Licking One's Fingers When Passing Out Papers

porcelina · Jun 02, 2008 09:08 PM

is it me or is this just gross? My mother has always done this when going through papers, looking at papers, etc.

I noticed that a lot of teachers do this too when passing out papers to kids or like in nursing school, the instructor did this. Am I just too picky??

What does everyone think of this?

mysecret_alr · Jun 02, 2008, 09:12 PM

I think it is disgusting....I'm thinking I don't want your germs or slober on my paper

MedSurgeNewbie · Jun 02, 2008, 09:13 PM

its bad but I have to admit I have done it, now I try to keep a moist spongy around..

shelly304 · Jun 02, 2008, 09:14 PM

You're right. It's gross!

**TheCommuter** · Jun 02, 2008, 09:15 PM

Licking the tip of the finger when passing out papers does not bother me or "gross me out." Moisture is sometimes required to get a stack of papers to be separated, and it is hard to pass out papers with dry hands. The germs that might be mixed with the saliva don't live outside the body for very long, either.

This practice might be disgusting to some, but it personally doesn't affect me.

**VivaLasViejas** · Jun 02, 2008, 09:19 PM

In a word: EEEEEEWWWWWWWWWW.

allthemadmen · Jun 02, 2008, 10:13 PM

It sometimes bothers me, when someone is very, uh, deliberate about it (or particular people do it), but in general, no, it doesn't. I'm really not that squeamish, though my husband thinks I'm becoming a germaphobe.

A lot of us do stuff like this without realizing it, too.

It cracked me up to see my MICRO professor doing it, though! At least he wasn't doing it in lab!

*Medic2RN* · Jun 02, 2008, 11:01 PM

My only thought when I see this is "I hope he/she washed her hands before licking them!"
yuch.

zamboni · Jun 02, 2008, 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by TheCommuter

The germs that might be mixed with the saliva don't live outside the body for very long, either.

Yeah...but the germs that can live on paper (charts) can get passed into someone's mouth. :wink2:

Seriously, there's really nothing that grosses me out. But I can't help but stare when I watch a doc or nurse lick their fingers as the thumb through a chart. (I also had a teacher when I was in grade school that would literally slobber on the papers. Ugh.)

lilywater · Jun 03, 2008, 04:48 AM

This is actually something that I find to be unsanitary in some situations. Especially when done in the hospital with all the places and hands these charts have been in. In general it does kind of bother me because I don't think it is sanitary to lick one's finger and touch things. I don't do it myself.

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Licking One's Fingers When Passing Out Papers

Licking One's Fingers When Passing Out Papers

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