The Hard Fact About Purses
I received this e-mail from a friend and I thought I'd share it with you.
PURSES....Eeeeeeeew
> >
> > Have you ever noticed gals who sit 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?
> >
> > Shauna Lake put purses to the test - for bacteria - with
> > surprising
> > results.
> >
> > You may think twice about where you put your purse. Women
> > carry purses
> > everywhere; from the 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
> > woman 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 countertop.
> >
> > 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
> > countertops,
> > that's the same thing you're doing when you put your purse on the
> > countertops" -
> > 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!!!
> >
