Unfortunately, public restroom soap is a bacterial nightmare. It’s so filthy, in fact, that a recent study found that a quarter of all public soap pumps are so contaminated with fecal bacteria that washing with their contents leaves your hands more germy than if you didn’t wash at all.
If Sex and the City taught us anything, it’s that happy hour with friends can cure what ails you. But if you’re germ-conscious or one of the millions of women with suppressed immune systems — whether from chemo, steroids, or drug treatments that keep transplants strong — happy hour at a germ-filled bar just might give you what ails you. It’s bad enough to pay ten bucks for a martini; you don’t want to keep paying for a night out with a cold, flu, strep, or other bug you pick up at a crowded bar. Sometimes, it seems easier to skip the microbial ordeal of an evening out, stay home in your yoga pants, and, well, binge-watch reruns of Sex and the City instead.
But if Carrie and company aren’t cutting it for you in terms of a social life, you can still enjoy a night out with friends. Just come prepared to do battle against germs in their native habitat with five must-haves in your purse (sorry, you might need to buy a bigger purse):
1. Antimicrobial Wipes
The good news: your friends saved you a spot at the bar. The bad news: you just watched the server wipe down said bar with a soggy rag that looks like it was last used to wash livestock. It’s time to pull out your antimicrobial wipes and let the germ-killing begin.
Make sure your wet wipes are packing benzalkonium chloride or its chemical cousin benzethonium chloride, which a recent study suggests may be your best defense against MRSA. Wet Ones are a good, inexpensive standby; if you don’t like looking like a mom mopping down her sticky toddlers at a county fair, skip the giant dispenser tub and spring for purse-friendly, individually-wrapped wipes. They’re great for surfaces like tabletops, seats, and even that sticky bar.
2. Your Own Hand Soap
At some point in the evening, you’re going to need to use the restroom. Navigating questionable bathroom stalls is bad enough, but then you’ve got to deal with it. We’ve all seen it on the restroom counter — that grubby soap dispenser that may not have been replaced since 1986. There’s some sink water sloshing inside the pump where someone’s tried to loosen the last dregs of Dial rather than refill the container. But how dirty could it be? You ask yourself. It’s soap, after all.
Unfortunately, public restroom soap is a bacterial nightmare. It’s so filthy, in fact, that a recent study found that a quarter of all public soap pumps are so contaminated with fecal bacteria that washing with their contents leaves your hands more germy than if you didn’t wash at all.
Give yourself some peace of mind by packing your own hand soap — add a few squeezes to a travel-sized cosmetics bottle from the drugstore and pop it in your bag.
3. Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer
Even with those freshly-washed hands, you’re not out of the bacterial woods. Now you’ve got to deal with the bathroom door, and maybe a hand rail on the stairs back to your seat. Then there’s the menu that dozens of other people have handled — and maybe sneezed on — this evening. Before you even think about picking up that cocktail glass, give your hands a quick dousing with a hand sanitizer that’s at least 60% alcohol.
4. High SPF Moisturizer
Let’s face it — this much washing, wiping, and sanitizing would do a number on anybody’s hands. If your skin’s parched from chemo or thinned from steroids, extra dryness can lead to cuts and cracks that are inroads for infection. Before you tuck into those bar snacks, slather on a little moisturizing hand cream to help keep your skin intact. Just remember to pack a cream with a hefty dose of SPF; immunosuppressant drugs significantly increase the risk of skin cancer, and you’ve got enough to worry about without a sarcoma.
5. Your Own Condiments
Now that all that sanitizing and moisturizing is over, it’s time to enjoy yourself. Think you might want ketchup on your fries? Soy sauce on your tempura? Think twice before reaching for the condiments on the table, because those shared bottles are anything but clean. Grubby fingers have been handling those containers all day, and restaurants don’t regularly wash them. Stock up on some individually sealed packets of salad dressing, mustard, or other condiments you know you’ll want, and keep them handy in your purse.
Just bring enough to share — watching that guy at the next table lick his fingers and then grab a bottle of Heinz should be enough to make even your healthy friends want to get in on your germ-free game, too.
