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Your shower may not be getting you as clean as you think with a U.S. study finding many showerheads are dirty and may be covering you in a daily dose of bacteria that could make you sick.
An analysis of 50 showerheads from nine U.S. cities found that about 30 percent harbored high levels of Mycobacterium avium -- a group of bacteria that can cause lung infections when inhaled or swallowed. Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder found the levels of Mycobacterium avium were 100 times higher than those found in typical household water.
"If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy," said researcher Norman Pace in a statement.
Mycobacterium avium is linked to pulmonary disease, causing symptoms such as a persistent drug cough, breathlessness and fatigue, and most often infects people with compromised immune system but can occasionally infect healthy people.
Pace said research at the National Jewish Hospital in Denver found that increases in pulmonary infections in the United States in recent decades from so-called "non-tuberculosis" mycobacteria species like Mycobacterium avium may be linked to people taking more showers and fewer baths.
He said water spurting from showerheads can distribute pathogen-filled droplets that suspend themselves in the air and can easily be inhaled into the deepest parts of the lungs.
The problem with showerheads is that the insides provide a moist, warm, dark haven where bacteria can form sticky "biofilms" that allow them to gain a foothold and eventually set up residence in the device.
The researchers, however, said it was still probably safe for most people to get into the shower and recommended people with compromised immune systems due to HIV or immune-suppressing drugs, use metal showerheads and change them regularly.
"This really shouldn't concern average, healthy people. The main concern is for people who are immune-compromised," researcher Leah Feazel told Reuters Health. The findings, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences on Monday, are based on tests of about 50 showerheads taken from nine U.S. cities, including New York, Denver and Chicago.
The researchers said showerheads are not the only potential bacterial dispersants in the home, however.
Feazel said more research is needed to measure bacteria levels in household devices like humidifiers and evaporative coolers.
根據(jù)美國(guó)一項(xiàng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：浴室噴頭非常臟，帶有致病的日劑量細(xì)菌。所以洗澡可并不是你想象的那么潔凈。
一項(xiàng)對(duì)來(lái)自9個(gè)美國(guó)城市50個(gè)噴頭的研究中，30%隱藏著高含量的結(jié)核桿菌-- 一種若被人體吸入或吞食就可能引起肺部感染的菌組。美國(guó)科羅拉多州立大學(xué)的研究人員發(fā)現(xiàn)淋浴的結(jié)核桿菌比盆浴要高出100倍。
"剛剛擰開(kāi)噴頭你便滿(mǎn)臉?biāo)椋且馕吨隳樕虾苡锌赡芫哂懈吆康慕Y(jié)核桿菌，那很不衛(wèi)生"norman陳詞到。
結(jié)核桿菌與肺病密切相關(guān)，會(huì)引發(fā)頑固性咳嗽、呼吸急促、疲勞，大多感染免疫系統(tǒng)遭到破壞的人，偶爾健康的人也會(huì)被感染。
Pace 說(shuō)在丹佛猶太國(guó)立醫(yī)院的研究發(fā)現(xiàn)：近十幾年由類(lèi)似分支桿菌屬所謂的非結(jié)核分支桿菌種類(lèi)引起的美國(guó)肺病的增加與人們平時(shí)進(jìn)行淋浴而不盆浴有關(guān)系。
他說(shuō)從噴頭噴出來(lái)的水把攜帶滿(mǎn)病原體的水滴霧化到空氣中，就很容易被吸進(jìn)肺部深處。
淋浴噴頭的問(wèn)題就在：它里面提供細(xì)菌形成粘膜的潮濕、暖和、黑暗的生長(zhǎng)環(huán)境，使得細(xì)菌在此有立腳點(diǎn)，最終在此長(zhǎng)期居住。
研究人員建議說(shuō)對(duì)于大部分人來(lái)說(shuō)淋浴還是安全的，但建議由HIV或服用免疫鎮(zhèn)壓劑導(dǎo)致免疫系統(tǒng)受損者使用金屬?lài)婎^并要經(jīng)常更換。
"其實(shí)這并不影響正常健康的人，主要影響免疫系統(tǒng)受損者"Leah Feazel研究員告訴魯特健康所說(shuō)。該發(fā)現(xiàn)發(fā)表在國(guó)家科學(xué)學(xué)會(huì)公報(bào)上的發(fā)現(xiàn)主要是基于對(duì)美國(guó)包括紐約、丹佛、芝加哥等9個(gè)城市50個(gè)噴頭的調(diào)查。
但研究員們還說(shuō)噴頭并不是家里唯一的細(xì)菌擴(kuò)散器，F(xiàn)eazel 說(shuō) 仍需更多對(duì)像加濕器和蒸發(fā)式冷卻器的家用設(shè)備研究來(lái)測(cè)量細(xì)菌的含量水平。
