Questions tagged [hygiene]
The set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living.
84
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Can washing hands too often weaken the immune system? [duplicate]
A coworker told me today that washing your hands too often, especially as a child, can result in a weakened immune system, because you aren't giving your body the chance to build up immunities. He ...
3
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0answers
176 views
Do antibacterial coatings in fridges reduce bacterial load?
Some modern fridges have "antibacterial coating" in their list of features. It is claimed this reduces the levels of bacteria growth.
Some people go on the further claim this in turn reduces odour ...
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1answer
469 views
Does boiling water with solid silver kill germs?
I was in China recently, and the tour guide mentioned that in some parts of China, the water quality is not good (due to pollution). To get around this problem, some locals used solid silver and ...
2
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0answers
369 views
Was there a serious campaign of women wanting to free bleed their periods in response to a 4chan prank? [closed]
Knowyourmeme tells about this prank and how some women started some protests for being able to free bleed* their periods. It shows some twitter tweets about defending this practice.
This other pages ...
9
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1answer
1k views
Do handwashs kill 99.9% of bacteria?
My handwash liquid states that it kills 99.9% of bacteria. This usually comes with a disclaimer at the back: "based on laboratory tests".
First of all, if I make a handwash, I would certainly like it ...
8
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1answer
2k views
Do Ultra-violet LEDs on air hand dryers help to kill bacteria? [closed]
I've noticed newer air hand dryers sometimes have blueish LEDs on the bottom that shine light on your hands when you're drying them. One theory I've heard is that the UV light emitted by these LEDs ...
2
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1answer
444 views
Is washing hands with soap necessary when backpacking? [closed]
When someone is backpacking for several days, washing hands with soap might not always be possible, or inconvenient (e.g. because of soap polluting the water; you want to minimize the weight of your ...
2
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2answers
987 views
Do pathogens have a negative ORP and beneficial bacteria a positive?
As claimed on page 33 of this MMS book:
All pathogens (poison producers) have a negative ORP.
All beneficial bacteria have a positive ORP.
In other words:
The beneficial bacteria are ...
15
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1answer
789 views
Do stainless-steel soap bars work to wash hands? [duplicate]
There are stainless steel soap products for washing hands.
For example, Blomus Stainless Steel Soap:
Simply rub on hands under running water to neutralize odors [...] Negatively-charged stainless ...
11
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1answer
811 views
Are antibacterial soaps better than plain soap and water?
“Consumers may think antibacterial washes are more effective at preventing the spread of germs, but we have no scientific evidence that they are any better than plain soap and water,” said Janet ...
6
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1answer
407 views
Does washing salad remove E-coli?
I don't generally wash salad unless it looks dirty. It's not that I'm unaware of E-coli and pesticides etc, it's that I don't have any conviction that rinsing them with water will significantly remove ...
9
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1answer
824 views
Does sharing earphones increase the risk of middle ear infections?
A Google search reveals many claims that sharing earphones is unhealthy.
Marie Claire magazine provides an example:
Kelly Reynolds, Ph.D., associate professor of environmental health at the ...
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1answer
4k views
Is brushing your teeth after vomiting dangerous for your teeth?
There's a claim (Day9 / Centre for Clinical Interventions) out there that goes:
Don’t brush your teeth immediately after vomiting. While the teeth are covered in stomach acids, the vigorous action ...
12
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0answers
250 views
Are foaming soap dispensers as effective as regular liquid soap dispensers?
I found these foaming soap dispensers on Amazon.
The seller says you can use regular liquid soap, diluted:
Combine 1 part liquid soap with 5 parts water or Fill with foaming soap solution / ...
14
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1answer
889 views
Was Ignaz Semmelweis ignored by the medical community when he advocated hand washing?
Daniel Engber writes in Who Will Debunk The Debunkers?:
Ignaz Semmelweis, the Hungarian physician who noticed in the 1840s that doctors were themselves the source of childbed fever in his hospital’...
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116 views
Is the first stall of a public restroom the cleanest? [closed]
I have read so during a quick search on google, are there proofs for this theory?
37
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3answers
11k views
Does washing hands with soap remove more germs than plain water?
As a germophobic, I almost consume a soap bar each day due to the touch of a door handle or other daily used items around the house. This is instigated due to OCD perhaps.
