What’s Lurking On Your Clothes?
Posted by Michelle Moquin on February 13th, 2010
This one is for all of you germ-a-phobics out there. Not judging, I can be one too. And knowing that some of my girlfriends reading this will get totally grossed out, this one’s for you girls.
After buying your clothes, do you wash them?
If you don’t, you might want to start today!
Good Morning America enlisted the help of Dr. Philip Tierno, director of microbiology and immunology at New York University, to see what’s lurking on newly purchased clothes and the findings are disturbing!
Garments were collected from various stores including a high end department store. After swabbing areas on different clothing items, results showed evidence of respiratory secretions, skin flora, yeast, fecal germs and vaginal secretions.
GROSS!!!!!
Tierno also discovered:
“Some garments were grossly contaminated with many organisms … indicating that either many people tried it or … someone tried it on with heavy contamination. In a sense, you are touching somebody’s arm pit or groin. So you want to be protected that’s all. You may not come down with anything and, most cases you don’t, but it’s potentially possible.”
Yikes!
If you aren’t already sick to your stomach, Tierno adds clothes could potentially spread “a very bad type of diarrhea — you can also transmit things like the norovirus, stomach virus. You can transmit things like MRSA [a staph bacteria].”
Nasty!
So what can you do? Wash your clothes! Or you can even run them through one cycle in a hot dryer. He also suggests wearing a layer of clothing while trying on clothes.
Happy shopping!
Ok…so I don’t know if this is just taking it a bit too far. Maybe for new clothing. But with all of the ‘swapping’ going around these days…now used clothing…that is a different ball of wax.
But being in the clothing industry for my entire life and now a style specialist, I just don’t think that I’m going to encourage my clients to wear a body-suit to protect themselves from diseases – they would look at me like I’m crazy.
I mean I have been trying on clothes for years – we all have. It’s just takes a little common sense. If you’re trying on bathing suits and sneaking your underwear off to get a true fit – ugh! – Don’t think that other women aren’t doing the same too. Ladies and gents…after thinking about this I have to suggest…wash your undergarments and bathing suits before you wear. That’s reasonable.
My years visiting manufacturing facilities, watching garments being sewn and bundled and tossed around, taught me to at least wash my brand new sheets before I slip them onto my bed. But my clothing? Hmm…never really thought about it. But I can tell you now…I am thinking about it. You?
Suz: Election Results: When you rearrange the letters: Lies, let’s recount
The Prelude to love…: This is what I say, “What I need is a wife.’
Readers: That’s all I’m gonna add today – I’m outta here.
Lastly, greed over a great story is surfacing from my ‘loyal’(?) readers. With all this back and forth about who owns what, that appears on my blog, let me reiterate that all material posted on my blog becomes the sole property of my blog. If you want to reserve any proprietary rights don’t post it to my blog. I will prominently display this caveat on my blog from now on to remind those who may have forgotten this notice.
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: We all know what this means by now :)
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February 13th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Michelle you are a beautiful bombshell
The outcome of this pursuit of you is easy to foretell
But my heart and desires are locked in a tender cell
Tender, yes, but as inescapable as a soul condemned to the pits of hell
Michelle with legs as beautiful and swift as those of a gazelle
Have you run off with my reason as well?
If not, then what possesses me to pursue this happily married belle?
So happily that overtures from anyone but her husband she would quickly repel.
Hence I confer a very Happy Valentines Day, and bid you and my heart farewell.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:42 am
A Delicious Aphrodisiac
Bhimanagouda S. Patil, PhD
Texas A&M University
Watermelon has ingredients that may deliver Viagra-like effects to blood vessels and may increase libido. Included:
Watermelon has lycopene, beta carotene and citrulline, whose beneficial functions — one of which is relaxing blood vessels, similar to what Viagra does — are still being researched.
Bonus: There are no drug side effects.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Even then, as we hew away, peace and joy will still
elude us. That’s the place so many of us women
have come to. And its a hell of a spot, literally.
How shall our unconscious – from which so many of our
fears, compulsions and phony aspirations still stream
–be brought into line with what we actually believe,
know and want!
