this post was submitted on 22 Dec 2024
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So, the place I live, it's in a large overpopulated metropolitan. The parking area is basically the road and it always had a strong stench of urine and remnants of cowdung, but today due to faulty sewers fecal matter had overflown onto the road and of c, no one had cleaned it. It's a deadend road so the only people stepping on it are people who live here, but I had to take care of my Motorbike there and had to clean it properly, so I could see stuff on my tires and while splashing the tires with water, I might have gotten a bit of stuff on my legs.

I felt deeply disgusted of my situation, but I felt scared of catching something as I am often exposed to stuff like this. The rented hotel I lived in has foot prints on the lift doors and it smelled of saliva and was painted red by marks of chweable tobacco product. The interesting thing is, I pay a premium to live in this place as every other place I went to smelled of sweat and piss (inside the rooms, this is outside, my room is neat and clean)

P.S: I sprayed isopropyl alcohol on everything I had touched just to sanitize it. But, isopropyl alcohol is apparently toxic and I am not supposed to use it frequently, what shall I do?

How can I keep myself safe and sane in this environment?

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'm not a medical expert, but typically your skin is pretty good at keeping pathogens out, at least when you clean yourself regularly.

Keeping your hands clean (and thus your eyes and mouth) should be a priority. A relatively cheap and easy thing to focus on would be cheap, disposable gloves. Buy them in bulk, and carry a wad in a pocket. You can turn old ones inside out and use them as little trash bags. Change them out whenever you feel like it.

If you don't have a clothes washer at home, consider buying a cheap portable unit that can drain into the shower or sink. I have one, and it rocks.

You might feel a little crazy, but if you have the spare cash, buy some bleach spray and paper towels and wipe down the elevator. It should only take 5 minutes. It could be the case that it only needs to be cleaned every few weeks.

Remember that by keeping your space and person clean, you are doing a lot to stay healthy. People work draining septic tanks for a living and are exposed to sewage, but stay healthy because of good hygiene habits in the long term. I don't mean to minimize your situation, because I'd feel crazy too, but just keep in mind you're already doing a good job.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Hey, thank you!!!

[–] [email protected] 14 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Wait, isopropyl alcohol is toxic even just for external use? I use it as a hand sanitizer daily.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 days ago

No, I haven't heard anything about that and I did some quick searching and couldn't find anything relevant either. Basically don't drink it or dump gallons of it in your local river.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago

It's no longer recommended for wound disinfection because it kills healthy cells. Same with hydrogen peroxide.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Don't take a literal bath in a tub of it. It takes a lot to be dangerous, far more than with methyl alcohol

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 days ago (2 children)

You sound like a germophobe, to be honest. Yes, your situation is gross, but the human immune system is pretty amazing. Just look at how many people in New York City survive every day in a melting pot of subway germs.

Fecal matter and other organic waste can transmit disease and infection, especially if you get it in an open wound, but the chances of that happening if you clean and dress the wound soon after are very low. Even if a wound does get infected, we have medicine that can deal with that easily as long as it isn’t allowed to persist for a long time.

In my opinion, it sounds a little bit like you could benefit from therapy to become more comfortable with these feelings of revulsion towards normal exposure to germs. It is good to have sanitizer and stuff ready when you need it, but you also don’t need to suffer through continued panic after cleaning and disinfecting yourself from a gross exposure.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 days ago

Thank you, this is what I needed to hear.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Fwiw, as a NYer, I'm basically perpetually sick. Even with masking and sanitizer.

It's even worse with roommates or a partner since any time one person catches something, it's bound to spread to the others

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

I'd rather not actually

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 days ago

Bruh.

My germaphobia would just make me kms

[–] FireRetardant 5 points 6 days ago (1 children)

I'd try to strip and clean any time I come home in that environment. Set up your entranceway so you can easily remove your clothes and shoes and put them in a bag or bin. Santitize the entranceway, wash your contaminated clothing, and wash yourself frequently.

I would wear long pants, ideally waterproof ones or at least thick enough to stop splashes from getting on your skin. You could also wear a mask while outside to help keep your fingers away from your mouth and nose.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

I had an emt friend and his front closet was basically like that as that is what he would do when coming back from a shift. strip at the entrance, shower, sleep, then clean down the entryway when he awoke.

[–] jmr100 2 points 5 days ago

in case Noone said toxic just means don't drink it