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It seems whenever I am around unfamiliar people especially when I know I will have to interact with them, my palms will sweat. Of course, as it is customary in the American and Western cultures, we shake hands when we introduce ourselves to people. My problem with this is two-fold. First, as you can guess, I feel uncomfortable shaking other people's hands when I have sweaty palms. Second, I generally don't like to shake others hands for different reasons. One, that person could be carrying a virus. Also, I don't know where their hands have been. Many of times I have seen others go to the bathroom without washing afterwards. Am I being paranoid? I have no symptoms of OCD. Other cultures, such as the Chinese (I've lived in Shanghai for over a year so I have first-hand knowledge) do not shake hands for the same reasons I've listed (minus the sweaty palms). If I say to someone, especially in formal situations, that I do not like to shake hands, many people would take offense to that and it could actually damage my reputation such as in the workplace. So, I go on shaking hands even though I really would prefer not to. What I am asking is, is there anyone here that shares my same feelings? Also, does anyone have any suggestions of what to say to someone in a way that won't piss them off that I would rather not shake their hand?
