Germs are everywhere and we take comfort in the fact that most of them are invisible to our naked eye… until they aren’t and we start getting some weird infections. It can be difficult to pinpoint the culprit, but one doctor from the UK says that the answer might be closer to your mouth than you think– in the form of your office coffee mug, which could contain fecal matter.
Anyone who has worked in an office and has a workspace there will know that it tends to become a second home. Hence, office mugs, whether communal or personal, tend to be kept there, especially for coffee. Hence, there’s no shortage of people using these office mugs and transferring whatever is in their hands to said mugs.
It just so happens that 25 percent of people don’t wash their hands after pooping at the workplace toilet, according to Hygiene Doctor Dr. Lisa Ackerley. For that matter, she also estimates that around 1 in 5 office mugs have fecal matter left in them, such as Salmonella, E. coli, Campylobacter and Staphylococcus aureus along with viruses that cause colds and flu.
Sure, there are other office materials like mice and keyboards where germ transfer is more widespread. However, you don’t put those in your mouth, unlike office mugs. Hence, Dr. Ackerley warns people to not leave their own personal office mugs overnight or at all. The same goes for water bottles, tumblers, or eating utensils which can also attract fecal matter.
Now, if you’re among those 25 percent of office employees who do not wash their hands after doing a number two while at work– please, do the world a favor.
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