There’s No Soap In The Restroom–What To Do?

According to Internist Dr. John Cmar at LifeBridge Health's Sinai Hospital of Baltimore, if there's no soap in a public restroom, skip washing your hands.

When some people find themselves with no soap in a bathroom, they rinse with just plain water--I know I have. Dr. Cmar says rinsing with just water won't do much to get rid of the disease causing microbes on your hands. He says soap is what washes germs away.

Dr. Cmar also adds that by touching the faucet in a public restroom, "people could be adding even more germs to their hands," as, he says, the sink faucet is one of the dirtiest things in a public bathroom.

If you do see soap in the bathroom, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, you should wash your hands for 20 seconds--that's the equivalent of humming the "Happy Birthday" song twice.

For me, when there's no soap to be found, I use hand sanitizer. I always keep a little bottle in my coat pocket. Not only do I use it when there's no soap in a public restroom, but I also use it after touching those germ-riddled door handles.