Happy New Year, Ladies and Germs..

PSG is back!

ABC News has an interesting article which helps debunk a number of myths about germs. For example, can you get sick from sitting on public toilet seat? Nah:

"Just sort of sitting on the seat and having that contact with the skin on your butt isn't going to be a way of transmitting an infection," said Elizabeth Scott, co-director and founder of the Simmons Center for Hygiene and Health in Home and Community Settings at Simmons College in Boston. "I think that one's associated with the fact that we all find public toilets very disgusting," she said, adding that you were more likely to get sick from touching the toilet seat or the flush handle with your hand.

Dr. J. Owen Hendley, professor of pediatric infectious disease at the University of Virginia Children's Hospital, said that this myth has been a persistent one. Of getting an infection, he said, "I guess you could, but I've never known of a documented case where that actually happened."

Actually, your cell phone has many more germs than a public toilet seat or even the sole of your shoe.

Does antibacterial soap keep your hands cleaner than regular soap? Nope!

Given that regular soap and water removes the germs, there is no need for an antibacterial agent, and it probably won't work anyway. "The speed of action of these ingredients that are added is rather slow, so that they are not there on the hands long enough to present the desired level of reductions." said Syed Sattar, a professor emeritus of microbiology at the University of Ottawa.

In fact, antibacterial agents such as triclosan may create drug resistant strains of bacteria and that's not good for anyone (speaking of drug resistance, make sure you finish those antibiotics the doctor gives you, even if you are feeling better!). 

What about that old story about a dog's mouth being cleaner than a human's? 

If you heard this myth, it probably came from a dog lover as they justified why they let their pet lick their face. And in one sense, they may be right: A dog's mouth is likely to contain fewer microbes that are harmful to humans."If I were forced to be bitten by a dog or a human, I'd take a dog," said Hendley. But that doesn't mean a dog's mouth has fewer microbes, or that it's "clean." "I'm thinking, what was the dog last licking?" said Scott. Hendley and Scott noted that dogs tend to lick themselves, particularly after scraping themselves, and their mouths tend to come in contact with animal feces.