![]() ![]() "You need to lather that soap and scrub for at least 20 seconds. "After you use the bathroom, wash your hands with soap and water-and do it correctly! A dab of soap and a quick rinse under the tap is not called hand washing," she said. Erica Shenoy, assistant physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, told N ewsweek. "You won't find this in any medical textbook, but I can safely say: don't use your phone in the loo," Dr. This mirrored the findings of a 2011 study by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which showed one in six cellphones are contaminated with faecal matter. Gerba's 2012 study showed that cellphones carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats. While we might be inclined to disinfect kitchen worktops, most people simply forget to clean their smartphones. Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesĮvery time you put your phone to your ear, you could be rubbing fecal bacteria against your face, according to several studies carried out on the devices. Research shows that the average smartphone is dirtier than a toilet seat. The new iPhone X is displayed during an Apple special event at the Steve Jobs Theatre on the Apple Park campus on Septemin Cupertino, California. That, it turns out, is a lot lower than the following items. "Why? Because people are afraid of butt borne diseases-so they nuke the toilet with disinfectants."Ī 2012 paper by Gerba showed that the average toilet seat has 50 different types of bacteria per square inch. Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona who is an authority on microbes, told Newsweek. "The cleanest item germ wise we find in homes, offices and schools is the top of a toilet seat," Dr. In fact, research shows many everyday items are dirtier than the average toilet seat. Rubber duckies are far from the first household items scientists have found to be riddled with potentially harmful microbes. Children who squirt water from their toys: "could strengthen the immune system, which would be positive, but it can also result in eye, ear, or even gastrointestinal infections." Frederik Hammes of Eawagm, who supervised the study's lead author and microbiologist Lisa Neu, suggested in a statement that keeping a squishy toy in the bath is a double-edged sword. That includes Legionella, which can cause bacterial pneumonia, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, which can lead to chest infections in those with weakened immune systems.ĭr. Potentially harmful bacteria was found in 80 percent of all the toys studied. ![]() Timm Schamberger/Getty ImagesĬutting open the toys, researchers found fungal species in almost 60 percent of the real bath toys and in all the dirty-water control toys. Rubber ducks kept in bathrooms have been found to be riddled with bacteria. Plastic bath ducks are pictured at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair on Januin Nuremberg, Germany. During an 11-week period, some toys were brought into contact with clean water, while others were exposed to dirty bath water containing soap, human body fluids and bacteria. To make their findings published in the journal Nature, the scientists assessed the growth of biofilms in real-world bath toys, as well as toys kept in lab conditions which simulated a household bathroom. ![]() If not kept dry or cleaned, the insides of flexible bath toys can become filled with dense growths of bacteria and fungi, warned the study's authors at The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology (Eawag), the Swiss university ETH Zurich and the University of Illinois. That's why unsightly mold patches can invade your shower curtain and bathroom walls if the room isn't properly ventilated. Thanks to its warm, humid environment, the average bathroom is the ideal home for bacterial and fungal biofilms-a group of microorganisms which stick to each other and often also to a surface. The rubber ducky perched at the end of your tub might look like a friendly bath time companion, but it is in fact teeming with potentially harmful bacteria and fungi according to new research. ![]()
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