11 Ways to Protect Yourself from Bacteria

Not subscribed yet? Never been a better time. Follow this link and your in! Thanks for visiting!

Public Laundry facilities: These places can be teeming with germs, but even home machines can have their share. A pair of underwear has about 0.1 gram of fecal material, amounting to about 100 million E. coli bacteria in an average load. Microbiologist Charles Gerba recommends washing undergarments in very hot water and drying them for a full 45 minutes to kill more bacteria.
Escalators, Elevators, & Railings: Riders can leave nasty stuff behind on rubber handrails as they grip onto them for safety. A 2003 study by the New York Daily News found significant amounts of bacteria living on rubber surfaces in the city’s subway system. The same can be true for elevator buttons. Experts recommend using your elbow or knuckle instead of your fingertip to select your floor. Stair railings may be crawling with anything from germs, viruses, and bacteria.
Computer Keyboards: Have you ever shaken a keyboard upside-down and been repulsed by the pieces of food, dust and other gunk that fly out? Cleaning crews often avoid computer equipment to not risk damaging them, so those areas may be teeming with bacteria. Gerba recommends using an alcohol-based sanitizer for the job.
Fax and copy machines: The “enter” and “send” buttons on fax machines carry the highest concentrations of harmful germs than lesser used keys, according to Gerba’s research. That’s also the case for the “copy” button on copy machines and the handles of restroom doors.
Home offices often have even higher levels of contamination because working at home can come with bad habits, such as placing your feet on your desk.
Office Cubicles: According to Environmental Health Services in St. Paul, Minn. the average work desk has 21,000 germs per square inch. Even for workers who keep their areas clean, bacteria from a neighbor’s uneaten food or sweaty workout clothes can crawl over the cubicle wall.
Gas station pump handles and keypads: Not just grease can coat pump handles and keyboards – studies have shown they can be ripe with bacteria. Germ gurus recommend keeping a small bottle of alcohol-based hand sanitizer to clean up after you gas up.
Wallets and purses: Studies have shown that paper currency can carry germs, viruses and even small amounts of illegal drugs. Men’s wallets can be a breeding ground for bacteria since they tend to carry them in their pocket, which keeps them close to body temperature. Purses can pick up bacteria when they’re placed on the floor.
Shopping carts: Shopping carts can be covered with microbes and pathogens that can transfer to your hands and the food you choose. A 2007 study at the University of Arizona study found that the handles of nearly two-thirds of shopping carts were contaminated with fecal bacteria. The fact that children often sit in the seat of larger carts adds to the problem. “That’s putting a kid’s butt where you put your broccoli,” Gerba told ABC News.
Restaurant menus: Menus that aren’t properly washed would make patrons run the other way if they knew what was really on them. Experts recommend never letting a menu touch your plate or silverware.
Shower curtain: A study in Applied and Environmental Microbiology found that vinyl shower curtains are festering with bacteria and can breed pathogens such as infection-causing Sphingomonas and Methylobacteriuri.

Don’t know what to do? With the multitude of germs floating around us we recommend taking immune stimulator to keep you strong and healthy.

(Sources. AP, ABC News, Environmental Health Services, Highlight Health, howtocleanstuff.net, Men’s Health)

If You Enjoyed This Article You May Also Like...

• 150 people can be infected by ONE sneeze, PREPARE!
• Why the right food combinations are so important.
• Strong bacteria and weak immune system
• Memorial day, bare feet, phew!
• MRSA: How the FDA is Dealing With It