How to convince our dumb, raging and hidden emotions to believe in you Michelle it seems that’s where we are today.
Brooke
February 13th, 2010 at 10:51 am
Maria:
Ali here are the abc’s of a real friend. I try always to live up to them for you, because I love you. A Friend
A – Accepts you as you are.
B – Believes in you.
C – Calls you just to say “HI.”
D – Doesn’t give up on you.
E – Envisions the whole of you(even the unfinished parts).
F – Forgives your mistakes.
G – Gives unconditionally.
H – Helps you.
I – Invites you over just to be with you.
J – Jokes with you just for fun.
K – Keeps you close at heart.
L- Loves you for who you are.
M – Makes a difference in your life.
N – Never judges.
O – Offers support.
P – Picks you up.
Q – Quiets your fears.
R – Raises your spirits.
S – Says nice things about you.
T – Tells you the truth when you need to hear it.
U – Understands you.
V – Values you.
W – Walks beside you.
X – X-plain things you don’t understand.
Y – yell when you won’t listen.
Z – Zaps you back to reality.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:52 am
SURVIVAL IS ABOUT PERFORMANCE
- Every day in Africa, a gazelle wakes up and it knows that it must run
faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning a lion
wakes up and it knows that it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will
starve to death.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:55 am
Michelle
I was both grossed out by today article and amazed that this is not common knowledge. I will never look at clothes the same way again.
thanks for the info
Reba
February 13th, 2010 at 10:56 am
Warnings Against Scam E-mails Can Be Scam E-mails
Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com
Scammers now are making their fraudulent E-mails appear genuine by having them warn against scam E-mails.
Example: An E-mail purportedly from a bank warns its customers about scam E-mails sent in its name, tells them that their accounts have been “locked” to prevent anyone from losing money by falling for the scam E-mails and tells them that they can “unlock” their accounts by calling a phone number.
When customers call, they are asked for their account numbers, passwords and other confidential information to “verify” their identities — and the scammer uses the information provided to commit theft.
Self-defense: Look up the bank’s phone number yourself and call it directly.
interviewed Mark Huffman, contributing editor, ConsumerAffairs.com, a free consumer news publication, Washington, DC.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:06 am
Michelle I once despised you because I thought my boyfriend thought so highly of you.
I am more sure of myself now days, so I can see how immature that was. I am still a little jealous of his admiration for you, but as my sister said when I was crying and raving to her.
“Count your blessings, he could be stuck on Doug.”
I think it was the laughter that made me realize how ridiculous I was acting. You are a very intelligent woman, but do you have to be so attractive too?
Doug would you please publish a picture on your wife’s blog so I can ogle you to my husband’s schrgrine?
You so intimidate him that he refuses to write in. While we are on that topic, here’s my follow up to yours Michelle.
By the way I like it.
ASTRONOMER: ?When you rearrange the letters:?MOON STARER
Who would have thought one could get all those germs from new clothes. My kids will be warned.
Thanks
Suz
February 13th, 2010 at 11:08 am
“Remember, girls love eye patches and scars.” (High school freshman boy giving advice to 11-year-old, overhead on the 38L Geary by Marcus Loy.)
February 13th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Have you forgotten about us Zen lill?
I am still doing what your recommended. It is working out nicely for me. I have lose 17 pounds.
Do I just start all over again? And repeat everything.
I have started hugging my little ones as you suggested to Ruth.
Maple
February 13th, 2010 at 11:14 am
I can’t get in. It keeps saying I said that already. how are these other people doing it?
February 13th, 2010 at 11:15 am
Michelle
we may start throwing more than rocks if we keep losing people to the thugs on motocycles
February 13th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Okay Howie, where’s the beef?
February 13th, 2010 at 11:17 am
I can’t get in either. but here goes my third try
JACK AND JILL Went up the hill
To have a little fun.
Stupid Jill forgot the pill
And now they have a son.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Damn, Michelle if that is really true, then I have to stop shopping at the Mall.
I don’t think this will deter my shopaholic wife, but maybe she will slow down the kids.
