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A (6:39)

All right, I hear the pager going off. That can only mean it's time for the next question.

B (6:44)

All right, switching gears. This next one is about hygiene and I feel like everyone's wondered this at some point, but maybe doesn't ask it out loud. But this listener did take a listen.

D (6:55)

Hey Sanjay, how often should you bathe? How often should you wash your hands? Please answer them on your shows.

A (7:03)

Well, I think most of us shower probably once a day. But a lot of people have been asking, is that really necessary? And it turns out a lot of our hygiene habits are driven by culture much more than health.

D (7:17)

Almost all of it is cultural, social, psychological, personal preference. And that is not at all to belittle the importance of it. But if you look at the actual way, many of those products are actually doing anything to prevent disease transmission outside of washing your hands and actually making sure you don't have like bodily fluids on you or blood or vomit or anything else that might transmit disease. The rest of it is making you look and feel and MSMELL Good.

A (7:49)

That's Dr. James Hamblin. He's a physician and a journalist that was on the podcast. Earlier this year he wrote a whole book about hygiene called Clean, and in it he set out to challenge norms around showering. He even went years without using soap or shampoo to understand the science behind doing less to stay clean. So for sure, showering every day is not a medical necessity. If you like how it makes you feel, then great. But from a health standpoint, you don't have to. The real question then I guess, when do you actually need soap?

D (8:23)

It's an extremely valuable tool. If you have grease on your hands. If you have really oily skin, but usually it's more the mechanical force that's doing most of the washing. Soap. When you rub your hands together under water, you're getting a lot of that off the soap. Especially, you know, you've got honey or motor oil on your. On your hands. You need something to help break that sticky attachment to your skin. But something like sweat will come off with water.

A (8:49)

So what he's saying then is that for most days, a quick rinse is probably going to do the job. But if there's grease or grime or things that don't wash off easily, then you want to bring in the extra soap. Hand washing, though, I think that's actually a different beast. And that's where being intentional really matters.

D (9:07)

I'm washing my hands after I use the bathroom because there is this evidence that we need to do this to, you know, remove any possible transmission of microbes that might happen during that time. But, you know, it's not hygiene to wash your hands every five minutes. There's no evidence that that would make you any healthier.

A (9:23)

And when you do wash your hands, make sure you're doing, doing it properly. Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds and make sure to wash your thumbs. It's amazing how many people forget to do that. Wash your hands with purpose before eating, after the bathroom, certainly when you're sick or if you have to come into contact with anything unhygienic. But you don't need to be scrubbing constantly. And the other thing, as a parent myself, I just want to say that a little dirt isn't just okay, it's probably good.

D (9:55)

You don't want to encase yourself in a bubble. And I know as a parent, you know, it's very easy to err on the side of protect, protect, keep everything away. You know, constantly clean the kid. It's. It's just easier and simpler to think, let's err on the side of hygiene. But exposure is important, too. You know, you are building essentially all these exposures in the same way that you want to expose a kid to arts and music. But a lot of people don't think that same way about just worldly exposures. So, yeah, if the kid can pet a dog, if somebody else can hold your kid and give him a hug, I'm all for it. I think that's a valuable thing in the same way that trying to keep the kid away from somebody who's sneezing in their face is valuable.

A (10:40)

So don't stress if your kid plays in the yard or cuddles with the dog. That's actually part of building a healthy immune system. So here's the best takeaway. Bathe as much as you like, but remember, that is mostly about culture and comfort more so than health. But when it comes to your hands, wash with intention. Thanks to everyone who sent in questions. I say this all the time, but it's true the show would not exist without you, and I'm really glad you're part of it. If there's something health related you've been wondering about, don't keep it to yourself. Share it with us. Remember, record a voice memo, email it to asksanjaynn.com or give us a call 470-396-0832 and leave a message. Thanks for listening. I'll be back on Friday.

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News Fatigue have I Got News for you? As the cure and Also the disease, CNN's comedy quiz show is back, making sense of the mayhem and definitely adding to it. Have I Got News for you? Saturday at 9 on CNN.