Cellphones; A Menace to good health.

You might think; How?

Our cellphones are one of the dirtiest things in the world. In fact, it has been proven to be the second most dirtiest thing in the world, after money.

Cellphones are 10 times dirtier than toilet seats and shoe soles. They carry microbes that causes diseases and can even contain faecal matter. 🤮

Sadly though, many people are oblivious to this fact. They make use of their phone while eating, in which there is a high probability if transferring the microbes to the food they consume. Many take their phones to the toilet thereby multiplying the bacteria in it.

What exactly is on our cellphones?

The hands are the primary source of those dirtiness. The average person checks his phone 45 times every say, doing this while performing other activities. So all the microbes that have been amassed in various activities are dumped on the phone when we press them. Sometimes even if you do nothing, the human skin is naturally covered in microbes. And we transfer them to the cellphone every now and then.

But such organisms can do little or no harm, you might think. While our body microbes might not cause any damage to our health, we should consider our environment. We are not always in a sterile environment. Things we do and places we touch all leave various types of microbes on our hands, which we in turn transfer to our phones.

Another reason why our phones are so dirt is because of the heat they emanate. Microbes survive best in a warm environment. Since our phones have their own heat producing mechanisms, that is their sweet and humble place of abode.

Image source

The Effects

Some claim that all these information is overhyped, there is really no one that has been bedridden because of microbes on their phones. But no one traces the causes of ailments to the phone either. Doctors can mostly tell you the organisms that made you sick, not how you got them. The following are germs that can be found on the cellphone.

1. E coli. This bacteria can be found in the intestines and can be transferred through faecal matter. It causes ailments such as food poisoning and diarrhea.

2. Staphylococcus aureus. This is proven to thrive on cellphones and can cause different skin infections and pneumonia.

3. Influenza. Since it can survive on surfaces for as long as 24 hours, one can spend days in bed because of flu gotten from the cellphone.

What can be done?

While it is impossible to keep all these microbes away from our mobiles, we can make them insignificant and reduce them to the barest minimum that is not health-threatening.

1. Don't take your phone to the toilet. When you flush, these microbes are scattered around the toilet space. They can settle on your phone easily.

2. Don't put your phone in your mouth. People do put phones in their mouth, maybe they want to use the flashlight on it or to keep it somewhere briefly while doing something else. This practice is totally unhygienic. Keep your phone out of your mouth.

3. Rarely lend others your phone. You might be clean, but if you give out your phone easily to others then expect a party of microbes on your phone.

4. Clean your phone regularly. You can use soft and clean cloth to avoid scratches. Some say you can also apply small liquid to clean. But make sure you know what can have adverse effects on your phone before applying anything.

Many healthcare organizations now place a lot of emphasis on keeping good hygiene with your phone. They, of course, know the dangers of not doing so.

I hope this article has been of help. Thanks for reading. ❤️