Is Wearing Shoes In The House A Cultural Thing or Just A Healthy Practice? - article was published in Women of The High Country magazine in 2009.

Is Wearing Shoes In The House A Cultural Thing or Just A Healthy Practice? - article was published in Women of The High Country magazine in 2009.

This article is not intended to offend anyone's feelings or their way of life but as a person that practices healthy living, i would like to share my thoughts and views about this subject. Wearing Shoes In The House.

The first time i told a guest to kindly take off his shoes before entering my house, he said "...ahhh...its in your culture.." In my culture??

Even Dr. Mehmet Oz, who is a regular guest on Oprah Winfrey's how, said that to reverse aging and stay younger, one of the things recommended to do is to take off shoes when entering the house so that pesticides, bacteria or other toxic substance is not track to home floors. And may i add, not just your home only, but other homes too that you are entering.

I am a Malaysian, married to an American and is currently residing in Boone, North Carolina. From my observation living here in America, majority of people here are so concerned with their health and would do and pay anything to have a healthy lifestyle. Organic stores were established to promote healthy food without pesticides, natural laundry detergent, purified drinking water, vitamins and supplements. Gymnasiums were also set up to encourage exercise in the community. Not forgetting, Farmers Markets are also there in summer for fresh fruits, vegetables, even homemade cakes and pies, free from any chemicals. However, does healthy living does not include a personal healthy clean living space?

What about cleanliness in the homes, the place that many call their sanctuary, the place where we eat, sleep, shower and play. We clean our kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, vacuum the house and even change our bed sheets and pillow covers frequently. But by wearing shoes in the house, contaminants from outside will persist no matter how frequent we vacuum our carpets or floors. And do you think by wiping your shoes on the doormat before entering the house, all bacteria stuck to your shoes will vanish and no germs will be track in to the house?

In the hospital, the first thing we are advised to do is to wash our hands or in some cases to wear a mask when visiting a sick patient of a newly born baby. But what about your shoes when u enter the patient's room? Has the management of hospitals ever wondered about that? Your hands are clean when touching the baby or the patient but ever wondered about all the dirt and bacteria on your shoes brought into the patient's room. I am not asking visitors to take off their shoes when entering a hospital, only the rooms of patients and the Intensive Care Unit. I wonder if doctors are wearing shoes dedicated only for indoor usage during surgeries. Hospitals should provide shoe box where visitors can put their shoes at the door before entering the room. Every hospital should provide disposable slippers for visitors and if cost is an issue, then hospitals can charge visitors $0.25 per slipper. Why not add to the health care reform a cleanliness reform as well. Somebody should have a word with the congress about this matter because this is equally as important as any other health issues! Only a unhygienic person would not see the importance of this. I have seen this practice in private clinics and hospitals outside America and it is definitely isn't difficult to practice and is not troublesome to visitors. The patient's health should be a priority, not your discomfort of taking of your shoes.

Some are very uncomfortable without shoes in the house and yet they are comfortable barefoot by the beach. Why not provide in-house slippers or even better disposable slippers for your your family and guests. If we can spend thousands of dollars on cars, beauty care, jewelry, and clothing, what is a few dollars on disposable slippers. Some people might feel uncomfortable displaying their barefoot and socks, and many find it too troublesome to take off their shoes or boots. Should the discomfort and troubles supercede the cleanliness of our home or our friend's home?

This issue is especially important to owners of homes with babies and small children. Children normally play on the floor and i am sure we do not want anything from our shoes to be in their hands or mouth. Sometimes i do insist that a guest to take off his/her shoes before entering my house but when there are too many guests in the house, it can be a hassle and offending to some. So, when my guests leave my house, i will immediately vacuum and mop my whole house. If only every soul in this world practice taking off shoes in the house, our lives would be even healthier. I remember one incident involving some contract workers in my house. i was having a renovation in my house on the bottom floor and we have this beautiful Persian carpet covering almost the whole floor of that area. Some workers had to come in to enter a room on that floor and i was not aware of their presence downstairs. The next thing i saw was my whole Persian carpet covered with mud, from their muddy boots!!! I think it doesn't take a genius to fold the carpet knowing that they will need to walk on the carpet. Well, that only explains one thing. They are unhealthy, unhygienic people and most importantly they have no respect to people's home! I wonder how clean their houses are.