The toothbrush is one of those almost sterile, very intimate, extremely clean and personal devices that keeps hygiene alive and kicking and breaths fresh like cold and exhilarating mint. Or at least we thought so, as a recent study reveals that a thin layer of feces covers toothbrushes in shared bathrooms.
Bathrooms are usually shared, either with boyfriend, sisters, brothers, rent mates or visitors so there’s a heavy chance you swallow a decent quantity of microbes every time you think you’re getting a little bit cleaner and fresher.
Researchers at an American Society for Microbiology meeting that happened last Tuesday presented a new paper showing that more than 60% of toothbrushes analyzed in communal bathrooms in a Connecticut University tested positive for fecal coliform bacteria.
That means that almost every time we flush after number two, a considerable amount of bacteria flies into thin air and lands on our toothbrushes, making hygiene dirty and our insights exposed to contamination with poop.
Previous research also claimed toothbrushes could harbor a variety of deadly bacteria, including staphylococcus aureus, causing MRSA, as well as a numerous array of dreadful microbes, such as the herpes virus. So, the reality is always cruel and nasty and that being said, anytime someone else uses your toilet, they could be covering your brush with their unspeakable emissions.
Researchers say that your own feces are ok to swallow, supposedly, but the problem is other people’s fecal matter that enthusiastically takes shelter inside the thins spores of your tooth device every time they proceed with number two in your own and personal bathroom, to only flush afterwards and let microbes fly away and make their way into your mouth, stomach and guts. As obnoxious as that sounds, sometimes gross realities must be faced and acted upon before you pay the price of the nasty consequences.
However, tiny fecal coliforms are only human and part of the everyday life. Those little gruesome pieces of bacteria can be found in natural waterways and surprisingly, even on your skin. If they belong to you, there’s no problem with that, you can face your own pestilential substances, but when foreign enemies come into action, health and hygiene problems appear.
And toothbrushes are the perfect home for those kind of microbes, as they provide a moist, soft and homey, protected environment for bacteria to grow. What is there to be done?
Thoroughly rinse those little ones with tap water after brushing, as it helps removing toothpaste and debris and don’t cover or store them in closed containers. Most of all, replace toothbrushes every three or four months.
he study found that mouthwash, hot water and cold water were all ineffective at thwarting the fecal menace. Toothbrush covers, it says, are even worse for your brush because they create a moist, protected environment for bacteria to grow.
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