Five surprising ways you might be exposing yourself to faecal bacteria

This week, Britain collectively gagged at the news that high levels of faecal bacteria had been found in iced coffee in High Street chains, in a BBC investigation.

Tests for ‘faecal coliform’ bacteria don’t always prove that there’s actually faeces in the food – the bacteria can be found on fruit and veg, and so there’s a few ‘false positives’.

But there’s a surprisingly large number of everyday appliances, drinks and foods which could expose you to coliform bacteria – quite possibly from other people’s faeces.

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If you’re eating at the moment, we strongly advise that you finish before reading on.

Drinking coffee or tea on an aeroplane

You might want to think twice about having coffee or tea on a plane – because many flight attendants refuse to touch the stuff.

One flight attendant told Business insider, ‘Flight attendants will not drink hot water on the plane. They will not drink plain coffee, and they will not drink plain tea.’

The reason they’re picky is two EPA studies from 2004 and 2012 – which found that 12 percent of samples of hot water on planes had ‘coliform’ bacteria in them, ie faecal bacteria.

Sharing a bathroom

If you share a bathroom, there’s a 60% chance that your brush is infected with faecal bacteria – and an 80% chance these come from other people.

Quinnipiac University researchers say that rinsing a brush – even in mouthwash – has no effect. The only way to keep your brush safe is to not share a bathroom.

Lauren Aber of Quinnipiac University says, ‘All toothbrushes were collected from participants using communal bathrooms. Regardless of the storage method, at least 60% of the toothbrushes were contaminated.

‘The main concern is not with the presence of your own fecal matter on your toothbrush, but rather when a toothbrush is contaminated with fecal matter from someone else, which contains bacteria, viruses or parasites that are not part of your normal flora.

Having a slice of lemon in your drink

Slices of lemon might seem like a refreshing thing to have in your gin and tonic – but they can harbour faecal bacteria.

The problem is they’re handled by a lot of people, and those people often take shortcuts – such as not washing their hands.

Philip Tierno, author of The Secret Life of Germs says that his in his tests on lemon slices, he ‘always comes up with evidence of contamination from the skin, respiratory secretions, and fecal matter.’

Previous research found that up to 70% of lemon slices served in drinks at restaurants had potentially harmful microbes on them.

Using a sunbed

When you lie down on a sunbed, you might well be lying in a warm, living bed of other people’s faecal bacteria.

Dawn Marie Davis, a dermatology expert at the Mayo Clinic, said that bacteria is ‘printed’ onto the bed from people’s bodies – and thrives there.

The staphylococcus bacteria, which can be life-threatening, faecal bacteria, the herpes virus, and papillomavirus, which causes warts, are all able to survive on a tanning bed.

Davis said, ‘If you sweat, that only adds to the bacteria or virus’s ability to grow, and then if you have a nick or cut in your skin, which is very common, then you’re much more likely to acquire the infection.’

The heat of the sunbed isn’t enough to kill off bacteria and viruses, she warns – leaving users at risk of herpes, bacteria and warts.

Using a smartphone on the toilet

Lots of us do it, but it’s a really bad idea, a GP has revealed – as it exposes phones to harmful bacteria which can make you (or others) really ill.

Speaking to SBS, Dr Anchita Karmakar says, ‘There are water and air particles that harbour in the little creases of the phone.

‘And phone covers and cases are usually made out of rubber, which is a warm and comfortable harbouring ground for bacteria.’

The problem is exacerbated by the fact that many of us use our phones while eating – making infection more likely.

Dr Karmakar says, ‘Even if you’re not using your phone on the toilet, you’re still holding it while you’re going in and out of the bathroom, and that’s enough to put bacteria on the phone when you haven’t yet washed your hands.