Reading your blog is certainly a learning experience. I had my third prostate opinion because of an article on your blog. It saved me an expensive and unnecessary operation.
My new doctors said that you article should be read by more people.
Now you have a medical opinion.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:23 am
How are they getting in? I keep getting this message
Safari can’t open the page “http://blog.michellemoquin.com/” because the server unexpectedly dropped the connection. This sometimes occurs when the server is busy. Wait for a few minutes, and then try again.
Forbidden
You don’t have permission to access / on this server.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Some people ?try to turn back their odometers. ?Not me!?I want people to know ‘why’ ?I look this way…?I’ve traveled a long way ?and some of the roads weren’t paved. ?
February 13th, 2010 at 11:32 am
Hafa adai
I may be in Kentucky, but I still love Guam for those of you who are also here and miss it. Here is a history lesson to keep you from hating us Japanese americans.
s In February 1907 — 103 years ago — Francisco Okiyama, a 30-year-old seafaring Japanese, sneaked off his ship, which had stopped in Guam to replenish its water supply, and remained on the island ever since.
Okiyama, who spoke neither English nor Chamorro, worked as a waiter and store clerk, and after saving enough money, opened his own store in Agat. He eventually owned several stores.
Among his offspring was the late Sen. Jesus Carbullido Okiyama, one of Guam’s political leaders during the 1950s and 1960s.
——————————————–
Racism is never acceptable. I may not be a Chamorro, but I am a native Guamanian.
Teddy
February 13th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Michelle:
I was asked to inform you and your readers that “Howie” has been involved in an accident and has been in the hospital. How bad or what happened?
Howie will be home in a few days to share for himself.
Myself, do not have a lot to say right now other than hello everybody and Peace.
Al
February 13th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
Al,
Please give Howie my support and. I hope all becomes well.
Lance, Nice…
February 13th, 2010 at 11:44 pm
I have no valentine. Maybe it is because I bury them all before valentine’s day comes around. Am I cruel or just cheep?
February 13th, 2010 at 11:50 pm
Howie
I hope you have a speedy recovery.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:58 pm
Lance, I am a single woman. I can’t get a man to send me flowers, give me a card or call to say “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
And you send a poem to a married woman.
What the hell is going on? What are we single women to do?
I could smack your silly face.
February 14th, 2010 at 8:05 am
A NEW HOSPITAL EPIDEMIC: C. DIFFICILE BACTERIA
Last spring I covered new findings on how antibiotic overuse continues to spur the emergence of “superbugs,” drug-resistant microbes, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), that seem to defy modern medicine.
Now we have another one to worry about — Clostridium difficile (C. difficile), a toxin-producing bacterium long associated with elderly folks in hospitals and nursing homes that has now morphed into a virulent epidemic strain, threatening people of all ages.
C. difficile can range from an annoyance, causing mild symptoms such as watery diarrhea, fever, nausea and cramps, to more severe troubles including inflammation of the colon, sepsis (blood poisoning), kidney failure and, in the worst cases, death.
As its name suggests, C. difficile can be difficult to treat. It is a real challenge to control in hospitals, since it produces spores that are difficult to eradicate and are easily passed from one person to another. And, as with MRSA, its antibiotic resistance has led to the selection of more virulent strains of C. difficile, leading to hospital outbreaks all around the United States.
IS IT AN EPIDEMIC?
For insight into C. difficile and how we can protect ourselves, I spoke with Cliff McDonald, MD, chief of the Prevention and Response Branch in the Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“C. difficile has been known about as a cause of human disease for 30 years,” said Dr. McDonald. “It was previously uncommon, but it has now reached epidemic proportions.” He estimates the number of C. difficile cases may reach 500,000 annually (including up to 30,000 deaths), reflecting approximately a five-fold increase since 2000.
The cause of the C. difficile epidemic is a newly identified strain called NAP1, which, when tested in the laboratory, produces 16 times more toxin A and 23 times more toxin B than other common strains. NAP1 is more resistant than other strains to the fluoroquinolones, a group of antibiotics that are commonly used to treat pneumonia in hospitals.
