A lecturer in microbiology warns of the need to clean her mobile phone regularly.
Many of us come with our smartphones even in the toilet (46% of French people according to a study conducted for AXA Prevention in 2019).
According to microbiologist Primrose Freestone from the University of Leicester in England, it would be more important to “think more about mobile phone hygiene” than scrolling through the content of our favorite social networks.
“Many types of bacteria”
For The Conversation, she recalls:
Several studies conducted on the microbiological colonization of mobile phones show that they can be contaminated by many types of potentially pathogenic bacteria.
A few examples among the 7,000 different bacteria that we have been able to find on screens? The rather well-known E. Coli, which comes from excrement. But also Staphylococcus aureuswhich infects the skin, actinomycetes causing diphtheria and tuberculosis, or even Citrobacterwhich can lead to urinary tract infections
It is therefore recommended to clean your phone regularly with a disinfectant, spray or wipe.
The risks of hemorrhoids
As if bacteria weren’t enough, Sarah Jarvis, GP and Clinical Director of patient.infopoints to an increased risk of having hemorrhoids.
She explains that “prolonged sitting on the toilet” increases the pressure on the veins of the anus in the lower rectum. The duration is the main cause of their potential appearance, and not the fact of scrolling on your phone, if it is useful to remember.
One last recommendation
While it is recommended to disinfect your device once a day, here is what to do to prevent the phone from becoming a breeding ground for bacteria: do not share it with others if you are sick and contagious and if you have not disinfected it beforehand.
And if children are going to play with it, disinfect it as soon as possible afterwards.