Trump Is Right About One Thing: Shaking Hands Is Kinda Gross

Donald Trump is a serial liar, rampant xenophobe, racist, misogynist, birther and... germaphobe? The Republican front-runner has called himself a "clean hands freak" and has referred to hand-shaking as "one of the curses of American society," according to The Washington Post. In fact, Trump doesn't even like to push a ground floor elevator button, according to Mother Jones, because it has been touched by so many others. But what really is germaphobia, scientifically speaking -- and is Trump right to be grossed out by other people's hands?  Germaphobia, also known by the medical term mysophobia, is defined by high levels of distress when a person is confronted with real or imagined dirtiness and contamination.  At its most severe, it's a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder, a mental health condition characterized by obsessive thoughts (for instance, worries that a surface is dirty or a fear of harm coming to loved ones) and compulsive actions performed as a way to rid oneself of the thoughts. On a milder, subclinical level, however, many people have some level of concern over germ exposure -- and those worries aren't completely off-base.  When it comes to shaking hands in particular, there is some validity to Trump's concerns. Our hands can carry all sorts of germs, including bacteria and viruses, Dr. David Whitworth, a biochemist at Aberystwyth University who has studied the transmission of infections, told The Huf...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news