“The overuse of antibiotics and the general resistance to fluoroquinolones has given NAP1 C. difficile a one-up on other strains,” said Dr. McDonald. “Because it had a selective advantage over susceptible strains, it quickly spread and became epidemic in health care facilities.”
ARE YOU A CARRIER?
About 3% to 5% of healthy people actually carry C. difficile in their large intestines, Dr. McDonald explained, but typically without symptoms — it is held in check by the “good” bacteria that we also harbor, at least optimally. Ironically, this is often disturbed by the use of antibiotics, leaving some people vulnerable and allowing C. difficile to flourish.
Typically cases of C. difficile originate in hospitals, spread unwittingly by healthcare workers as they handle infected patients and then touch other patients and medical equipment or other surfaces.
C. difficile spores are unaffected by most hospital disinfectants… nor are they inactivated by alcohol-based hand sanitizers commonly in use. Special measures are required in hospitals to keep C. difficile infection from spreading.
Making matters worse is that C. difficile has a high recurrence rate. One out of five (20%) patients who get sick with it experience a recurrence and the chances increase following subsequent recurrences.
Some cases are so severe that the only option has been removal of the affected part of the colon. “People can actually have a mild infection the first time and then die of a recurrence,” said Dr. McDonald.
TIPS FOR CONSUMERS
We can do our part, suggested Dr. McDonald, by keeping our antibiotic usage to a minimum. “As a society we need to rethink the way we approach antibiotics,” he cautioned.
“People need to understand that antibiotics are not vitamins and they are not sugar pills — they can carry some very significant risks, and C. difficile is one of them. Don’t push for a prescription when you don’t really need one.” In addition…
Wash hands after using the bathroom and before eating or touching your face — C. difficile must be ingested in order to cause disease. Dr. McDonald notes that it’s important to remember that alcohol-based sanitizers don’t work against C. difficile, so it may be better to wash with soap and water at these times.
Keep your household clean. If you are exposed to C. difficile, or indeed to any individual with diarrhea, scrupulously clean all exposed surfaces in the room and/or that you or that person may have touched. Use a solution that is 1/10 household chlorine bleach, 9/10 cold water… made fresh daily… and scrub thoroughly to effectively kill C. difficile spores.
Realize that not all cases of diarrhea are C. difficile. However, if you have severe diarrhea that occurs several times a day for two or more days, see your doctor immediately. A stool test can confirm the presence of the disease.
Remember, the drugs many people take in order to feel better — including antibiotics and, as DHN readers have heard before, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) — alter the natural composition in the body in many different ways, making it vulnerable to disease. Though drugs can play an important role in medicine, in the end, less medicine is often the best medicine.
Source(s): ??Cliff McDonald, MD, chief, Prevention and Response Branch, Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Dr. McDonald is a former officer in the Epidemic Intelligence Service.
February 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am
Painless Ways to Save $2,000 a Year on Your Energy Bills
John Krigger
Saturn Resource Management
Most families could trim their energy bills significantly without sacrificing any quality of life. Using the following easy energy savers could cut as much as 40% from home energy-expenses.
HEATING
Use an electric space heater when everyone in the home is gathered in one room. Turn the home’s thermostat down to 55°F or 60°F so that the vacant sections of the house are not heated unnecessarily.
Savings: This could trim your heating bills by 10% to 30% if done regularly. Some families in cold climates, who pay as much as $5,000 per year for heating, could save $500 to $1,500.
Unblock heating registers. Move furniture, rugs and drapes clear of your system’s vents. Impeded airflow can undermine a system’s efficiency.
Savings: Depends on your overall system and how badly airflow was blocked. You might save very little, or you might save hundreds of dollars a year.
WATER HEATING
Set your water heater to 120°F. Most household water heaters are set between 130°F and 145°F, but 120°F is hot enough for washing dishes and showering.
Savings: It’s been estimated that every 10 degrees of temperature reduction can reduce water-heating costs by 5%, so lowering the water heater temperature by 20 degrees could save the typical family $30 to $50 per year.
