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Thread: Handbags

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    England
    Posts
    168

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    Somebody just sent me this email:





    HANDBAGS...

    >I never gave it a thought. Who would have thought?

    >Have you ever noticed gals who sit their handbags on public toilet
    >floors - then go directly to their dining tables and set it on the
    table?

    >Happens a lot!

    >It's not always the 'restaurant food' that causes stomach distress.
    >Sometimes "what you don't know 'will' hurt you"
    >Read on..
    >
    >Mum got so upset when guests came in the door and plopped their
    >handbags down on the counter where she was cooking or setting up food.
    >She always said that handbags are really dirty, because of where they
    >have been. Smart Mum!!!

    >It's something just about every woman carries with them. While we may
    >know what's inside our handbags, do you have any idea what's on the
    >Outside? Shauna Lake put handbags to the test - for bacteria - with
    >Surprising results. You may think twice about where you put your
    Handbag.

    >Women carry handbags everywhere; from the office to public toilets to
    >the floor of the car. Most women won't be caught without their
    handbags,
    >but did you ever stop to think about where your handbag goes during
    the
    day?
    >"I drive a school bus, so my handbag has been on the floor of the bus
    Alot,
    >" says one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in toilets."
    >"I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, on the floor of the
    toilet
    >while
    >changing a nappy," says another woman "and of course in my home which
    >should be clean."
    >We decided to find out if handbags harbor a lot of bacteria. We
    learned
    how
    >to test them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, and then we set out
    to
    >test
    the average woman's handbag.
    >Most women told us they didn't stop to think about what was on the
    bottom
    >of their handbag. Most said at home they usually set their handbags on
    top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.
    >Most of the ladies we talked to told us they wouldn't be surprised if
    their handbags were at least a little bit dirty. It turns out handbags are
    so surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who tested them was
    shocked.

    >Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the
    handbags tested were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful kinds of
    >bacteria.
    >
    >Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause
    >serious skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on the
    handbags could make people very sick.
    >
    >In one sampling, four of five handbags tested positive for salmonella,
    nd that's not the worst of it. "There is fecal contamination on the
    >handbags," says Amy.

    >Leather or vinyl handbags tended to be cleaner than cloth handbags,
    >and lifestyle seemed to play a role.

    >People with kids tended to have dirtier handbags than those without,
    >with one exception. The handbag of one single woman who frequented
    >nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all.
    >"Some type of faeces, or possibly vomit" says Amy.
    >So the moral of this story - your handbag won't kill you, but it does
    have >the potential to make you very sick if you keep it on places where you
    eat.
    >
    Use hooks to hang your handbag at home and in toilets, and don't put
    it >on your desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen countertop.

    >Experts say you should think of your handbag the same way you would a
    pair of shoes. "If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto your
    >countertops, >that's the same thing you're doing when you put your handbag on the >countertops" - your handbag has gone where individuals before you have >sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels, etc!
    >
    >Do you really want to bring that home with you? The microbiologists at
    &

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Ireland
    Posts
    102

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    I never really thought about that, while i would never have put my bag on the floor in the toilet, i have often put it on the counter in the kitchen

    Thanx for that

    xxMar

    Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.


  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
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    United States
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    No offence, but I can't think about that. [img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img][img]smileys/smilies_01.gif[/img]
    \"Don\'t mistake innocence for ignorance. Don\'t mistake purity for inexperience. Don\'t mistake humility for weakness.\"

  4. #4
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    Jan 2005
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    United States
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    eww i know this worries me
    I love Sam
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  5. #5
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    Very interesting!! Thank you! Thankfully, I don't put mine on my table or counter top!

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  6. #6
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
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    Nova Scotia, Canada
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    I'm sorry, but again, I think this is a bit much. Ive seen this email before.


    it makes sence, but hey, there are germs EVERYWHERE.. and you come into contact with oddles of them everyday.


    bacteria is there for a reason, to keep our immune system in check. Of the oddles of bacteria we come into conact with each day, most healthy americans only get sick a few times per year...


    sure, we could sanitize everything we come into contact with... will this help? probably not... your body needs to come into contact with bacteria to stay healthy so that when you DO get sick, your body is capable of fighting off the germs.


    I've said it once, and I'll say it again - posts like this really bother me because it encourages aviodant behaviour - which is a huge problem for someone with a phobia.


    and if you think about it, this really has no major impact on whether or not we get sick - what do we do before supper? usually wipe the table, put clean dishes out, etc.


    please don't get yourself wrapped up in studies like this, while interesting, its not going to make you sick, if you an ordinary, sanitary person who washes their hands before dinner.
    ~*Jill*~ Teacher, Advanced BSc in Psychology

    "You can unlock any door as long as you have the right key". Mrs. Brisby, Secret of Nimh

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    England
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    Themain reason for me putting this on here was just to alert people when they put their bags on the floor in public toilets - I do it and then put my bag elsewhere - it just made me think and I wanted to share it with others. I wasnt trying to scaremonger or try and make people obsessed about it. Hope I havent upset anyone!

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2006
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    150

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    Hi neesy, interesting post. I've often thought how dirty my bag must be and I do trynot to put my bag on the floor. Its similar to what's been said on the levels of bacteria on mobile phones; keys and car steering wheels, these things are covered in bacteria and shows why good handwashing is always important. M x

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    England
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    I have to say it's something I already thought about! I know when I'm outand I go to a publicloo and there's no hook on the door, as much as I hate it, I have to place it on the toilet floor. So I never put it on table tops or kitchen work surfaces because of this in particlular. I don't however stress about all the germs on the bottom of my bag, Ijust don't place it in places that I want to keep hygienic!
    .•:*¨¨*:•.Tracey.•:*¨¨*:•.

    Fall seven times, stand up eight.
    - Japanese proverb


  10. #10
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    Apr 2005
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    United States
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    I would never put my handbag on the floor anywhere...not because of bacteria, but because about 8 months ago I bought myself a Louis Vuitton handbag, and it cost me $700!!! It is my favorite accessory in the whole world, and it took me months to save for it!! I love my purse, and it doesn't deserve to be on the floor!!

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    United States
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    307

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    If there is not a hook I either balance it on top of the big plastic toilet paper holder or awkwardly keep it on my shoulder. It can be a little cumbersome but it's better than the nasty floor.

 

 

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