Grim reason you shouldn't take a photo of your Christmas dinner
It's simply inevitable that when you open your phone on Christmas Day, you'll be bombarded with an endless amount of roast dinner snaps from people showing off their festive scran.
Whether you're doing it to capture a memory or show off your expertly-cooked roast tatties - it's clear we've all been guilty of the Crimbo habit.
However, you may want to think twice before you pap your parsnips this year as a microbiologist has revealed the extremely grim reason why you shouldn't take a photo of your Christmas dinner.
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Speaking on behalf of Compare and Recycle, Dr Gareth Nye, program leader for BMedSci Medical Science at The University of Cheshire, revealed why leaving your phone away from the dinner table is probably best when it comes to the big day.
Now, whether you admit to it or not, many people rarely clean their devices - despite commonly scrolling on their phone whilst on the toilet.
And, if you're guilty of doing either, you may unknowingly be putting your health on the line as there can be a 'growing a range of bacteria' on your phone with the most common being Pseudomonas aeruginosa (which can cause severe respiratory or skin infections) and Acinetobacter baumannii (which can lead to meningitis).
"Almost all phone surfaces will carry the common dangerous bacteria E. coli and faecal streptococci," Dr Nye warns.
But just how much bacteria is actually on our phones?
Well, the expert tells us: "Our hands touch around 150 different items every day, more if you are a commuter, for example. Each one of these surfaces has the potential to lead to contamination with more dangerous bacteria.
"Once on our hands, the next place our hands normally touch is a phone screen, and bacteria transfers from any object we touch to the phone."
Dr Nye says this is 'particularly true' when we consider phone usage in the toilet as they are 'notoriously full of bacteria that can harm you'.
"This directly correlates to the spread of bacteria from faeces," he continues. "As they naturally find their way to our hands during trips to the toilet, then to our phones, which will continue a passage of transfer until both surfaces are clean.
"This can cause the spread of bacteria around the dinner table if you also have your phone in use while eating."
Brb, just going to go wipe down my phone screen.
Stressing the importance of keeping your phone clean, Dr Nye revealed exactly what kind of illnesses you could get from a bacteria-ridden phone which include diarrhoea, vomiting, and other stomach upsets.
"However, in people with compromised immune systems, it can cause very nasty infections like sepsis or pneumonia," he added.
Luckily, the experts at Compare and Recycle have revealed the best practices for cleaning your phone to avoid spreading harmful bacteria:
- Before cleaning, unplug your phone to avoid damage to the ports.
- Remove your phone case and wash it with hot, soapy water before leaving it to dry completely. Use a specialist cleaner to avoid causing permanent marks if your case is leather or PU leather.
- Go around your phone's exterior with a lint-free cloth to remove dust and debris.
- Scrape a wooden toothpick into all of your phone ports to remove dust and dirt.
- Use a 70% isopropyl alcohol wipe or a cloth slightly dampened with hot, soapy water to wipe around the exterior of the phone, paying closer attention to areas around buttons and speaker holes. To limit the chance of water damage, avoid spraying liquid cleaners directly onto the phone and avoid the phone's ports.
Dr Nye added: "Good hand hygiene plus daily sanitisation of your phone should be enough to prevent most infections."
Rhiannon Ingle