MOBILE HYGIENE PROMOTION

2009 STUDY FINDS CELL PHONES IN HOSPITALS BREED "SUPERBUGS"

2009-03-07T00:07:00.000-08:00

A new study out of Turkey reports cell phones are tremendous breeding grounds for viruses, including the dreaded MRSA. Doctors especially should be mindful of this and make it a habit to clean their phones! Study finds hospital staff phones full of bacteria

areyoutalkingdirty.org@gmail.com

PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY & HYGIENE

2009-01-04T19:23:00.000-08:00

You love your cell phone. You use it everyday. It's probably the first, last and most touched item you come in contact with everyday. And it gets dirty. "Practice good mobile hygiene", clean your cell phone.

These handy gadgets can now do anything from allow physicians to review patient records on-the-go, to alert drivers in San Francisco of nearby parking spaces while looking for spot, in addition to the texting, surfing and calling on many of today's phones.

So it makes sense that germs build up on cell phones as we use them throughout the day. It was a few years ago when we learned that computer keyboards and mouses can be quite dirty, especially public ones, but also the ones at our home or office. Now imagine pressing something that dirty against your face several times a day. That's going on right now.

Most cell phones are used by just one person, although many aren't. Either way, can you imagine how dirty a doctor's cell phone may be after a busy shift of checking patient records while traversing the hospital?

It's important for all of us to be aware of new health risks that new products, and new behaviors can introduce, specifically, in this case, virus and bacteria accumulation on cell phones and smartphones.

New products can induce new behavior, and new behavior can introduce new risks that we should all be aware of. This tied to the ubiquitousness of cell phones and personal usage expected to rise, give greater importance to raising awareness about good mobile hygiene.

We encourage healthier use of cell phones and smartphones, and like many forecast a continued surge in wireless usage among the 3.3 billion mobile phones throughout the world.

Our message is to the tune of: go on and check your voicemails while sunbathing at the beach. Snap a picture of friends while camping with your cell phone. And by all means enjoy your phone’s mp3 player while on a crowded subway commute or at the gym.

But if you’re going to use that same phone to a send text message from dinner, or browsing the web during a lunch break, clean it first, or at least once in a while...and with more than your shirt! Can you imagine how dirty a heavy users cell phone can get after a month of use without cleaning it?

We embrace a healthy growing with personal mobile technology and aim to raise awareness that there is an issue here, it is serious, and it can be easily addressed.

Bacteria build-up on cell phones is a problem that affects every mobile user with varying degrees. If you wash your hands you should also be mindful of the germs on your cell phone that come in contact with your hands and other surfaces, then your face at spontaneous moments thoughout the day (whenever it rings).

Health experts suggest to clean your phone once in a while, and tell close ones around you to do the same. Help raise awareness by guiding them here, or bring this topic to their attention.

Who This Affects?

2008-12-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

It’s tough to specifically answer this question. Hopefully this forum will collaborate information to help articulate a precise answer, perhaps a chart that bases the aversion to risk to how you use your cell phone, what your monthly voice plan is, and how much you text, calendar, email, etc. on your phone.

But common sense and previous similar studies can help answer the question. How bacteria build-up affects a particular cell phone user depends on that user’s personal hygiene, and where and how they used their phone (in the bathroom?).

Personal hygiene plays an important role because a person that maintains good hygiene is likely less susceptible to the more dire health risks that microbiologists have cited can result from bacteria accumulation on cell phones. Washing your hands remains the #1 method of preventing germs from entering your body. In today’s age of increasing use of mobile technology, maintain a clean cell phone may be #2.

Therefore it seems the health risks associated with bacteria build-up on cell phones likely affects every cell phone users, but with varying degrees. This Key Board Germ Test asks some interesting questions that can be applied to mobile phone usage, but we really need a test specifically designed for cell phones.

Who does bacteria build-up on cell phones affect? The answer seems to be every cell phone user.

areyoutalkingdirty@gmail.com

More Tests & Case Studies (Videos)

2008-12-03T07:30:00.000-08:00

Reports and research from tests of people’s cell phones are emerging everywhere, still mostly informal but very telling of the seriousness of the risks to cell phone users.

