Mobile phones, computer keyboards carry more germs than toilet seats! Did you
know that your Cell Phone has more germs than a shoe or even a toilet
bowl?  Modern life - from the pocket to the office - is an assault course of germs and viruses thanks to greasy touch screens and dirty keyboards. The average smartphone has around 25,000 bacteria per square inch and, while not all bacteria are harmful, the way many use their mobiles means they often end up covered in the bad kind. People, particularly children, can't go anywhere without having the smartphone in their hand. I've actually seen people using them as they're walking into the toilet cubicle and still using them on the way out," says Dr Lisa Ackerley, managing director of Hygiene Audit Systems. "Anything that the hand gets contaminated with will get transferred onto the phone." The average handset carries 18 times more potentially harmful germs than a flush handle in a men's toilet, tests have revealed. Mobile phones are actually filthier than toilet seats because they are never cleaned even after being handled by different people, thus swarming with germs, say researchers. Tests showed that up to 10 times the amount of pathogens which cause nausea and stomach upsets were present on a mobile phone than a toilet seat. Charles Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, said during his ongoing experiments he has found that bugs get onto a phone because it is so close to our hands and mouths.  When somebody lets a friend or a stranger use their mobile their bacteria easily gets onto the device too. Gerba added that because mobiles are electronic some people are reticent about cleaning. Since they are just not part of our cleaning routine. But they should be wiped with an antibacterial substance every now and then. Previous research has found that other things we assume are clean are in reality rather disgusting, the Daily Mail reports. British scientists discovered that cash machines have similar levels of pseudomonads and bacillus, bacteria which are known to cause sickness and diarrhoea, as they found in public toilets. Computer keyboards are also five times dirtier than the average lavatory seat.  Studies have shown that the average smartphone is covered with more bacteria than toilet seats, kitchen counters, the bottom of shoes and pet's food dishes, among other things. Their warm batteries make the perfect breeding ground for pathogens and viruses and the American Academy of Family Physicians says people are just as likely to get sick from mobiles as from doorknobs in public bathrooms. "Flus, coughs and colds - those can be carried on phones then transferred back to hands. Rub your eyes and you've got a cold," says Dr Ackerley. During a flu epidemic in the US at the beginning of the year, the chief medical officer at US telecoms giant AT&T issued a statement urging people to disinfect their cell phones regularly, use hands-free headsets where possible and not to use their phones in toilets. Because of the proximity of phones to your ears, nose and mouth, germs are easily transferred from phone to body - just a short hop away from battering your immune system. It all boils down to personal hygiene - if your hands are clean then your phone will be clean. While there are products for cleaning grease and smudges on touch screens, few disinfect them at the same time. What's more, most phones have a protective coating to guard against oils and other contaminants, and manufacturers warn against using traditional cleaning products on your mobiles in case they damage this coating.  But when it comes to getting sick a bigger risk is the office. We're likely to share things like keyboards, phones and doorknobs, making the transfer of viruses and bacteria a greater danger. "We carry germs with us," explains Professor Sally Bloomfield of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. "Whatever we do, we are spreading them. "The one that spreads most easily is the winter vomiting virus. It survives on surfaces well and takes very few virus particles to make us sick. If someone has got it, it can go around an office in hours." "The phones contained more skin bacteria than the any other object; this could be due to the fact that this type of bacteria increases in high temperatures and our phones are perfect for breeding these germs as they're kept warm and cozy in our pockets, handbags and brief cases. These bacteria are toxic to humans, and can cause infections if they have the opportunity to enter the body." - Joanne Verran, Professor of Microbiology at Manchester Metropolitan University  They say, keep
in touch with your buddies.. But Cellphones are always in touch with us as
pocket buddies. The average desk is around 400 times dirtier than a toilet seat, according to London company Master Cleaners, and the area where you rest your hands contains around 10,000 bacteria. "Make sure these surfaces are regularly cleaned," advises Professor Bloomfield. "It's not always under your control, but certainly your own mobile phone and keyboard are."
| ||||||||
TM