Are you mysophobe? or  as others may call it, germophobia?  Does the prospect of touching dirty things freak you out?

Well, you’re out of luck! This world is full of it.  Whenever you are out in public areas you are practically like taking a bath in a rich mixture of bacteria and viruses.  Exposure to these germs are inevitable!

I travel a lot and I know that doing so is akin to taking a bath in a pool of these undesirable elements. I already set my mind that leaving my house is an excursion to meet millions of germs. This microbiological meetup is inevitable and resistance is futile so just relax and enjoy the fact that some of these common objects that we touch are the most common place we get these microbes from.

Folks, here are the most common things that we come in contact with that introduces us to these health hazards:

1. Airplane bathrooms

The number one spot goes to airplane bathrooms. After takeoff, airplane bathrooms becomes a bacterial and viral colony on air. The setup of toilet bowl and sink in close proximity, creates a perfect arrangement for cross contamination. Those small sink and the heavy splashing of water from the faucet creates a moist environment within its periphery, and where there’s moisture there are flourishing germs just waiting to give you any type of infection possible. It is, however, settling that there was a really a very slim chance of you getting sick from licking the airplane toilet seat (no available data) than by getting hit by a falling coconut which reportedly claims the life of people worldwide at a rate of 150/year.

2. Jeep, Bus at LRT

Some public transport systems are really clean but some are just plain filthy. However, beyond what we see, there is always a community of germs living in that environment. This is due to the simple fact that thousands and or millions of mortals touches their nasty selves on public transport surfaces every day. Handles are the dirtiest, but in some cases the seats are also thriving with fecal bacteria. The bacteria also lives in gas pumps, stick shift knobs and parking meters which are statistically far worse than on public transport, since these surfaces rarely if ever get washed.

3. Computer keyboards

While reading this article I am sure that you used some sort of a keyboard (computer, phone), right? Did you know that typing on that keyboard is practically touching a toilet seat (microbiologically speaking). Items on the average shared desk can have up to 400 times more bacteria than a recently flushed toilet, the keyboard and telephone being the worst. The reason for this is that keyboards doesn’t get washed. Now consider that the flu virus can survive for two or three days on computer keyboards, germs live on our hands for two to 24 hours and we touch our hands to our faces – the germ super highway to our guts – once every three minutes.

4. MONEY

Have you heard that song “Dirty Money” by P. Diddy? . Well, it’s practically true. There’s even a study which states that 90% of currency bills in America is laced with cocaine and other nasty things like staphylococcus bacteria and fecal matter. A test by the Health Commissioner of New York found 135,000 bacteria on one especially nasty bill. ATM machine are also covered in troubling quantities of infectious organisms. However,  bills are dry, which is not a great environment for bacteria to propagate. So, while bills are popularly cited as being dirty, it is not as bad as legend has it. Unless you count a damp wad of money immediately before a traditional “kamayan” meal. Then you’re in big trouble kumpadre.

5. people

How do you think all those filthy surfaces became filthy in the first place? From a whole bunch of disgusting people touching them, that’s how. A recent study done at Grand Central and Penn stations in New York City revealed that only 49 percent of people washed their hands after using the bathroom. Seriously, people are the worst.

If you think I would advise you to douse yourself and anybody you meet with antibacterial solution, you are wrong, you are wrong. 

A recent study suggests that triclosan, an ingredient used in many antibacterial products, may actually make germs more resistant over time. And if there’s one thing I dislike more than germs, it’s super mega-germs that kill everything but the cockroaches in only a few months. Yes, this is what we call “superbugs”. These are antibiotics resistant strains of microorganisms like MRSA and VRE which can kill anybody in a jiffy.

So, don’t go crazy with those hand sanitizers, unless you are in contact with a severely sick person,just stick to normal soap and water hygiene routine, meaning washing your hands regularly before eating and after using the toilet.

Make sure you keep these tips in mind while you are out there because if you meet these GERMS, I am sure you will meet your doctor, and worse, you might also meet your maker.

Incoming search terms:

• common microbes on apples
• computer keyboards and germs
• guts germs and meals
• most common bacteria or germs
• most common place for germs
• most common places for germs
• most common things touched with germs
• where is the most common place germs live