This is unhealthy and bad ...
2
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0answers
221 views
Does injecting Bacillus F improve one's health? [closed]
In a Siberian times report,
a Russian scientist Anatoli Brouchkov claims that 3.5 million year old bacteria Bacillus F
improves longevity and fertility of fruit flies and mice
stimulated the growth ...
12
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0answers
219 views
Are objects such as towels, bank notes, carpets, shopping trolleys and light switches dirtier than a toilet seat?
Are objects such as towels, bank notes, carpet, shopping trolleys and light switches listed in blogs such as these and these really dirtier than an average toilet seat since Dr Chuck Gerba, professor ...
2
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1answer
246 views
Can microbes live on surfaces with less than 10% humidity?
I've seen it claimed that bacteria or viruses can't live on surfaces when the humidity is less than 10%. But I can't find any credible source for this. The earliest source I can find is Popular ...
19
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1answer
2k views
Are women's public restrooms dirtier and/or more bacteria-laden than the men's rooms?
When a friend was posting an article about a proposed shared wall of stalls between the men's and women's sides where the doors only opened from one side at a time to provide load-sharing (yes, he ...
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4answers
2k views
Do hand dryers in public bathrooms spread bacteria?
A hand drier is a warm and humid environment that is surrounded by bacteria from all the bathroom users. It is claimed that this is one of the main causes for spreading bacteria/microbes (NCBI ref)
...
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0answers
237 views
Does gaunyle, derived from cow urine, work as a disinfectant?
The Times of India reports:
Union minister Maneka Gandhi has asked her ministerial colleagues to opt for a "natural disinfectant'' made from extracts of cow urine instead of the "chemically bad'' ...
3
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0answers
302 views
Does soap help prevent body odor? [closed]
One of my friends told me he stopped using soap years ago and I never smelt anything bad. I wanted to test it and changed my shower routine to just warm water and thoroughly using my hands to scrub my ...
23
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2answers
11k views
Is it better to floss before or after brushing the teeth?
Floss: Dental floss is a cord of thin filaments used to remove food and dental plaque from between teeth. The floss is gently inserted between the teeth and wiped along the teeth sides, especially ...
26
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1answer
2k views
Is it dangerous to use wooden cutlery and cutting boards with raw meat?
I have heard multiple times that "one should never cut raw meat on a wooden cutting board nor mix it using a wooden spoon."
The reason most often cited is that apparently bacteria can survive in the ...
2
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1answer
668 views
No Wipe Poo - Possible? [closed]
I read an article that says scientists have developed a pill that will make this possible, you take one pill with every meal and you'll no longer need to wipe after a bowel movement.
This new ...
22
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1answer
1k views
Are smartphones, keyboards, and tablets more contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus than a public toilet seat?
Source: How clean is your iPad? – a “Which?” hygiene investigation
We use them every day while eating lunch or a snack, but new Which? research has revealed tablets, smartphones and keyboards may ...
4
votes
1answer
308 views
Can daily disposable contact lenses be safely re-used?
It is recommended that "daily" contact lenses are to be disposed of after about 8 hours of use. I understand that daily lenses are made from a different material than, say, monthly ones; they are ...
9
votes
1answer
38k views
Does taking a bath at night have any bad effects on health?
People in Indonesia and Malaysia claim that taking a bath or a shower at night (probably after 8.p.m.) could cause illness. A few mentioned effects are rheumatism and wet lungs.
Is there any truth to ...
40
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1answer
1k views
Is it good (for your health) to shower/bathe daily?
I only shower once every few days, sometimes as little as once a week depending how oily/sticky I'm feeling (I lead a pretty sedentary lifestyle so I don't reach that stage daily). People around me ...
16
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1answer
560 views
Does a lack of hand-washing by health-care workers cause 100,000 deaths per year in the USA?
Tweet by PostSecret, with 203 retweets and 85 favorites:
100,000 deaths in the US alone could be avoided each year if health
care workers washed their hands more, according to the CDC.
Do 100,...
5
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1answer
2k views
Are eggs more likely to contain salmonella in the yolk than the white?
Eggsafety.org states
Researchers say that, if present, most bacteria is usually in the
yolk.
Similar statements are made on other egg-related websites. For example, safeeggs.com states
Any ...
