Germs And Your Health

January 30, 2009
Interview with Allison Janse, author of The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu

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Mike Carruthers:
You don't want to get sick this winter, so you need to know where the germs are lurking. And public restrooms are a good place to start.

Allison Janse:
Most people have a fear of the dreaded toilet seat. 50% of American women won't even sit on one, they squat or hover or make their own paper guard.
 

Allison Janse, co-author of the book The Germ Freak's Guide to Outwitting Colds and Flu

You should really take that paper guard and use it when you're going to turn off the faucet because my co-author studied bathrooms extensively and he found that the hot water faucet has more germs than the toilet seat.

Many of us are afraid to touch the door handle on the way out of the bathroom because of all the people who touch it who don't wash their hands.

Only 16% of Americans wash their hands the right way and in fact when we watched them only 50% of people even stopped and bothered to wash. But, studies have shown that the inside bathroom knob is actually cleaner than the outside. And we think it's because some people like me (being a germ freak) might actually use the paper towel so they're never indeed touching the knob. And then the other 16% at least wash their hands to some degree.

Another scary place where germs like to gather…

Supermarket shopping cart handles. They studied shopping cart handles and found that they've failed more hygiene tests than public bathrooms. You know, you touch that handle and you sample the deli turkey, you're just bringing the germ right in your mouth.

To hear the complete unedited interview, click here.