There are very few things in life that give a person more pleasure than a shower.When you’re hot and sweaty, a lukewarm shower followed by a cold spray does wonders to rejuvenate your spirits. When you’ve had a rough day, there’s nothing like a hot shower spraying your face and relaxing your sore muscles. And those massage showers ... aaaaahhhhh.
But did you know that taking a shower might be one of the dirtiest things you can do? I didn't know that.
University of Colorado at Boulder researchers have found that nearly a third of all shower heads in nine cities (including New York, Chicago and Denver) have significant levels of Mycobacterium avium. And if that sounds bad, it is. The bacterium is linked to pulmonary disease.
Apparently, M. avium gathers in a slime full of other bad germs that congregate inside shower heads in concentrations that are more than 100 times what’s found in the water that comes through the pipes from municipal sources.
Symptoms of M. avium pulmonary infection include weakness, shortness of breath, and a persistent dry cough.
What can you do about it? Well the first thing is not to flood your face with shower water when you first turn it on. It probably has its highest load of the wicked M. avium pathogen. Don’t swallow shower water (although you can still breathe in the germs from the water mist). Replace your plastic shower head with a metal one.
Do you have vinyl shower curtains? Get rid of 'em. The researchers found massive colonies of the pathogen in the soap scum that accumulates on these types of curtains. And make sure you sanitize your indoor pools often; they are ideal breeding grounds for the bacteria.
It almost makes a person want to switch from showers to baths. I wish I didn’t hear about this stuff.
2 comments:
Oy! It's good to know, but now I won't look at a shower the same way.
I will never feel the same about a shower again! Still. . . what is one to do? The alternative isn't very exciting, but is quite offensive.
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