Purse Hygiene

One of my colleagues Alana Sullivan sent me this information on how women can help avoid infections. As a male I would have not have considered this situation on how a purse could spread infections.

Women often place their purses on public restroom floors and then go directly to their dining tables. It's not always the ''restaurant food' that causes stomach distress.

Mothers may tell their daughters that purses are really dirty, because of where they have been. M om is right.

Yet just about every woman carries a purse with them. Purses travel everywhere from the office and public restrooms to the floors of planes, trains and everywhere in between.

Women may know what's inside their purses, but not on the outside.

Utah reporter Shauna Lake tested purses for bacteria with surprising results, which may make women consider where they place their purses.

Shauna decided to find out if purses harbor a lot of bacteria and tested the average woman's purse at a local lab.

Most women admitted they didn't stop to think about what was on the bottom of their purse.

Most women said they usually set their purses on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.

When checked nearly all of the purses tested were high in bacteria, including harmful kinds of bacteria.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections; staphylococcus aurous can cause serious skin infections, while salmonella and E.coli found could make people very sick with vomiting and diarrhea.

In one group, purses tested positive for salmonella, and testers also confirmed faecal contamination on the purses.. Leather or vinyl purses tended to be cleaner than cloth purses, and lifestyle seemed to play a role.

People with kids tended to have dirtier purses than those without, with one exception.

The purse of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all including faeces and vomit, which would be presumably from the bathroom floor.

A purse won't kill you, but it does have the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you eat.

Use hooks to hang your bag at home and in restrooms, and don't put it on your desk, a restaurant table, or a kitchen countertop.

Women are recommended to treat their purse the same way they would a pair of shoes. As you wouldn't put your shoes where food is being prepared especially if you had walked through an area where people could have spat, coughed, urinated, or emptied bowels on, think of your purse as well.

Cleaning purses help of course.

Wash cloth purses and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather purses.

Shauna Lake's full report is available at:

http://kutv.com/archive/local_story_141232102.html

All of this applies equally to men and children's bags as well whether it be a briefcase, backpack or gym bag that we all carry a "purse" and need to remember where it has been.