Going Touchless

Remember when the phrase "untouched by human hands" was all the rage in the manufacturing industry? Somehow it seemed more sanitary to have our products processed and packaged entirely by machine without somebody getting their dirty hands all over them.

This was especially true of food, at least when others might be touching ours. In our own kitchens, we could revel in the pleasure of licking or scraping cake batter off our hands, and maybe even poke a finger or two into somebody else's food when no one was looking - a guilty pleasure not unlike running through the mud in bare feet and tracking it into the house. The difference with food was the evidence tended to disappear.

Then biology class taught us a lesson about all the vile things we called "germs" - things we couldn't see - coating almost every part of us and whatever we touched. Suddenly, we were all dirty and couldn't be clean enough. Perhaps it was the thought that germs were touching us, even hitching a ride on us, without our permission. How inappropriate! Larger animals (ourselves, for example) can't get away with an unwanted touch without risking punishment, much less a germ. So we invented ways of controlling the unseen hordes teeming under the lens of our microscopes: soaps, sprays, wipes, and chemical additives were produced to save us from germs and each other. Someone else touching us? Ooey gooey!

Louis Pasteur might be rolling in his grave if he knew what a little knowledge has done.

Meanwhile, the best cigars are said to be hand-rolled, the best chocolates, hand made. The most expensive coffee in the world is made from beans excreted by tree civets, and the best love-making, well, you get the picture. There's usually a lot of touching involved.

Word has it, the best car-wash in town is not the "touch-free" kind, but the ones where dirty people get their hands all over your car. And the best restaurants - they usually feature less people walking around wearing plastic gloves.

In the last century, when human touch was deemed inappropriate for food, we might have been shocked to learn that bacteria-infested probiotic foods like yogurt, sauerkraut, and other things that kept our ancestors healthy for generations would return in modern times, also to save us.

It turns out that most germs help train our immune systems, and provide a base for entire ecosystems on land, in water, and in ourselves. What does not kill us, as Nietzsche said, can indeed make us stronger. Antibiotics, preservatives, and germicidal chemicals, on the other hand, are not only making the bad germs badder, they're killing off the ones that protect us, both in our bodies and in the fields, streams, and marine environments that ultimately supply everything we eat. Food chains start small, and with little fanfare. In fact, we pay little attention to these humble beginnings, but we should. Where does the triclosan in our anti-bacterial soap go after we wash our hands before dinner? Back to work killing germs, I'll bet.

Of course, we all know that direct contact between food and feces leads to e-coli outbreaks, and food prepared improperly can breed salmonella and botulism. Ways to control this are nothing new, but extreme control of our environment is. It seems to me the more we attempt to control nature, the more unstable it becomes. Erosion, fish kills, crazy weather and supergerms are good examples of this.

In my profession, therapists frequently have their hands all over people from head to toe, but we're pretty healthy as a lot. Of course, we clean and launder between customers as a precaution. We have to be passionate about controlling transmission of unseen organisms from one person to another; it's our job. I wash frequently with anti-bacterial soaps, disinfect my tables between customers, and change entire washloads of linens at a time. I even clean the toilet after each use. I hope it's a good thing.

This kind of programming seems natural to us today, but just a few generations ago, before indoor plumbing was mainstream, it was not unusual for people pay less attention to germs, often bathing less than once a week. While there were some nasty microbes back in the day, there were also many bad conditions and habits in the prevailing culture that have since been corrected. The net effect of modern hygienic practices may well be... a wash.

Bottom line: the concern about others teeming with germs out to get us, I contend, is a tempest in a teapot - one more myth about touch exploded. We have more to fear from overreaction, at least in this hemisphere.

Now that I've created a "touchy" situation, it's time for some even-tempered advice: Let's get real about "touch," because chances are, the handshake of a stranger thrust our way is no more dangerous than the loved ones we hug and kiss every day. What is dangerous, is the assumption that contact with unfamiliar people, things, and ideas somehow contaminates us.

I am in the business of Touch, partly because our culture has become touch-averse and touch-deprived. It is not unusual for people to visit me only to be touched in a caring way, possibly the first in a long time. All musculoskeletal theory aside, sometimes it becomes therapeutic merely to hold someone's hand. Should this be so? Should our elderly starve for simple contact in nursing homes? Is it healthy for children to be raised with the understanding that touch is a bad thing?

I have a theory that the stigma of interpersonal touch has done more harm than good. In fact, I'd be willing to bet the genesis of many mental and sexual disorders and associated anti-social or criminal behavior is largely due to that stigma alone. Guilt is a powerful motivator, and often a destroyer of self-esteem. The lowering of self in relation to others creates a dangerous gap that converts the normal bonding process into resentment and pathological hatred, as we often see between racial groups and economic classes when the other becomes alien.

Busy lifestyles with too little contact and too much electronic entertainment haven't helped.

The next time you are confronted with a pat on the back, an aggressive handshake or a spontaneous shoulder rub, reconsider any negative thoughts about the other person. If it's an unwanted touch, handle it professionally (you can always wash your hands later). Chances are, the intentions are good, and it might even be good for you. If you are still troubled by the experience, consider an appointment with a professional massage therapist. It's our job to make you comfortable - and once again familiar - with the power of a caring touch.