Germa-PHONE!

How many times a day do you touch your cell phone? Think of all the places you put your phone down during the day. Perhaps it hibernates in your pocket. I know my teenagers often sleep with their phones - clutched in their hands after falling asleep during late-night texting or perhaps tucked under their pillow so they'll hear the alarm go off in the morning. Well, I'm here to tell you, that's just GROSS!

Cell phones are little germ harbors. At any given time they could have staph, e.coli, or any number of other grossifications on them. Here's an example: yesterday we went bowling. My hands touched the bowling ball (God only knows what was harboring in those moist little finger holes), then my cell phone. I put my cell phone on the counter when it was my turn to bowl. I put my cell phone in my pocket occasionally. I ate a nacho chip and some french fries (in my defense, I did offer a round of "Island Margarita" hand sanitizer, which everyone readily accepted but that only goes so far in disinfectant power). I held my phone to my ear while talking, thus spreading makeup, sweat and whatever germs my hair, ear and cheek were hosting at that very moment onto it's touch-screen surface. I put my phone in my purse. I took it out. I put it on my nightstand and plugged it in to charge.

In the morning my phone felt..........dirty. Fuzz had collected on it's rubbery "skin", the touchscreen was a tad cloudy and I could practically SEE microscopic bugs crawling all over its surface. ICK! So, I took a lens wipe (mostly alcohol) and set to disinfecting my phone, something I try to do once a day, but only succeed in doing a few times a week. And I can't help but wonder, how often do cell phones make people sick? One study showed a cell phone had up to 18 times more bacteria than a toilet handle. Ew. In another study, 30 cellphones were swabbed for potential bacteria. Thirteen of them had dangerous bacteria on them - including staph, strep and MRSA. Plus, we often keep our cell phones in our pockets or our hands, which are warm and help breed bacteria at an alarming rate.

The bottom line? Wipe your cell phone down with an electronic or lens wipe at least once a day. And be wary of "borrowing" someone's phone. Don't lay your phone down on public surfaces, better to keep it in your pocket or purse. And DON'T sleep with it. All that ick just transfers to your bedding. Yep, cell phones are grosser than toilet seats. Would you carry a public restroom toilet seat around all day, put it to your cheek, hold it and sleep with it? Never. So, for God's sake, clean your cell phone. It's disgusting.