After the spread of the Corona pandemic, the number of people asking to take off their shoes before entering the home increased, and while this habit is considered basic by some, others see it as unfamiliar and even exceeding the rules of "etiquette", but scientists have another opinion through recent studies.
Bacteria are everywhere, and the bacteria that spread in public toilets are the most dangerous. But recent studies have shown that the bacteria that stick to our shoes outnumber those found on public toilet seats, as the number of bacteria on the shoes can reach about 420,000 germs, after wearing the shoes for only two weeks.
Perhaps these facts prompted the Japanese to adopt the tradition of taking off their shoes before entering the house, unlike the Germans, as they rarely take off their shoes when entering the house, despite the fact that the shoes carry huge numbers of bacteria that cannot be seen with the naked eye.
Several diseases
According to the German Focus website, a recent study of microbiology conducted by the University of Houston proved that about 40 percent of the shoes covered by the study contain C. difficile bacteria, and this bacteria is one of the most common pathogens in hospitals. Several studies have also indicated the possibility of transmitting Corona virus through shoes.
In fact, Clostridium difficile, also known as Clostridium difficile, is a harmless intestinal bacterium. The danger is that some strains of these bacteria are resistant to antibiotics, and infection with them can lead to disturbances in the intestinal flora. This, in turn, leads to an inflammation of the intestine, accompanied by severe diarrhea caused by it.
Not only are these the only bacteria on our soles, there are huge numbers of bacteria that reach our homes through our shoes. According to a study conducted by Charles Gerba, a specialist in microbiology at the University of Arizona, it was found that the number of germs can reach 420,000 germs on any new shoe two weeks after wearing it.
According to the Focus website, the concern is the high number of coliform bacteria, known as E. coli. Although most types of these bacteria are not harmful, there are dangerous types that lead to kidney failure and severe infections in the urinary tract.
Shoes that transmit germs the most
It is true that pollution at the bottom of shoes comes from many sources, due to walking on bird waste and contaminated water, but the results of research conducted by Dagmar Schöder, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna, confirmed that public toilets are the main source of germs transporting down our shoes. According to Chowder, it is the favorite place for microorganisms to spread.
According to the results of the test it carried out on 224 toilets, 45 of them were found to be contaminated with Listeria bacteria, which is an anaerobic bacteria that can live without oxygen and cause vertigo. The study found that the shoes of people who visited these toilets were the most contaminated with Listeria bacteria. Indicating that the shoes with the deeper edges of the soles, the higher the percentage of bacteria stuck in them.
The study confirmed that winter shoes and sports shoes are the most attractive to bacteria. The results of this study prompted the Austrian researcher Schöder to make a simple but important recommendation for health maintenance, which is "not to enter the living and dining rooms with our shoes, and it is better to take off the shoes at the doorstep of the house."
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