Bearded men carry 'more germs than dogs', study finds
- Thread starter Lil devils x_v1legacy
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This was a study to determine if it would be safe for humans to use the same MRI machine as dogs, this was an unexpected result, not an intended study to make men with beards look bad, it is just 100% of the bearded men left more germs than anyone else on the MRI machine after they cleaned it. That is a disturbing finding even if it was a small study about sharing an MRI. The worst part of all this bacteria being in beards is GEEZE it is right next to their nose and mouth, you would think they would want that to be sanitary. They always tell you to wash your hands before touching your nose, mouth or eyes, but now they need to put a warning on beards! X DAbomination said:
The mind shudders at the thought of what some keyboards must have gone through...MrCalavera said:
ammount of bacteria and type of bacteria are two different things though. Our hands touch all kinds of surfaces around us and on our bodies all the time, with the avarage human touching their face several times every minute. Basically there are more bacteria on our hands than on our asscheeksGrouchy Imp said:
I know a beard covered in bacteria is a disgusting idea but literally everything is covered in bacteria when put under a microscope. Infact, many bacteria are even beneficial for humans and contribute not only to immune function but also physical and even mental wellbeing. They have even booked significant improvement by having people with autism have their gut bacteria re-colonized by..wait for it fecal transplants. That is literally the poop bacteria of someone else transplanted into your own bowel, and it helps to significantly reduce autism. Bacteria is also important for digestion. Heavy and prolonged use of antibiotics can in some people for example trigger auto-immune diseases like Crohn's or colonic ulcerations. Bacteria are in short just an essential part of human health and immunology. Without germs we'd literally not be alive.Lil devils x said:
That people need to wash their hands befor eating is ofcourse just proper hygiene. But that doesn't mean a completely sterile environment at all times would even be beneficial. Even with harmful pathogens like for example a cold virus, if you never got into contact with them and never accumulated the proper immune response contracting a simple cold virus would strike you down with pneumonia.
There are ofcourse bacteria that are really hazardous for humans. Like I joked about a dog's tongue but that is actually true. The bacteria on that tongue can lead to some very nasty infections. Not passing any judgement on how it got there. xD
My degrees are in Pediatric Medicine and Immunology, I think I understand a bit about Bacteria. If you understand what I actually had to do to obtain my degrees you would understand I also would be considered an " expert" on Bacteria. Just saying we are "covered in bacteria" is not adequately differentiating between harmful and helpful bacteria.stroopwafel said:
The reason why beards likely contain this high level of harmful bacteria is due to the location of the beard to the mouth and there is a high probability the majority of bacteria existing in the beard came from eating and not cleaning the beard. Just as it can be deadly to humans to eat spoiled food due to the bacteria that grows on our food, that same bacteria is what is growing in beards when not cleaned properly after eating, and that bacteria is just as deadly whether in the beard or anywhere else. This is clearly a hygiene issue and lack of "scrubbing" the beard and skin below it to properly remove the bacteria obtained from eating, pillows, and touching it with hands. "rinsing" it as some consider the equivalent to washing when it is far from it is not properly washing and will not remove the bacteria without an actual good scrubbing. There is a reason why your surgeon scrubs for 5 minutes before an operation. How many people ACTUALLY scrub their beards properly rather than just rinse them with some products they think smell good?
That would be one impressive beard! XDBaffle2 said:
You likely would not want to eat with a fork that had been rinsed to make it smell good leaving the food residue on the fork from yesterdays meal. The same way the bacteria got onto the beard from the food is how it gets into the mouth from the beard. It isn't like Bacteria just stays in one place, it is actually a living organism. Bacteria often use pilli or flagella to move along a surface, and can move into your mouth, nose and eyes from your beard.
People often think things like aliens invading their body is a scary concept, but then overlook the fact that bacteria and viruses do so all the time. The way viruses take over your cells and reprogram them to do their bidding is especially disturbing. You would think things like properly washing hands and not touching nose, mouth and eyes with dirty hands would be something people take more seriously considering.
