Public bathrooms do not usually have a bar soap but if you find one, and have no other way to clean your hands in the restroom, you should first make sure that you clean the bar and then wash your hands. It may not be safe to use that bar of soap lying in the public toilet. Here’s why!
Using bar soaps in a public toilet could cause infections
According to a study published in the journal JSTOR those who shared soap, were more likely to have recurring infections of Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which is an antibiotic-resistant staph infection. More serious risks include norovirus which is a stomach flu. Also, the used bars take a good amount of time to dry out and thus, the chances of bacteria or fungal accumulation cannot be ruled out. The bar takes a longer time to dry especially at the bottom which accumulates bacteria, fungi and yeast and is passed from person to person. You should also stop sharing these 11 everyday things.
And while you may think that a bar soap’s self-cleaning nature minimizes germ-swapping, it is still recommended tat you use liquid soap to prevent infections. After each use, the bar gets covered in organisms from the skin, ranging from harmless germs to serious pathogens people can carry without getting sick. You should be extra cautious if you have a weakened immune system and stick to just using a liquid soap. Even if it is antibacterial, the bar soap itself is not an effective germ killer like alcohol. Here are 7 parts of your body you are not cleaning correctly.
Reference:
Lennox K. Archibald, MD, FRCP, Jerne Shapiro, MPH, Anthony Pass, MEd, Kenneth Rand, MD and Frederick Southwick, MD Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology, JSTOR Vol. 29, No. 5 (May 2008), pp. 450-453.
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