You don't need me to tell you how bad this year's flu season has been in the U.S. It seems like everybody is getting sick, and you're probably right.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this flu season is just as bad as it was in 2009 when we had swine flu, and it may only get worse!
Unfortunately, it's not your "average" flu, this year's flu strain is much more aggressive on the body, causing more death and hospital visits.
It seems like the simple solution to prevent yourself from getting sick is to wash your hands. That's crucial, but we never hear about how to properly dry our hands.
Apparently there's a right way to get rid of those germs, and, contrary to popular belief, an automatic hand dryer is the worst way to go.
A 2016 study published in The Journal of Applied Microbiology discovered that high-powered hand dryers spread 1,300 times as many germs as paper towels, and standard hand dryers spread 60 times as many as a paper towel. Companies like Dyson told ABC News that they were "surprised to see these results, and unclear on the methodology employed."
One student conducted an experiment at her microbiology class to see if this was true, and the student's results are shockingly disgusting.
Ok guys.. ready to have your mind blown?! This here, Is what grew in a Petri dish after just a few days. I stuck the...
Posted by Nichole Ward on Tuesday, January 30, 2018
Nichole Ward posted the photo of a Petri dish from her experiment under this caption: "This here is what grew in a Petri dish after just a few days. I stuck the open plate in an enclosed hand dryer of a public bathroom for a total of 3 minutes. Yes 3 only. DO NOT EVER dry your hands in those things again. This is the several strains of possible pathogenic fungi and bacteria that you're swirling around your hands, and you think you're walking out with clean hands."
The post has gone viral, and for good reason! We're better off using a paper towel, and if there's none around, we might as well shake our hands dry.