One's immune system is ever changing and there is no guarantee it will be able to fight off everything it encounters. Everyone's immune system is unique, and simply because something did not make one person ill, does not mean it won't make someone else ill from being around them. In addition, one's immune system can become compromised and susceptible from a number of factors and simply because one's immune system was able to fight off something previously is no guarantee it will be able to do so all of the time. Some of the harmful bacteria that can be found in beards, such as salmonella from eating food and not properly scrubbing it, can be quite dangerous, even with a properly functioning immune system.Canadamus Prime said:
https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/index.html
This is just one of many common harmful to humans bacteria that we frequently encounter daily that taking precautionary measures such as cooking food thoroughly, maintaining proper hygiene ( including but not limited to washing hands, mouths and beards), and keeping a clean environment reduces the number of people who become ill or die from it. We are able to reduce deaths from these things due to the measures taken and that should not be taken for granted by simply expecting our immune systems, which often malfunction all the time even when healthy, to take care of anything you come into contact with. Although yes, the immune system is bad ass, it is not guaranteed to stop everything all the time, otherwise we would never become ill in the first place.
For some odd reason that created a mental image of Sulley dipping his beard in termites and having them crawl to his mouth....Baffle2 said:
Lol, that someone contracted salmonella/food poisoning from someone's beard is just too ridiculous to even consider. Exposure to viruses and various bacteria is how the immune system builds proper resistance, so I don't know what you mean by 'immune system can become compromised from a number of factors..' What do you mean? Terminal disease? Old age? Immuno-suppressors for organ transplants? HIV positive? Those are some exceptions where I agree people are at increased risk for infections. But in normal, healthy people someone getting sick from some beard is just laughable.Lil devils x said:
Why would someone's beard be any different than not properly cleaned surfaces, knives or other utensils, which have been shown previously to have been the cause of infection? People have food touch their beard when they eat, particles of the food get into the beard. That is why the beards not only tested positive for these harmful bacteria's, the MRI tested positive for these things after they used them. If the bacteria can get onto the MRI machine from the beard, it can definitely get into the mouth.stroopwafel said:
Actually your immune system can become compromised at any time, not just by the most well known factors such as HIV. Even stress has been known to cause an adverse immune response. Usually abnormal immune response correct themselves, however, that is not always the case. Any number of environmental factors can cause an adverse immune response, from everyday allergens to chemicals. I have seen cases of everything from a minor fender bender that did not even harm the cars or trigger the air bag set off a case of Immune thrombocytopenic purpura to someone taking ibuprofen causing them to become violently allergic to beef. That is the reality of our immune response, we actually do not know what will cause an abnormal responses, we can only attempt to reduce the probability of it happening using what limited information we currently have. While yes we have come as far as being able to reprogram viruses, we still do not even know the cause of many autoimmune disorders.
More reading on this:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/expert-answers/lack-of-sleep/faq-20057757
https://www.simplypsychology.org/stress-immune.html
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1519592/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4161944/
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/02/190206115631.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0037196313000942
https://www.healthline.com/health/autoimmune-disorders?m=0
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/000816.htm
You're putting the carriage in front of the horse here. The problem here is not the pathogen the problem here is inadequate immune function ie the patient being unhealthy or suffering from rare allergies and as such susceptible.Lil devils x said:
Like I said, quote me one, just one, example where someone got sick from exposure to someone's beard.
Healthy people get sick all the time from bacteria, viruses, fungi... you do not even need a compromised immune system to become ill from salmonella, why do you think healthy people come down with " food poisoning" all the time?stroopwafel said:
They wouldn't necessarily be able to track it back to a beard, they would record it as "foodborne" unless they specifically tested the persons beard, which is highly unlikely. They usually do not even find how someone became infected, they more often than not just treat the symptoms unless they have reason to believe there was widespread contamination involved that needed a recall, then they may come back and ask questions later, and not about beards. LOL
Hell we don't even keep track of whether or not a patient even has a beard the vast majority of the time. Then again, maybe after this study they will have reason to.
I never claimed contaminated food isn't harmful to people, I only claimed that transmission of salmonella through someone's beard is so extremely unlikely it isn't even relevant. It's a completely bogus prejudice and I don't even have a beard. Also you have yet to cite me a source that proves otherwise. For your convenience here is a small study done that shows bearded men have actually less bacteria on their face than clean shaven ones.Lil devils x said:
https://www.pennmedicine.org/updates/blogs/health-and-wellness/2018/june/whats-in-your-beard