3 bathroom items you shouldn't share with others



If you forget your towel or toothbrush while traveling, you may be tempted to borrow someone else's. However, common bathroom items can harbor pathogens, and reusing them can introduce viruses and bacteria into your body.

Thea van de Mortel , a professor of nursing at Griffith University , explains '3 bathroom items you should never share with others.'

3 bathroom items you shouldn't really share, according to an expert
https://theconversation.com/3-bathroom-items-you-shouldnt-really-share-according-to-an-expert-264109



Many disease-causing bacteria, viruses, and fungi can survive for long periods of time on bathroom fabrics, plastic, and metal surfaces, potentially causing infections for days, months, or even years. Van de Mortel recommends avoiding shared bathroom items:

◆Towel
In 2007, a case of antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection spread among a group of high school football players in the United States. In this case, players who shared towels with other players were reported to be eight times more likely to become infected with antibiotic-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. In this case, the risk was thought to have increased when bacteria were transferred to the towels through cuts and abrasions caused by contact during exercise.

Another study followed 150 households with one child infected with staph for 12 months and found that sharing towels significantly increased the risk of staph infection. While showering may seem like a good idea, washing with soap and water reduces the number of microbes on the skin, it doesn't completely eliminate them. The warm, moist conditions of the average bathroom promote microbial growth. Even if you don't develop an infection, the colonization of pathogens on your skin can be problematic because it exposes you to antibiotic-resistant species, increasing your risk of developing an antibiotic-resistant infection later. Treating antibiotic-resistant infections is time-consuming and expensive, van de Mortel points out.




◆Toothbrush
Microorganisms can survive on hard objects such as toothbrushes, and sharing them can be dangerous because they can cause bleeding gums and transmit blood-borne viruses such as hepatitis C.

Pathogens that can be spread through saliva include herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), which causes cold sores, and Epstein-Barr virus, which causes glandular fever.

Even people who show no signs of HSV-1 infection can shed the virus and cause infection, which can remain viable on plastic objects for 2 to 6 days .

◆ Razor
It's difficult to completely avoid cuts when using a razor, so sharing razors poses a risk of transmitting blood-borne viruses. Other personal hygiene products can also spread the human papillomavirus, which causes warts. That's why dermatologists recommend everyone have their own items.

The following people are at particular risk of infection:
Babies whose immune systems are not yet fully developed
- Elderly people whose immune function declines with age
- People taking immunosuppressants such as anti-cancer drugs, oral corticosteroids, or drugs taken after organ transplants
- People with type 2 diabetes (because elevated blood sugar levels impair the function of immune cells and related molecules)

The risk of infection is low if you only share a towel, toothbrush, or razor once, but if you share these items with family members or a partner you live with, you are putting yourself at risk on a regular basis.



'It's best to avoid the habit of sharing other people's used bathroom products,' advised van de Mortel.

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in Science, Posted by darkhorse_logmk