Bathroom Tissue vs. Washing - Personal Hygiene
66Not limited to India and the Middle East, it is culturally mandatory in many countries to wash oneself after using the loo to urinate and/or defacate, with the left hand, giving the left hand the label of "the unclean hand". Therefore, using the left hand for anything other than a "tool" when one is working is socially unacceptable.
In the Middle East, for example, when thieves are caught, their right hand is amputated and they must go through the remainder of their lives using only their "unclean" hand, making them social outcasts.
Many of these countries experience climates which would make no difference if one DID dry oneself off or not after visting the loo ... so warm and humid, 2 minutes later, how would one know?
I wonder if the bathroom tissue I encountered in Spain and Morroco was present to accomodate the tourists. It was what I would call "John Wayne" loo paper -- it was pastel pink, looked and felt as crepe paper with extra large ridges -- really rough and tough.
I also wonder if washing oneself is preferred to to using bathroom tissue because the plumbing is so poor. When I lived in The Jungle by the Sea in Mexico, I learned paper was not used by women after urinating (Is that where drip dry first got its name?) And, when the natives used the loo for other projects the paper was never flushed, but placed in a wastebasket.
Each culture has its own ideas about everything. Some of them I could handle, some of those ideas gave me nightmares. I may be left-handed, but my right hand is still attached.
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What a learning experience. This article is on of the reasons that I love hubpages. I can learn something new everyday.
Thank you,
Carol
This was enlightening!
to ppl leaving comments saying its a learning experience. sorry you ppl need to travel abit more and open your eyes.
iam half asian, my dad is french but my mum and granparents are from south east asia and i grew up there, went to school there for a few years and i go there to visit my family now once every year.
from when i was little, it is taught to wash yourself after a number 1 or number 2,
if you go anywhere in south east asia, unless its hotels and big tourist places, you would see in every toilet you go there is a tap with a big bucket of water for you to wash yourself and there is no toiletpaper. this is when i was little.iam 20 by the way, nowadays there is a growing number of toilet rolls also supplied but the bucket with a tap in nxt to every toilet is still provided. ive seen this even in very big/huge shopping malls that look like the asian version of westfields.
anyway they still do this in south east asia because when i grew up and still now, they think it is very unhygenic to use toilet paper even though they have the option too, they chose not too so therefere toilet paper in these countries for the locals are not really neccessary. iam from australia and was born here and when family from south east asia come visit here, at home everyone would still wash themselves with water after wiping with tissue even when ppl in aust use just tissue and then they basially badmouth how gross it is to just use toiletpaper and not wash yourself properly afterwards.
i personally think that is a gr8 hygene, whiping and then washing aftr you whipe. i have to say, i know alot of ppl and ppl who have kids as well in australia as i am very social and friends with 15-50 yr olds. i know alot of them have UTI's when they are kids or have told me that their kid is currently having a UTI and have frequent UTI's. i personally have not had a uti while growing up because of this and my mum and granparents ive asked never had a UTI in their whole life. my mum only recently got a uti 2 months ago and it was the first time in her life and she is 50. and the only reason she got it is because she is a diabetic and had protein in her urine. anyway i recommend ppl teach their kids to wash AFTER they whipe because i do think it would elimate UTI occurances and prmote better hygene.
i certainly agree that washing up is a must, and i just can't stand the thought when i am in european country the people waking in the streets they haven't washed themselves but only wiped with a tissue, so disgusting
rodwambold 3 years ago
KEWL! Hub Page
Watch out for the drip dry.
The world is a very diverse place and the view are just as diverse.