BOWL TACTICS
What Can You Catch
From Restrooms?
By Joshua Levine
Askmen.com Health Correspondent
 You
don't have to be a germaphobe to fear the restrooms at the baseball
stadium, local McDonald's or shopping center. The common cold, E. coli
and hepatitis A all lie in public toilets and sinks, waiting to pounce
on you. Despite many scientific studies stating that these and many
other bacteria are ever-present in washrooms, is there any real chance
of you catching something serious?
Let's face it; the majority of
people who read this article do not wash their hands when they stop for
a bathroom break at the office. It's a sad fact, but the wife was
right; we are dirty slobs. We use the urinal and, with other things on
our mind, we splash some water on our hands, wipe them on our Dockers
and head out.
In that two-minute trip to urinate, not only
did
we leave tons of germs on every surface we touched, a lot of germs
attached themselves to us. What follows are some tips on how to
maintain good hygiene in public washrooms as well as the straightening
out of some tall toilet tales.
What Can You Catch?
The
facts can appear grim. From a common cold to stomach flu viruses, bad
things lurk on sink surfaces, hand dryers and toilet seats. Without
proper care, you're at risk of being bedridden for weeks with a
multitude of diseases like the nasty-sounding streptococcus (a form of
strep throat and meningitis), E.coli, hepatitis A, and staphylococcus
(the virus behind food poisoning and a form of pneumonia).
It is
highly possible that that strange cold you caught in the middle of the
summer was transmitted to you through a public washroom. Despite these
true risks that exist everywhere you go to drain your main vein, not
many people are willing to pull a Howard Hughes and disappear from
society.
Your First Line of Defense
There
are many simple things that protect you from airborne and surface
bacteria, the most powerful being your own immune system. People in
decent to excellent health can afford to be reckless more often than
the very young or the elderly.
While it is obviously unsanitary
to not wash your hands after touching dirty surfaces, more often than
not, you will come away unscathed. Your body is tough enough. Yet, when
your system is already down from allergies or a cold, any introduction
of pesky bacteria can extend your sick leave from days to weeks.
source: netscape.com
|
