Carrying diseases on your hand bag

A study was performed on women’s purses. A health team went to a local mall and took samples from the bottom of 50 women’s purses. The purses were swabbed along the entire bottom of the purses and placed into special containers. The swabs were then processed at a local laboratory.

The Health Report also showed where women place their purses: public rest-rooms (on the floor beside the toilet), kitchen counters and kitchen tables, on tables and chairs in restaurants, etc. The results of the laboratory tests contained the following most serious result: 1 out of 4 purses – E COLI.{{more}}

Other extremely serious bacteria also were listed, including Hepatitis.

They recommended that women should DAILY wipe their purses (particularly the bottom) with a disinfectant wipe and to be extremely careful where you sit your purse. Most important, do NOT place your purse on a table (anywhere) where you will eat or on a kitchen counter and do not put it anywhere close to a toilet.

Remember, when you flush a toilet, the spray goes a distance that is unrecognizable by the human eye.

WASH YOUR HANDS as often as you can! Keep an antibacterial hand sanitizer cleaner (no water needed) in your purse and use it often! And as soon as you get home from shopping (or wherever you have been and used your purse), immediately wipe it all over with a disinfectant wipe.

This is for men – MEN who do not wash their hands after relieving themselves should be ASHAMED! Not only that, they are seriously affecting your health and their own. It is reported that (over 50% ratio) men use public rest-rooms, relieve themselves, zip up, and immediately leave the rest-room without washing their hands!! Women get on your men and be sure they are washing thoroughly after using the rest-room.

Then they grab the door handle to exit the rest-room. So DAH! All those other folks who did NOT wash their hands have their germs all over the door handle! And there are also many women who do NOT wash their hands after using the rest-room. So, use that paper towel you dried your hands on to open the door and then dispose of it in the closest waste receptacle (women, please do not put it in your purse!).

Here are some things you can do to decrease the likelihood of spreading illness with your pocketbook:

• Clean your purse or tote bag regularly. If your handbag is not the sort of item that can be tossed into the washing machine with any hope of its surviving the process, scrub its outside with a soaped-up wet face cloth or take an anti-bacterial spray or disposable wipe to it. Don’t forget to tend to its handle or strap as well as to its sides.

• Keep in mind that bacteria and viruses latch on far more readily in wet or damp environments than they do in dry – if you set down your carry-all on a damp or wet surface, clean it once you’re home, even if you only just washed it recently.

• Don’t set down your purse on any surface where food will be prepared or eaten. That means keep it off tables and kitchen or break room counters. If you are in the habit of eating at your desk, don’t place your handbag there.

• Remember that your purse comes into contact with most every surface your shoes tread on, and treat your handbag accordingly. If you wouldn’t eat a hot dog after running your hand across the sole of your shoe, don’t eat one after handling your purse. If you wouldn’t place your sandals on the kitchen counter, don’t drop your pocketbook there either.

• All the advice just given about handbags applies to briefcases and backpacks too. Your briefcase should also get a soapy wipe-down on a regular basis, as should your backpack. Both should also be kept off all surfaces where food is likely to be prepared or eaten.

While one might be tempted to regard the caution about bacteria-harboring handbags as being of interest to women only, members of the non-purse-slinging public (i.e., men) should also take it to heart with regard to their briefcases, as should high school and college students of both sexes in relation to their backpacks and book bags.