Something I never thought I'd hear a doctor say

I went to a dermatologist today. I have what he termed "hand eczema"--the inside of my right hand is severely dry and itchy, and it gets so tight that I can't extend my fingers all the way without bleeding. Fun, huh? Sorry if that grosses anyone out. But the doctor told me something that I never thought I'd hear a doctor say. "You need to stop washing your hands so much."

What?!? It's so important to wash your hands! I am such a freak about keeping my hands clean. That's what we're told to do, after all. Wash before you handle food, after you handle food, after you go to the restroom, before you play with the kids, after you play with the kids, after you touch anything dirty (which, in my opinion, just about everything is dirty!), etc. But evidently I've been a little too diligent.

Anyway, the doctor said that I should think every time I go to wash my hands and decide if I REALLY need to wash them. (I did that tonight, and I saved at least 20 hand washings.) And he said that most of the time during the day, I will only need to rinse my hands and skip the soap. I just kinda stared at him, slack-jawed. He said that I may only need to use soap a couple of times a day. What??? Rocked my whole way of thinking. Not sure I totally buy it, but I'll think about it.

He said that our society has become too germaphobic. "There are germs on your steering wheel that will get on your hands as soon as you leave here," he said. You mean not everyone takes a baby wipe, puts hand sanitizer on it, and cleans their steering wheel with it?

Please note: I consider my dermatologist's advice to be strictly for me. The rest of you better be washing your hands at least 100 times a day to keep the germs away from me! :)

Now if only I could get a doctor to say, "You really need to eat more fried chicken and mashed potatoes."