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A recent study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology says that viruses can be easily transferred from glass surfaces (iPhones, iPads, etc.) right to your fingers. Think of it as thousands of germs lingering and living on your touch-screen electronics.
In separate study conducted by a hygiene expert at Britain's Which? magazine, they found that the average mobile phone handset carries 18 times more potentially harmful germs than a toilet handle in a men's bathroom.
Grab the Purell folks because earlier this year, the New York Daily News did some research of their own. After swabbing four iPads in two Apple stores, two contained harmful pathogens. One contained Staphylococcus aureus, the most common cause of staph infections, while another registered Corynebacterium minutissimum, a bacteria associated with skin rash.
If your skin isn’t crawling yet, think of the scores of people who will be visiting Apple stores this holiday season to play with the company's latest gadgets.
According to Professor Peter Collignon, the director of infectious diseases and microbiology at the Australian National University, the germs we transmit via our hands can frequently have germs that can cause anything from the flu to multi-drug resistant diseases.
"You wouldn't have hundreds of people using the same glass or cup, but theoretically if hundreds of people share the same keyboard or touch pad, then effectively that's what you're doing," said Collignon.
Timothy Julian of Stanford University told the Sacramento Bee, "if you're sharing the device, then you're sharing your influenza with someone else who touches it." Julian co-author the study published in the Journal of Applied Microbiology.
Experts agree that hand sanitizers with a 70 percent alcohol solution would do the trick. Also, Collignon said, "if you want to protect others then preferably don't share but if you do make sure your hands are clean before you touch it and afterwards."
Collignon added that in modern ages people tended to think of new gadgets as being exempt from the basic rules that our mothers and grandmothers taught us.
According to Dr. Jennifer Ashton, CBS Health Correspondent, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself. Ashton recommended the following during a recent segment of the Early Show:
Use Special Cleaners: To clean your product, you can wipe them down with special wipes you can buy at an electronics store. Electronic stores also carry cleaners you can purchase if you're concerned about damage. Ashton also recommended wiping down your regular phones and work areas with sanitizing wipes.
Basic Hand Washing: Wash your hands with soap and water. Wash them for at least 15 seconds or as long as it takes to sing "Happy Birthday." You can also use a hand sanitizer as well.
Also Ashton said to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth -- and don't forget to cover your cough and sneezes. Ashton added that parents with children should clean their electronics as often as possible.
Sources:
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/10/18/earlyshow/living/parenting/main6968667.shtml
http://www.microbeworld.org/index.php?option=com_jlibrary&view=article&id=5083
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/tablets/apple-stores-teeming-with-germs-20101015-16n33.html
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