Health

Something for shower lovers!
by Barbora Misakova

There is some bad news for those of you, who love taking shower more than once a day and generally for all of you who are not afraid of personal hygiene. Researchers from University of Colorado had nothing better to do, so they decided to test showers (particularly showerheads) in five states what was a part of a larger microbiology study. They tested 45 showers and found out something what will make some more wrinkles on our faces: bacteria! When I was a kid, hygiene was the most important thing. Washing hands, brushing teeth and regular bath taking was just a rule. In a short time we somehow realized, that taking a bath lasts longer than taking a shower, so the old good b! athtub had to go and shower just replaced it. Until now I have no idea, that it can be also a bit risky. Bacteria founded in the showerheads are Mycobacterium avium. According to researchers it does no harm to people with normal immune system, but it can be quite dangerous for everyone with cystic fibrosis or AIDS, also for people undergoing cancer treatment and for those who have had a recent organ transplant. These tiny bacteria harbored in the showerhead are easily sprayed into the face while we wash and as they are blast into aerosol form we can easily inhale them. When your immune system is weak the infection can outbreak very quickly. When you feel tiredness, have a persistent and dry cough, you are feeling week and bad in general, these can be the symptoms of infection. So what should we do? First of all, avoiding the shower is not a solution. Specialists suggest getting all-metal showerhead, cleaning them regularly and replacing the filter weekly. Maybe it will be a! little bit annoying, but it is better than spraying this Myco! bacteriu m avium into the face, don’t you think?

related story (sgx15372): http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090914/ap_on_sc/us_sci_germs_in...

by Barbora Misakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

PocketNews is a new real-time news broadcaster delivering the latest and hottest news right to your pocket ! With global clients who want to be kept up to date, PocketNews is everyone's way of keeping in touch with the World.

posted by Blog TechSource @ 3:40 PM