don't exercise it, it will only get weaker.
Put away the handi-wipes and let your body do what nature built it to do.
Base on what I read so far, washing my hands after I take a crap is weakening the immune system of those that I come in contact with.
haha not quite you are oversimplifying the matter
two types of bacteria non-pathogenic and pathogenic
and then two types of ways to remove/kill bacteria
non selective = soap ( wipes off bacteria /grime etc)
selective = antibacterial products ( take advantages of bacterial cell wall/proteins in order to kill bacteria)
washing your hands after you go to the bathroom is a good thing. It removes a pathogenic bacteria (e.coli, and others) from your hands and doesn't allow it to spread. E.coli is endemic to your GI tract, it should never be found on your skin
Now washing your hands with antibacterial products is a completely different story. You are trying to kill the bacteria on your skin. Most of these products do not wash off whats on your skin, it simply kills it. While it will kill non-endemic bacteria ( such as e-coli) it will also kill endemic skin flora ( such as staph aureus)
The problem is that you are killing what shouldn't be killed.. and you are also making resistant strains of bacteria
but i'll cut myself short and just say that
this is a pretty complicated matter, something that would probably take an entire week of class to fully explain
To build off of what lollicup said, before man became domesticated we were wild ( also known as "Natural Man" ). Natural Man had a layer of natural, beneficial bacteria known as "Flora" which acted ( basically ) as a shield against harmful bacteria. As man became more domesticated it became "normal" to wash the skin more regularly ( understandably so ), and while this made us smell better, and more appealing to others, it did dramatically reduce the amount of natural skin flora that resides on human skin and thus made us more susceptible to external, harmful bacteria.
So, while normal cleaning after coming in contact with harmful bacteria is absolutely beneficial seeing as our natural skin flora is not as effective as it was before, constantly sanitizing yourself, and further inhibiting the development of natural skin flora will only be detrimental to your health.
Case in point, I work in the medical field and am constantly in contact with ill people, blood, extreme temperatures, so on and so forth. I simply wash my hands regularly and I never get sick. I have never received a flu shot and still never get sick, and by never I mean I have only been sick three times in my life.
I haven't been sick since.
So being a germiphobe is really counter-productive.
But ultimately, I know it is a psychological issue, and nothing I could say would encourage you to change your habits.
That Said, Here's What You Can Do.
Get a box of antibacterial wipes and wipe your phone with those. They are alcohol based so they wont cause water damage, but keep them away from the moisture sensors ( Headphone Jack and Dock Connector ) just to be safe.
I hope this helps.
So, while normal cleaning after coming in contact with harmful bacteria is absolutely beneficial seeing as our natural skin flora is not as effective as it was before, constantly sanitizing yourself, and further inhibiting the development of natural skin flora will only be detrimental to your health.
Case in point, I work in the medical field and am constantly in contact with ill people, blood, extreme temperatures, so on and so forth. I simply wash my hands regularly and I never get sick. I have never received a flu shot and still never get sick, and by never I mean I have only been sick three times in my life.
- Chicken Pox when I was eight.
- An Ear Infection when I was 12.
- An Ear Infection when I was 23.
I haven't been sick since.
So being a germiphobe is really counter-productive.
But ultimately, I know it is a psychological issue, and nothing I could say would encourage you to change your habits.
That Said, Here's What You Can Do.
Get a box of antibacterial wipes and wipe your phone with those. They are alcohol based so they wont cause water damage, but keep them away from the moisture sensors ( Headphone Jack and Dock Connector ) just to be safe.
I hope this helps.
IMO cleaning your phone should be standard thinking. I could care less if it's just an iPod but your phone is so close to your face at times some of those germs might rub off on you
I think we should make a sticky clearing up the 'could care less' vs. 'couldn't care less'. Every time I see this, it drives me up the wall. If you could care less, then that means you care a lot already. If you don't care at all, then you couldn't care less.
For what it's worth, I clean my iPhone twice a week with antibacterial wipes and iKlear.
I never clean my iPhone. Well, sometimes I wipe the screen with a bit of my tshirt.
Beyond like clothes and dishes I don't clean any of my belongings.
Beyond like clothes and dishes I don't clean any of my belongings.
Unless he's trying to say that he cares slightly about it. Then "I could care less" would be appropriate.
No, if he cared slightly about it then he could still care less. Couldn't care less is where you would not care about it at all. In this case, I feel it was the latter point the poster was trying to make.
This can't be posted enoughAgreed:
![TheCaringContinuum.png]()
. I'm amazed at how often people get this wrong. It's not as if it's a difficult concept.
Ummmm, that's exactly what I said. I believe you may have imagined a "n't" at the end of the "could" in my post. Check it out again.
This can't be posted enough
For all intensive purposes, I agree.
For all intensive purposes, I agree.
Love it! I actually used to write it that way, until I was corrected by an old girlfriend.
Now, can we end the discussion on "couldn't care less?"