What is on your toothbrush? What does your toothbrush habour? Do you know your toothbrush is loaded with germs? To be exact, one uncovered toothbrush can harbour more than 100 million bacteria, including E. coli bacteria, which can cause diarrhoea, and staphylococci ("staph") bacteria that cause skin infections.
But your mouth is actually full of bacteria, and isn't exactly sterile to begin with. There are hundreds of microorganisms in our mouths every day. But according to experts, this is no big deal. Problems only start when there is an unhealthy balance of bacteria in the mouth.
A dentist says it's important to remember that plaque—the stuff you're removing from your teeth —is bacteria. So you're putting bacteria on your toothbrush every time you brush your teeth. Could your toothbrush be making you sick?
The answer is probably not. Regardless of how many bacteria live in your mouth, or have gotten in there via your toothbrush, your body's natural defences make it highly unlikely that you're going to catch an infection simply from brushing your teeth.
Fortunately, the human body is usually able to defend itself from bacteria. So we aren't aware of any real evidence that sitting the toothbrush in your bathroom in the toothbrush holder is causing any real damage or harm. We don't know that the bacteria on there are translating into infections.Still, you should exercise some common sense about storing your toothbrush, including how close it is to the toilet.
Don't brush your teeth where you flush
Most bathrooms are small. And in many homes, the toilet is quite close to the bathroom sink where you keep your toothbrush. Every toilet flush sends a spray of bacteria into the air. And you don't want the toilet spray anywhere near your open toothbrush.
It's just common sense to store your toothbrush as far away from the toilet as possible. You also wouldn't eat after going to the bathroom without first washing your hands. The same advice applies before brushing your teeth.
Toothbrush storage tips
Once you've moved your toothbrush away from the toilet, here are a few other storage tips to keep your brush as germ-free as possible:
Keep it rinsed. Wash off your toothbrush thoroughly with tap water every time you use it.?Keep it dry. Bacteria love a moist environment. Make sure your brush has a chance to dry thoroughly between brushings. Avoid using toothbrush covers, which can create a moist enclosed breeding ground for bacteria.
Keep it upright. Store your toothbrush upright in a holder, rather than lying it down.
Keep it to yourself. No matter how close you are to your sister, brother, spouse, or roommate, don't ever use their toothbrush. Don't even store your toothbrush side-by-side in the same cup with other people's brushes. Whenever toothbrushes touch, they can swap germs.
Do toothbrush sanitizers really work?
Various products pledge to sanitize your toothbrush. Some say they kill bacteria with heat or ultraviolet light, germ-killing sprays, or rinses. Others have built-in antibacterial bristles.
There's evidence that at least some of these products do effectively kill germs. But there's no real proof that using any toothbrush sanitizer will reduce your risk of getting sick.
If you choose to use one of these products, make sure that it has been reviewed and approved which checks the validity of consumer health product marketing claims.Remember that even the best products won't kill all the germs on your toothbrush. At best, they'll kill 99.9 percent of the germs.
That means if you have one million bacteria on your toothbrush to start, you'll still have about 1,000 remaining when you're finished sanitizing. Some people recommend putting your toothbrush into the microwave oven or dishwasher to sanitize it. Although these methods will kill some of the bacteria, they will probably damage your toothbrush in the process. It's better to just buy disposable brushes and throw them out.
When to discard your toothbrush
The best way to limit the bacteria on your toothbrush is to replace it on a regular basis. Most dental associations recommend throwing out your toothbrush every three to four months. If the bristles become frayed, you're sick, or you have a weak immune system, throw it out even more often. If you use an electric toothbrush, throw out the head as often as you'd discard a disposable toothbrush.
Every time you're tempted to skip brushing and flossing your teeth, remember how many bacteria lurk in your mouth – and what they can do. It's bacteria that cause gum disease, and decay, and bad breath. Make sure you're brushing and flossing as often as possible to eliminate some of those bacteria." Rinsing your mouth with an antibacterial mouthwash before or after brushing can also help reduce plaque-causing bacteria that can lead to gingivitis, an early, mild form of gum disease.
Is your perfume toxic?
Sure, you scrutinize the tiny print on your favourite face cream to pinpoint any potentially harmful ingredients, but you also need to know what's lurking in your go-to eau de toilette. You've heard this a million times before but it's worth repeating: Your skin is your largest organ, so what you put on it will without a doubt end up inside your body. That's why it's not only important to be conscious of what you're splashing on, but also what you're spraying on your skin every day.
Fragrance enters your body through your skin but also through your nose and lungs, so it has three points of entry—and the lungs give direct access to the blood stream. The trouble is, it's not always super-obvious what's really inside that pretty glass bottle of perfume.
Since fragrance formulas are considered a "secret recipe" and top-secret information, the regulatory agencies don not make companies list every single ingredient individually. A laundry list of possibly toxic chemicals can read as just "fragrance" on the box.
Some of the common lingo and terms associated with perfume ingredients are :3-Ps, parabens, polycyclic/Nitro Musk. When phthalates and parabens are in perfume, as well as other beauty goods such as skincare products and nail polish, their main purpose is to preserve a product's lasting power on your skin, as well as its shelf life, while synthetic (polycyclic/nitro) musk is added to some fine fragrances. These three P's have all been shown to have hormone disrupting activity.
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