Some are a random drawing of people walking by, while others a selected focus group of cell phone users.

In either case the results are incredibly enlightening, and in some instances down right scray! If this much bacteria is found on such a large percentage of cell phones, everyone is susceptible to this new health risk that will grow as mobile technology continues to improve.

With recent warnings from the British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) of skin rashes and more terrible conditions relating to mobile dermatitis, it's more important than ever to maintain a clean cell phone and be mindful of where and when we use our phones, and what we do to clean them – besides a futile rub on a shirt.

areyoutalkingdirty.org@gmail.com

MORE RESEARCH IS DONE

2008-11-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

A google search for “cell phone germs” or “cell phone rash” brings up some interesting results . It seems that the news about bacteria build-up on cell phones is beginning to spread. Certainly there’s much more information propping up as people are noticing this all over, in the UK, Arizona, Phillipines and more. Doctors and health conscious people are starting to realize that there is a health risk associated with cell phones, but it’s not radiation or brain tumors, it’s bacterial and viral infections that find their way into the body via a cell phone that’s pressed against the face for 30 minutes while catching up with a friend during free nights and weekends.

NEW HEALTH FINDINGS RELATED TO CELL PHONES

2008-10-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

A New Health Alert has been released by The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) further establishing findings from earlier reports that cell phones can act as germ harboring perti dishes for thousands of bacteria from our hands, faces and all the places our cell phones touch and travel throughout the day.

These are quite compelling reports considering how much we all handle our phones. For those of us who take care to maintain a healthy lifestyle and good personal hygiene, who wash our hands and faces and are mindful of the environments we come in contact with, learning that our trusted cell phones can be one of the dirtiest items we handle all day is alarming.

KEYBOARD GERM CHALLENGE

2008-10-15T22:41:00.000-07:00

Find out the total number of germs on your keyboard. Then just imagine how much bacteria can be on cell phones!!!

Answer a few questions here to find out how many germs are on your keyboard right now! We can learn from the questions asked about what factors affect how dirty our computer keyboards, and cell phones can get. Take keyboard germ challenge now!

We should make a germ quiz for cell phones (based on monthly minute usage, texts, data plan, touchscreen and other factors).

When taking the quiz, replace keyboard with cell phones and imagine how dirty our cell phones can be. AND...we don't hold our computer keyboard next to our face for 20 minutes at a time like we do our cell phones!

Help get the word about germs and bacteria on cell phones by telling your friends and family about this...or direct them to www.areyoutalkingdirty.org

ABOUT

2008-09-24T17:59:00.000-07:00

areyoutalkingdirty.org is a fun name for a serious health awareness campaign. Our message is simple yet novel. It relates to technology topics as well as health prevention and healthy lifestyles, and directly affects over 260,000,000 Americans every single day.

The topic is cell phones, and yet another way they can harm us. But don't worry, this one is quick and easy. The question is, are you talking dirty?

Please take a moment to view this important video.

You see, scientific research and common sense tell us that our cell phones are one of the dirtiest items we handle all day! This makes sense as our cell phones travel with us everywhere. Back in 2002, when cell phones still looked like miniature versions of a 1980s computer screen, 150 monthly minutes cost $60, and only 1 in 7 people used them regularly, germ and bacteria accumulation on mobile phones wasn't a major public health concern.

But today over 250,000,000 Americans text, email, chat, calendar, take a photo, listen to music, set a reminder, watch TV, get directions, talk for unlimited nights and weekend minutes, and/or surf the web to do much much more from their mobile phones like never before. We believe germ and bacteria accumulation on these useful devices that come in close personal contact with over 80% of the US population increasingly more times per day is a widespread health risk that can be avoided easily with simple awareness and prevention.

Protect yourself and those close to you by forwarding this site to anyone you know that has a cell phone (yes everyone over the age of 10 that you know), and generally telling your friends and family, via cell phone or otherwise, of this new health risk. Encourage them to clean their phones once in a while.

Check back here soon to learn more about this emerging health topic and get advice from medical and technology experts on how wireless users can protect themselves.

Also check back for important Public Service Announcements from the health and medical communities in your area on this topic, or contact them directly to inquire about the matter.

And keep your cell phone clean!