Your toothbrush has poo
There is a 60% chance that your toothbrush has other people’s poo.
Lauren Aber, a researcher at Quinnipiac University says, ‘The main concern is not with the presence of your own fecal matter on your toothbrush. It’s when a toothbrush is contaminated with fecal matter from someone else, which contains bacteria, viruses or parasites’.
Aber analysed toothbrushes in bathrooms used by nine people or more, to find that about 60% of toothbrushes were packed with poo of other people. This means that if someone else uses your toilet they could actually be bombarding your toothbrush with their emissions.
‘Usually a toothbrush cover doesn’t protect a toothbrush from bacterial growth, but actually creates an environment where bacteria are better suited to grow by keeping the bristles moist and not allowing the head of the toothbrush to dry our between uses’, Aber added.
Toothbrushes can spread a variety of diseases, ranging from MRSA to hepatitis.
The NHS in UK advises to avoid sharing them – while most experts would urge you to keep the toilet seat down while flushing in the hope to limit the spread of diseases.
Written by: Dr. Ajay Sati.
