Comments on: Another thing to panic about: chewed food http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/02/07/pre-chewed-food/ Of sex and science. Elizabeth Pisani's blog about HIV and other sundry things. Mon, 26 Dec 2011 02:54:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Lee Rudolph http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/02/07/pre-chewed-food/comment-page-1/#comment-133 Lee Rudolph Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:14:07 +0000 http://www.wisdomofwhores.com/2008/02/07/pre-chewed-food/#comment-133 I am put obscurely in mind of the Kimberley Bergalis case, which was surely a large (if not the major) impetus to the present policy that all dentists and dental assistants wear gloves during all procedures. Probably that's a public health win, overall (though it would be interesting to know how many, of the surely fairly large number, of dentists and dental assistants who developed latex allergies [before nitrile gloves became commonly available] have since died of anaphylactic shock; even 2, I believe, would double the number of known cases of HIV transmission from professional to patient--assuming Bergalis *was* infected by her dentist, which I don't think was ever satisfactorily established). And since I've mentioned gloves...at least the dental professionals (and medical professionals generally) can be assumed to understand what the point is, and that donning them anew for each patient encounter is not merely a superstitious ritual. My observations (purely anecdotal) of the use of gloves by food handlers indicates that they (reasonably or not) think the whole thing's either a sham or a necessary obeisance to the Great God Science--but they don't actually, you know, *get the point*. Thus yesterday I saw the butcher at my local supermarket wipe his dripping nose on *his* rubber glove. The day before, ditto for the short-order cook at the cafeteria grill. Etc., etc. Meanwhile there are wipe dispensers at the doors of the supermarket, dispensing antibacterial wipes to be used on the handles of the shopping carts. Again, etc., etc. Okay, irrelevant rant over. As you were. I am put obscurely in mind of the Kimberley Bergalis case, which was surely a large (if not the major) impetus to the present policy that all dentists and dental assistants wear gloves during all procedures. Probably that’s a public health win, overall (though it would be interesting to know how many, of the surely fairly large number, of dentists and dental assistants who developed latex allergies [before nitrile gloves became commonly available] have since died of anaphylactic shock; even 2, I believe, would double the number of known cases of HIV transmission from professional to patient–assuming Bergalis *was* infected by her dentist, which I don’t think was ever satisfactorily established).

And since I’ve mentioned gloves…at least the dental professionals (and medical professionals generally) can be assumed to understand what the point is, and that donning them anew for each patient encounter is not merely a superstitious ritual. My observations (purely anecdotal) of the use of gloves by food handlers indicates that they (reasonably or not) think the whole thing’s either a sham or a necessary obeisance to the Great God Science–but they don’t actually, you know, *get the point*. Thus yesterday I saw the butcher at my local supermarket wipe his dripping nose on *his* rubber glove. The day before, ditto for the short-order cook at the cafeteria grill. Etc., etc.

Meanwhile there are wipe dispensers at the doors of the supermarket, dispensing antibacterial wipes to be used on the handles of the shopping carts. Again, etc., etc.

Okay, irrelevant rant over. As you were.

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