Touched by infection

Through the mindset of rationalization we as humans tend to become desensitized to just about everything. Honestly, how many of you frequent fliers pay even the slightest attention to flight attendant instructions before leaving the airport gate prior to takeoff?

Hygienic behaviors and habits are no exception.

To drive the point home, and in honor of Healthcare Purchasing News’ 40th anniversary, here are 40 “fun facts” that impact the spread of bacterial and viral germs and infections.

Within 60 seconds, you blink between 15-20 times, inhale and exhale about 16 times and lose or flake off about 500,000 skin cells. Think of how many potentially dangerous micro-organisms are being propelled from your eyelashes, eyelids, nostrils, mouth and skin?

1. There are more germs on your body than the population of the United States.
2. An estimated 80 percent of germs enter your body through your eyes.
3. About 6 million bacteria live on every square inch of your skin.
4. A recent study reported that the average restroom contains 77,000 distinct types of bacteria.
5. The average ATM, telephone, mobile phone, keyboard, computer mouse, dollar bill and doorknob may sport more germs than public toilets. Shopping carts, too.
6. In fact, keyboards can be five times dirtier than a toilet seat.
7. There are more than 25,000 germs per square inch on the average office phone.
8. There are 20,000 germs per square inch on the average office desk, which is as much as 400 times more bacteria than on a toilet.
9. The average computer mouse is three times dirtier than a toilet seat. And don’t forget about the television remote.
10. The flu virus can reside on a dollar bill for as long as 17 days.
11. Influenza A/B can live up to 48 hours on non-porous surfaces.
12. The average light switch contains more than 200 bacteria per square inch.
13. Water fountains can host 2 million to 7 million bacteria per square inch on the spigot.
14. Roughly 75 percent of tap handles in the office can transmit germs.
15. Millions of germs can hide under bracelets, rings and wristwatches.
16. Fecal matter can migrate through 10 layers of toilet paper. It really makes you think twice about Elaine Benes’ need for “one measly ply” from her restroom stall-mate who didn’t “have a square to spare” on the old sitcom “Seinfeld.”
17. Typically, there are between 10,000 and 10 million bacteria on each hand.
18. The dirtiest spot on your hands is underneath your fingernails.
19. Most germs can stay alive on your hands for 3 hours.
20. Bacteria can pass on their genetic mutations to offspring and any other neighboring microorganisms.
21. Some bacteria can divide themselves every 20 minutes. And in just one day a single germ can multiply to become more than 8 million germs.
22. One cold virus can produce 16 million offspring within 24 hours.
23. Only 1 in 3 adults actually wash their hands after coughing or sneezing.
24. Sneezes can travel in excess of 30 miles per hour with sneeze droplets remaining suspended in the air for as long as 20 minutes.
25. In fact, sneeze droplets smaller than 30 micrometers can hover in the air long enough to reach ceiling ventilation units.
26. Each day, people generally make contact with approximately 600 to 1,200 germs that are potentially harmful.
27. Up to 50 percent of vacuum cleaner brushes can contain fecal and/or E.coli bacteria.
28. More germs are spread by shaking hands than by kissing.
29. Damp hands spread 1,000 times more germs than dry hands.
30. The CDC reports that 31 percent of men and 65 percent of women wash their hands after using the restroom.
31. About 50 percent of mothers don’t wash their hands after changing their baby’s diaper.
32. One gram of human feces, which approximately weighs as much as a paper clip, can contain 1 trillion germs.
33. Germs such as E. coli only need two seconds to attach to food. So much for that five-second rule.
34. Meanwhile, 70 percent of ice water at restaurants may be dirtier than toilet water. Obviously, the family dog knows something we don’t.
35. When you flush a toilet it expels a bacterial mist into the air that settles on objects and surfaces nearby. Don’t inhale.
36. The average kitchen dishcloth or sponge can contain up to 4 billion germs.
37. On average, the toothbrush reigns as the most germ-infested place in a home.
38. Dirty make-up brushes can host staphylococcus, E. coli and streptococcus.
39. Doctors’ ties!
40. Because bacteria are made up of about 80 percent to 90 percent water they should be easy to kill with soap and water.