Particles and pathogens The midwives had no such contact: They only worked in their ward. Semmelweis hypothesized that “cadaverous particles” were being transferred from dead bodies to new mothers by the doctors and their students. Physicians did not have to scrub their hands in between patient visits, unlike today.

Joseph Lister

Two major contributions to the art of sterilization came in the 1860’s when the French chemist and microbiologist Louis Pasteur wrote extensively on how germs cause disease and the English physician, Joseph Lister, developed a technique that used carbolic acid as a spray to disinfect instruments.

Germs can get into the body through the eyes, nose and mouth and make us sick. Germs from unwashed hands can get into foods and drinks while people prepare or consume them. Germs can multiply in some types of foods or drinks, under certain conditions, and make people sick.

But, wash your hands after using the bathroom. Experts have revealed that failure to wash hands after leaving the bathroom is more likely to spread drug-resistant E. coli than consuming raw or under-cooked meat.

A more likely situation than pregnancy is getting an infection from fingering. So not only will you need to avoid any contact with precum or ejaculate, your boyfriend should wash his hands first and you should make sure neither of you has cuts and sores.

(In studies, women tend to be better about adhering to hand washing than men.) But it’s best to wash your hands after every trip to the toilet because human feces carry pathogens like E. coli, Shigella, Streptococcus, hepatitis A and E, and more.