Originally Posted by lg10
Obviously, this is an issue on which people disagree. If it were really such a terrible practice, there could be a rule against it. Saying your opinion in extreme terms does not make it more true. Again, the "germ" argument is just not tenable when compared to the real germ risks on an airplane (air, unwashed adult hands, seatbelts handled by countless folks w/o washing, etc.)
Most parents know that diaper changes simply do not generate huge germ
risks. As I said before, give me baby-tush germs over adult-hand germs
anyday.
--LG
And repeating your opinion on germs doesn't make that true, either. I took the time to do a little research, and easily found quite a few illnesses that could be spread by diaper changing at the seat, especially by those who do it on the fold down tray.
Go to
www.cdc.gov and look up hepatitis A, Hand, Foot and Mouth disease, shigella and giardia to start with - all can be spread by touching a surface contaminated with stool - i.e. where a diaper was changed - and all can be carried by infants. Which means not only are the passengers around the diaper change area at risk, those who sit there later can be affected, and FA's who handle things that have been on those contaminated surfaces can be affected. As there is no way to backtrack to tell exactly where someone contacted an infection when they later become sick, it is impossible to calculate the risk of changing a diaper at the seat, but it is a risk I'd rather not take.