A cup of coffee seems like such a simple thing that you could hardly imagine people getting excited about cup hygiene. You would be surprised, though, how emotional this issue has become. Here are just a few of the responses to our column about this volatile subject:
“I get really annoyed when the person who takes takes my money and gives me change then grabs the paper coffee cup by the lip, fills it with coffee and then uses her hand to flatten the lid. Whatever germs she has picked up from touching dirty dollar bills instantly gets transferred to both the lip of my coffee up and the lid. If I want to drink from the little flip top opening, I know I am going to be consuming all sorts of bacteria, viruses and fungi from all the other people who have preceded me. Why can’t these baristas be more thoughtful?”
J.D.
“This is much ado about nothing. ‘Germs’ are everywhere and our society has become a bunch of germophobes because the cleaning industry has decided they could cash in on it. Hand sanitizers have become our worst nightmare. We have this amazing thing called an immune system and it would do its job if people would let it and use a bit of common sense.
“If coffee lids are such a hazard, then so is everything else you come in contact with through the day. Think about where your hands have been and what all you touch! Watch that steering wheel in your car. Your car keys. Your car door. The radio knob. Your children! How about the gas pumps? Oh the list could go on and on! I might be more concerned about what is in the water being used to make the coffee than I would be about the lid of the cup.
“It never ceases to amaze me that people get this worried about getting a so called ‘germ’ but don’t think twice about eating food that has a list of ingredients a mile long and consist of nothing but chemicals.”
Jane
“I do notice some baristas at some coffee shops do touch my cup top by the edge with their fingers or hands. Now I bring my large thermo beverage container to pour instead to drink from that cup from the baristas. I do not know if that helps but I have not gotten colds lately when I do that.
“I easily get sick from any germs. I avoid people with colds. That helps because I always get sick with an upper respiratory tract infection every year. Since employing my Thermos trick for the first time this year I have had no colds. Glad I am germophobic.”
CPNS
“And so? Do not: breathe — touch anything —- eat —- and so on and so on. The concern here seems ridiculous. Anything we do in life has risk. So why are coffee lids any different than any other object?”
Steve
“A few years ago, my husband and I went to an eatery that had great food but bad hygiene. The people in front of us set their young toddler in DIAPERS on the counter. The drink cups—paper–were sitting on the counter area RIM SIDE DOWN. The counter person reached up and pulled off the top cups–and set them down, on the counter, rim down, right where the baby’s diapered bottom had been!
“My husband said, ‘Wait a minute. We’re not using those cups. Please get us new ones and do NOT set them down upside rim-down.’ The twenty something year old worker looked shocked and asked why not.
“We told her why, and gave her a quick lesson about disease and hygiene.”S.H.
“I think there’s a line between dirty and over-the-top clean. I do not obsess about germs–I continue to eat out, but I also expect wait staff to be thoughtful of their behavior. I think the cashier at a fast food restaurant should not be taking my money and then getting that ice cream cone for my son after she’s touched all that dirty money! But a lot of times people don’t say anything because they don’t want to embarrass anyone or make a scene.
“All you who think those who worry about germs need to build up an immune system, I agree, but I hope that was done as a child. I’m a ‘clean freak’ to many, yet I am never sick.”
LF
“I think the point is — the passing of germs via coffee cups or lids or glasses in a restaurant is unnecessary. If only servers were trained to avoid touching the tops of drinking vessels this discussion would not be necessary.
“Would anyone want to put the servers’ fingers in their mouths?
“I’ve started asking servers now for a clean cup if I see them touch the top.”
CB
WHAT ABOUT STETHOSCOPES?
What do coffee cup lids and stethoscopes have in common? Well, hygiene is the common denominator. Even though doctors don’t put their stethoscope in your mouth, they do use it to listen to your heart and lungs, often putting it on your bare skin. Many doctors don’t bother to clean their stethoscope between patients. Is that a problem? Here are some comments:
“I was a beginning nursing student in 1959 and one of the things that we were taught was that any item can transfer bacteria and cause infection; for that reason we were ALWAYS to sanitize stethoscopes (and other items) after each patient use.
“WHY ARE WE JUST NOW RE-DISCOVERING THIS FACT?”
Barbara
“Haven’t you seen medical personnel with a stethoscope dangling around their necks?
“It has always bothered me. I have seen them near the hospital eating in the cafeteria or even at nearby restaurants…wearing their ‘scrubs’ (surgery clothes) and stethoscope dangling.“One would hope common sense would direct mindful, responsible behavior by medical staff!”
S.W.
“In this era of electronic medical records, my doctors, NPs and PAs carry their laptop computers around from room to room with them. I remember hearing that computer keyboards are often contaminated with a cocktail of bacteria.
“The doctor examines, then uses the keyboard, washes their hands somewhere in there, but who knows what is being transferred and when. Just something to think about…”
K.A.F.
How do you respond when you see someone handling your coffee cup after making change?
And what about health professionals? Have you ever asked a physician to wash her hands? What about the stethoscope the doctor puts on your chest? Ever wonder when last it was cleaned?
Share your experiences and your thoughts below in the comment section. We’d love to hear what you think.