12
votes
1answer
868 views
Do restaurants in China recycle 'gutter oil'?
A video titled This Video Of Chinese Street Food Made From 'Gutter Oil' Is The Most Disgusting Thing You Will See All Day rose to the top of the reddit front page today.
It claims some restaurants in ...
13
votes
2answers
996 views
Is aluminum in pans, soda cans and antiperspirants correlated to Alzheimer's?
I have not only heard the soda can theory since I was a kid, but more recently when researching the topic I have found many websites that claim pans made of aluminum and antiperspirants are correlated ...
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0answers
73 views
Are aluminum antiperspirants unhealthy? [duplicate]
It is regularly stated that aluminium is very bad for the brain, and for your general health. Is this true for antiperspirants?
Is Potassium alum more healthy or is this just about marketing ?
26
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1answer
1k views
Do modern toothbrush features remove more plaque than regular toothbrushes?
The Oral-B makes some claims about their Oral-B Pro-Health All-In-One:
Oral-B Pro-Health All-In-One toothbrush has been clinically proven to remove more plaque than a regular manual toothbrush with ...
8
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0answers
175 views
Do students on paediatrics rotations get sick a lot?
From http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=605542:
3rd years get sick on peds alot.
Peds or EM during the winter months pretty much maximizes your odds of getting something.
Do ...
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0answers
6k views
Does Coca-Cola kill germs in the stomach?
My friend recently went on a trek where his guides suggested he drink Coca Cola to kill any germs in his stomach, so that he didn't get sick. It's given me a skeptical itch. Is there any truth to this?...
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2answers
2k views
Is washing your body too often bad for your skin?
This is not a question about washing your hair. It's about taking a shower too often - i.e. several times a day.
I remember I read somewhere that, in this case, your skin lost good bacteria that ...
14
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3answers
7k views
Does alcohol-free “essential oil” mouthwash kill bacteria in your mouth?
Case in point:
No other alcohol-free mouthwash has been proven more effective at
killing bad breath germs. Contains signature 4 Essential Oils found in
LISTERINE® Antiseptic for bad breath ...
9
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1answer
2k views
Can the useful lifespan of razor blades be extended by stroking them over jeans?
This article and this video, amongst others, claim that you can extend the useful lifespan of razor blades for a substantial amount (months), if you regularly stroke them over jeans, immediately after ...
21
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1answer
1k views
Do the commercially produced toilet seat covers significantly reduce the spread of disease?
In many public toilets there are disposable toilet seat covers that can be placed over the seat before sitting down. These covers certainly allay some of the "yuck factor" associated with placing one ...
3
votes
0answers
825 views
Is cleaning of teeth necessary for healthier gums?
I found the following passage in Man's Search for Meaning by Dr Viktor Frankl
I would like to mention a few similar surprises on how much we could
endure: we were unable to clean our teeth, and ...
68
votes
2answers
16k views
Do we need to brush our teeth?
While everyone is telling us that we should brush our teeth twice a day, the human species has evolved for several million years without any teeth brushing. Apes don't brush their teeth, and they don'...
1
vote
1answer
362 views
Is the real benefit of flossing that your gums strengthen?
I read that the actual benefit of flossing your teeth is not to remove food that is between them, but that your gums actually become stronger at fighting infections.
Is this true?
6
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0answers
433 views
Is the health risk of street food less than restaurant food?
From the government advertisements and common media it is common belief that street foods are much less safe than restaurant foods. Yet when reading about street foods in Wikipedia I came across this ...
14
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1answer
2k views
Does the miswak help with digestion, eyesight, headache, memory or illness?
The miswak is a traditional Middle-Eastern toothbrush (so to speak) make from a twig of a particular branch, that is claimed to be especially effective. The dental efficacy has been studied, but ...
16
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2answers
4k views
Does living clean weaken ones immune system?
In many places I have heard that living too clean weakens your immune system. For example, a Daily Mail article says:
Evidence is growing that dirt and germs can protect against disease - and that ...
25
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1answer
17k views
Do I need to wash my hands after using the bathroom?
Source
Is hand-washing after urination and defecation merely a product of social norms, or is there a health-related reason that we wash our hands after going to the bathroom? Or is there some other ...
