These antibacterial hacks are going viral.
Charles Puza, a board-certified dermatologist in New York City who studied at Harvard and Duke University, offers four tips to help prevent illness.
To avoid germs, Puzat recommends wiping the tops of aluminum cans before drinking from them, not putting lemon slices in drinks at restaurants, not touching doorknobs and disinfecting your cell phone frequently.
“These are doctor tips that will save lives,” Puza declared. Sunday TikTokIt has been viewed over 14,000 times.
Wipe the top of an aluminum can
“Do you know that most can lids are contaminated with bacteria and mold?” Puzat ponders. “I always clean them before I put them in my mouth.”
A range of bacteria were found on 180 beverage can lids collected from various retailers. 2022 Analysis.
“Drink cans are placed in different environments and handled by different people and may therefore represent a potential source of infection for consumers. We strongly recommend washing drink cans before drinking from them,” the researchers wrote in the Journal of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics.
The most effective way to remove bacteria from cans was to rinse them with tap water and then wipe them with a dry tissue, the researchers found.
Remove the lemon slices from the drink
Nobody wants to drink a dirty lemon martini.
“Lemons are one of the dirtiest things in the kitchen. Don’t put them in water,” Puzha advised.
2007 Study When lemon slices served with water or soda were tested at 21 restaurants in Paterson, New Jersey, about 70% showed microbial growth. A total of 25 different types of microorganisms were identified in the samples.
“People touch the lemon in your glass, handle it, cut it, put it in a container or a cup or a glass, and then later pick up the slice, drop it in the drink, or place it on the rim of the glass,” says Philip Tierno, clinical professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and author of “The Secret Life of Bacteria.” “I was like, ‘Oh, I’m not a racist,'” she explained to Elle in 2016“It’s easy to imagine that a lemon slice or a lemon wedge could be contaminated.”
Don’t touch the doorknob
“Anyone else afraid of doorknobs?” Puzat wondered. “Most doorknobs are full of germs, so I never touch them.”
Door handles in high traffic areas Bacteria are known to harbor Viruses can also get on them. If you don’t want to touch them, there are tools you can attach to your keychain that can open public door handles and press elevator buttons. At home, wash your door handles with dish soap and warm water.
Disinfect your phone
We take our phones everywhere, including to the bathroom, which means they carry a lot of germs.
Before you swipe, you need to wipe. Verizon Recommends Power off and unplug your phone, wash your hands for at least 20 seconds, and wipe down the outside of your phone, including the screen, with an antibacterial wipe.
If you don’t have wipes, Verizon says you can wipe down your phone with an alcohol-based disinfectant cleaner that contains 70% isopropyl alcohol, the right concentration to kill bacteria on the phone’s surface, and a soft cloth.
Puzha said he cleans his phone at least twice a day.
