Are you attached to your cellphone, FNites? Filipinos use their mobile phones regularly and perhaps for extended periods every day, what with the country being considered the text capital of the world.
Cellphone users should be more alert when it comes to maintaining their hygiene, however, as the results of a study conducted by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London, show that one in six cellphones contain E. coli. This type of bacteria is found in fecal matter, which implies that people don't wash their hands with soap after using the restroom. E. coli can cause stomachaches and affect the intestines.
The researchers went to 12 cities in the UK and examined 390 mobile phone and hand samples for bacteria. They discovered that while 95 percent of the people they tested claimed they often washed their hands with soap, an alarming 92 percent of phones and 82 percent of hands had bacteria, and 16 percent of each contained E. coli. Those who had bacteria on their hands had a 75 percent increased chance of having them on their phones too.
According to the Department of Health (DOH), ABS-CBNNews.com reports, cellphones typically have germs because bacteria thrive in warm environments--such as your cellphone, which heats up when you use it often or for extended periods. The DOH suggests washing your hands properly with soap for 20 seconds after using the bathroom as the best way to combat bacteria.
Need more hygiene tips? Check this out on FN:
(Photo by mortimer? via Flickr Creative Commons)
