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Monday, November 6, 2006

Germophobia is Out of Control

Filed under: Public Health

Germaphobe.jpgI think we've gone a little too far when we feel the need to have our doorknobs automatically sanitized every 15 minutes to feel clean.

SIMON SASSOON saw the future in a dream. Mr. Sassoon, a former watch designer, dreamed he was standing in a women's public restroom, which his hygiene-conscious girlfriend had just left. Attached to the door above the knob was a white plastic box.

As Mr. Sassoon's dream self watched, the box made a gushing sound. Out from the bottom sprayed a fine dry mist, which bathed the metal knob and killed every germ on it.

The girlfriend is now an ex, but two years and $250,000 of investment capital later, the HYSO, an acronym for Cantonese words meaning "happy hands," is starting to roll off production lines. Mr. Sassoon, 44, a nephew of the hairdresser Vidal Sassoon, is betting there is a vast and rapidly expanding market for a $60 device that sprays a hospital-grade disinfectant on doorknobs every 15 minutes.

I sure hope this spray dries quickly because I'm not real keen on touching wet doorknobs, regardless of what the fluid is.

For this and other crazy sanitary gadgets, go here . . .

(hat tip: Kevin MD)

email this article to a friend      print this!           comments and peer reviews (4)




replies: 4 comments
Open comments are not moderated, although abusive and vulgar remarks may be deleted. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Medgadget.com. Please consult our disclaimer.

How does it get on the bottom of the door-knob?


Posted by: jbhungry
on November 6, 2006 06:31 PM GMT

Some must drip down if its wet enough.


Posted by: Bruder
on November 7, 2006 08:50 AM GMT

Wouldn't it be easier to just make it possible to open the door without using your hands?

And of course, everybody that isn't washing their hands is out there touching everything else, so this isn't really stopping anything.

Perhaps the solution will be coatings on public surfaces that make germs slide off but provide friction when under pressure so people don't slip.


Posted by: Al Brown
on November 7, 2006 10:58 AM GMT

If you ran the whole article and read it, you and your readers would know it was a DRY mist and in a proprietary formula it goes around the top, sides and bottom of the door. Can't feel it. The wonders of modern technology, they can do things like that.

Also, think about this. You are in the hospital. Lots of sick people. Lots of people visiting sick people. Airports. A breeding ground of germs in public restrooms. 25% of people don't wash their hands, So you want all those germs on your hands to fester and give you the flu/cold or something worse? Think about it,

The point of the article is that you don't have to be a germaphobe to be concerned about germs and the harm they can do. I'd like to stay home like anyone else being sick and watching Oprah, and honestly in the larger scheme of things I'd rather not have a cold/flu and go to work feeling healthy and tivo the darn show.

Yeah, yeah you can get germs everywhere. But the doorknob in a public restroom is the most universally touched public door knob that EVERYONE touches.Healthy people. People who know they are sick. People who don't know they are sick. EVERYONE.


Posted by: Nicole
on November 12, 2006 04:34 AM GMT