Beards found to be dirtier than a toilet seat

[Pedro-NF]

Beards found to be dirtier than a toilet seat

Watch out bearded men, your facial hair might be dirtier than you think. Microbiologists in Albuquerque, N.M. recently found that men's facial hair can contain as much bacteria as your average toilet seat, according to Action 7 News. John Golobic, a microbiologist with Quest Diagnostics, swabbed a group of bearded men and analyzed the results to see how dirty the beards were. Golobic said that some of the men's facial hair contained bacteria that you would commonly find in a toilet.
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But beards aren't the only thing found to be as dirty as a public restroom. Here's other items found to be dirtier than a toilet seat.

ATMs: as dirty as a toilet seat.
Cutting Boards: up to 200 times more bacteria.
Elevator Buttons: 40 times more bacteria.
Faucets: 21 times more bacteria.
Laundry: 100 times more E. Coli bacteria.
Money: 6.4 times more bacteria.
Smartphones: 10 times more bacteria.
Sponges: 456 times more bacteria.
Toothbrushes: absorbs all sorts of nasty bacteria looming in your bathroom.

[blaskattacks]

BEARDS NOT THAT DIRTY


"The irrational germophobia story of the week is that beards harbor “dangerous germs.” This story hits almost all the sweet spots of the genre: It has no actual data, no controls, nonsensical interpretation of results (such as they are), and a punch line that can be summed up in 140 characters or fewer. The only missing ingredient is that this study was conducted by a TV news station instead of the usual: a company that produces cleaning products."


The Gaurdian discusses the topic of poo beards

"I could only find a couple in a short amount of time, but there was one study in the journal Anaesthesia which looked at whether facial hair had any effect on the ability of surgical face masks to prevent transmission of bacteria.

The study found that bearded men shed more bacteria than clean-shaven men. The study did have a relatively small sample size though, with only 10 people in each category.

Another study in the Journal of Hospital Infection examined how facial hair affects the prevalence of potential pathogens such as Staphylococcus aureus (golden staph).

It found that having a beard actually reduced the likelihood of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and S. aureus being present on the skin. It also found that hospital workers with beards shed more bacteria than those without beards, supporting the earlier study mentioned.

However, the unbearded workers still shed enough bacteria to emphasise the importance of everyone wearing face coverings for sterile procedures, regardless of your facial hair situation.

So in summary: there is more crap in these stories about poo in beards than there is in beards. So chaps, you can all relax."