Roberta
OLD WISE ONE
PURSES
Have you ever noticed ladies who
set their purses on public restroom floors - then go
directly to their dining tables and set it on the
table? Happens a lot!
It's not always the 'restaurant
food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what
you don't know 'will' hurt you"! Read on...
Mom got so upset when guests
came in the door and plopped their purses down on
the counter where she was cooking or setting up
food. She always said that purses are really dirty,
because of where they have been. Smart Momma!!!
It's something just about every
woman carries with them. While we may know what's
inside our purses, do you have any idea what's on
the outside?
You may think twice about where
you put your purse. Women carry purses everywhere;
from th e office to public restrooms to the floor of
the car. Most women won't be caught without their purses, but did you ever stop to think about where your purse goes during the day?
"I drive a school bus, so my
purse has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says
one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in
restrooms."
"I put my purse in grocery
shopping carts, on the floor of bathroom stalls
while changing a diaper," says another woman "and of
course in my home which should be clean."
We decided to find out if purses
harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test
them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, then we
set out to test the average woman's purse.
Most women told us they didn't
stop to think about what was on the bottom of their
purse. Most said at home they usually set their
purses on top of kitchen tables and counters where
food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to
told us they wouldn't be surprised if their purses
were at least a little bit dirty.
It turns out purses are so
surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who
tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karren
of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the purses tested
were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful
kinds of bacteria.
Pseudomonas can cause eye
infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious
skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on
the purses could make people very sick. In one
sampling, four of five purses tested positive for
salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There
is fecal contamination on the purses," says Amy.
Leather or vinyl purses tended
to be cleaner than cloth purses, and lifestyle
seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to
have dirtier purses than those without, with one
exception. The purse of one single w oman who
frequented nightclubs had one of the worst
contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or
possibly vomit" says Amy.
So the moral of this story -
your purse won't kill you, but it does has the
potential to make you very sick if you keep it on
places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your purse
at home and in restrooms, and don't put it on your
desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen
counter top.
Experts say you should think of
your purse the same way you would a pair of shoes.
"If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto
your counter tops, that's the same thing you're doing
when you put your purse on the counter tops" - your
purse has gone where individuals before you have
sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels,
etc! Do you really want to bring that home with
you?
The microbiologists at Nelson
also said cleaning a purse will help. Wash cloth
purses and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom
of leather purses.
THIS IS WORTH SHARING!!!
Have you ever noticed ladies who
set their purses on public restroom floors - then go
directly to their dining tables and set it on the
table? Happens a lot!
It's not always the 'restaurant
food' that causes stomach distress. Sometimes "what
you don't know 'will' hurt you"! Read on...
Mom got so upset when guests
came in the door and plopped their purses down on
the counter where she was cooking or setting up
food. She always said that purses are really dirty,
because of where they have been. Smart Momma!!!
It's something just about every
woman carries with them. While we may know what's
inside our purses, do you have any idea what's on
the outside?
You may think twice about where
you put your purse. Women carry purses everywhere;
from th e office to public restrooms to the floor of
the car. Most women won't be caught without their purses, but did you ever stop to think about where your purse goes during the day?
"I drive a school bus, so my
purse has been on the floor of the bus a lot," says
one woman. "On the floor of my car, and in
restrooms."
"I put my purse in grocery
shopping carts, on the floor of bathroom stalls
while changing a diaper," says another woman "and of
course in my home which should be clean."
We decided to find out if purses
harbor a lot of bacteria. We learned how to test
them at Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake, then we
set out to test the average woman's purse.
Most women told us they didn't
stop to think about what was on the bottom of their
purse. Most said at home they usually set their
purses on top of kitchen tables and counters where
food is prepared. Most of the ladies we talked to
told us they wouldn't be surprised if their purses
were at least a little bit dirty.
It turns out purses are so
surprisingly dirty, even the microbiologist who
tested them was shocked. Microbiologist Amy Karren
of Nelson Labs says nearly all of the purses tested
were not only high in bacteria, but high in harmful
kinds of bacteria.
Pseudomonas can cause eye
infections, staphylococcus aurous can cause serious
skin infections, and salmonella and e-coli found on
the purses could make people very sick. In one
sampling, four of five purses tested positive for
salmonella, and that's not the worst of it. "There
is fecal contamination on the purses," says Amy.
Leather or vinyl purses tended
to be cleaner than cloth purses, and lifestyle
seemed to play a role. People with kids tended to
have dirtier purses than those without, with one
exception. The purse of one single w oman who
frequented nightclubs had one of the worst
contaminations of all. "Some type of feces, or
possibly vomit" says Amy.
So the moral of this story -
your purse won't kill you, but it does has the
potential to make you very sick if you keep it on
places where you eat. Use hooks to hang your purse
at home and in restrooms, and don't put it on your
desk, a restaurant table, or on your kitchen
counter top.
Experts say you should think of
your purse the same way you would a pair of shoes.
"If you think about putting a pair of shoes onto
your counter tops, that's the same thing you're doing
when you put your purse on the counter tops" - your
purse has gone where individuals before you have
sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, emptied bowels,
etc! Do you really want to bring that home with
you?
The microbiologists at Nelson
also said cleaning a purse will help. Wash cloth
purses and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom
of leather purses.
THIS IS WORTH SHARING!!!