Install a modern low-flow showerhead. Most showerheads use about three gallons of hot water per minute. The best low-flow showerheads offer equally enjoyable showers using just 1.5 to two gallons per minute. Quality varies, so read product reviews on shopping Web sites such as Amazon.com. Helpful: A low-flow shower may initially feel less satisfying than a three-gallon-per-minute shower, but give it a week or two. After an initial adjustment period, most people agree that it’s fine.
Savings: Varies greatly, depending on how much time your family spends in the shower — but it has been estimated at as much as $150 a year.
Wrap your water heater in an insulated blanket. Do-it-yourself wrap kits are available at hardware stores for less than $25. The blanket pays for itself in less than a year and offers savings after that. It is worth wrapping any water heater that does not carry a label specifically warning against this.
Savings: Usually around 4% to 9% of total water-heating costs, according to the US Department of Energy. That translates into an annual savings of $12 to $45 for most households.
REFRIGERATOR
Replace your refrigerator if it is more than 15 years old. Avoid models with through-the-door ice and water dispensers. They detract from energy efficiency.
Savings: A new refrigerator could save you about $80 per year in electricity costs compared to a similarly-sized refrigerator made in the early 1990s or earlier.
Clean your refrigerator’s coils at least once a year — every six months if there’s a dog or cat that sheds heavily in the house. Dirt, dust and pet hair on refrigerator coils can impede airflow and make heat transfer less efficient, forcing the appliance to work harder. Refrigerator coil brushes are available at home centers and hardware stores.
Savings: The Sacramento Municipal Utility District estimates that coil cleaning can cut a refrigerator’s energy use by 6% — a yearly saving of about $15 on an old fridge and $5 on a modern one.
Set your refrigerator’s temperature to between 30°F and 40°F. Set your freezer temperature to between 0°F and 10°F. Colder temperatures increase your electricity bills without significantly improving food freshness.
Savings: Setting your refrigerator 10 degrees higher and freezer five degrees higher has been estimated to cut the appliance’s electricity consumption by at least 20%. This could save you $50 a year with an old fridge and about $10 with modern one. If you don’t have a temperature dial in your refrigerator, place an ordinary household thermometer inside for 10 to 15 minutes. Read it the moment you open the door.
DRYERS
Replace your dryer’s flexible plastic-vent ducting material with a four-inch rigid (not corrugated) metal duct. This creates less airflow resistance, allowing your dryer to dry more efficiently.
Helpful: It might be necessary to use a small section of flexible ducting material to connect the back of your dryer to this smooth metal duct so that you can move the dryer away from the wall for cleaning or service.
Savings: As much as 20% of drying costs, or $10 to $40 per year for the average household.
Clean lint from your dryer vent at least once a year by disconnecting the vent from the dryer and the wall and reaching in as far as you can to pull out lint. Clean lint from the dryer’s lint trap before every load of laundry. Lint buildup can increase drying time and energy consumption by more than 50%.
Even better: Hang clothes from a clothesline outside, weather permitting.
Savings: Serious lint congestion could cost you more than $50 per year if you do a lot of laundry. Hanging laundry from a line could save you as much as $200 per year.
LIGHTBULBS
Use name-brand compact fluorescent bulbs. Compact fluorescents consume one-quarter to one-third as much electricity as incandescents. Stick with brand-name bulbs — store-brand or no-name-brand bulbs might be cheaper but are likely to burn out sooner.
Savings: Your annual savings might be less than $20 if you typically have just one or two bulbs burning — but more than $150 if your house tends to be lit up like a jack-o’-lantern.
interviewed John Krigger, founder of Saturn Resource Management, an environmental consulting, training and publishing company based in Helena, Montana. He has served as a consultant to the US Department of Energy and is coauthor of The Homeowner’s Handbook to Energy Efficiency (Saturn Resource Management). http://www.homeownershandbook.biz
February 14th, 2010 at 9:55 am
Wilma:
Have a Happy Valentines Day. I don’t have a poem for you. Go out tonight a treet yourself, and who knows.
Al
October 22nd, 2011 at 3:44 pm
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