Questions tagged [hygiene]
The set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living.
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Did Louis Pasteur admit on his deathbed "Bernard [the inventor of terrain theory] was right"?
On many 'health' sites defending terrain theory (the theory that the state of the body, not just germs, is the primal factor for disease development) one finds quotes that Louis Pasteur is said to ...
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Is this study evidence that a fly falling into one's drink should be dipped?
About 9 years ago, a user inquired about a medical claim from an islamic text, a claim that a fly falling into your drink should be dipped in then thrown away (the claimed explanation being that ...
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Are 40% of the oceans' bacteria killed by viruses every day?
In the March 9, 2018 column of newspaper columnist Cecil Adams' column The Straight Dope, he speaks about the possible benefits of treating bacterial infections with bacteriophages, viruses that ...
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Is vodka (or alcohol solutions with less than 60% concentration) an effective hand sanitizer against Covid-19?
There has been a lot of insistence in some quarters that hand sanitizers need to have > 60% alcohol contents, even against the new coronavirus and so that e.g. vodka (which typically has lower ...
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Does the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 decrease by washing hands?
Ever since the coronavirus epidemic started, we've been bombarded with messages on how important washing hands is:
Respiratory viruses like coronavirus disease (COVID-19) spread when
mucus or ...
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Home-made vs. commercial toothpaste?
My friend recently introduced me to home-made toothpaste. Quite a few websites offer recipes, for example: 1, 2, 3.
One such recipe is:
bicarbonate of soda
charcoal
coconut oil
optional essential ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ...
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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 / Castle ...
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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’s ...
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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?
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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,...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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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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 ?
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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 ...
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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 students ...
user5582
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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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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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