Taking Showers Can Be Harmful To Your Health 431
TheClockworkSoul writes "According to both the BBC and NewScientist, showering may be bad for your health. Apparently, dirty shower heads can be an ideal breeding ground for Mycobacterium avium, a bug responsible for a type of pulmonary disease more prevalent than tuberculosis in developed countries, cases of which have risen in parallel with the rise in showering. Tests revealed nearly a third of devices harbor significant levels of the critter."
Who would have guessed? (Score:5, Funny)
I guess a couple of co-workers are actually just taking good care of their health. I'm pretty sure one of them doesn't come anywhere near this bacterium more than twice a year.
Secretly, some geeks knew... (Score:3, Funny)
Secretly, some geeks knew this all along, hiding from the masses the real reasons they didn't shower. Now their cover is blown!
oh great (Score:4, Funny)
Ahh sweet vindication (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Now what? (Score:5, Funny)
sponge baths, given by sexy barely legal nurses in underwear, now that's healthy, in more than one sense of the word.
Re:Who would have guessed? (Score:5, Funny)
And if the bacterium accidentally finds itself on the aforementioned co-workers' skin, they wouldn't be able to establish a beachhead against the aggressive pre-existing community already there.
We're all microbiomes; some of us are just more... lush.
Re:Gentlemen, start your start-ups (Score:5, Funny)
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
What I've done to protect myself against this terrifying bacteria is to actively encourage the growth of black mold in my shower, which suppresses bacteria growth.
This has a lot of benefits:
1. Chinks in the grout between tiles are filled automagically with an attractive black growth.
2. I never have to clean hard-to-reach areas, since this is where the mold grows best.
3. My shower is now cute and cuddly due to the "furry" coating on exposed surfaces. It's like a panda bear, except without the bamboo and pointy teeth!
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:3, Funny)
You must be single. Back in the day I had to choose between my friends in the shower or my ability to keep getting laid. It wasn't a hard decision ;)
...the mistake here is not having your girlfriend be one of the "friends in the shower". If you find one that's into "group activities" you won't have this issue.
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:4, Funny)
Friends don't let friends use the CLR, excessive usage can leave you infected with Mono!
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
Are they extra healthy in France? (Score:2, Funny)
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
Back in the day I had to choose between my friends in the shower or my ability to keep getting laid. It wasn't a hard decision ;)
So, enough suspense already! Which one did you pick?
Re:Sensationalism (Score:5, Funny)
As the wonderful Daily Mash [thedailymash.co.uk] points out;
"Nevertheless it is better to carry the heady stench of the Gaul than expose yourself to the sort of tiny risks that generate gigantic headlines."
CU Boulder (Score:5, Funny)
This is all based on a study out of CU Boulder. As a Denver resident, I can attest that the dirty hippies at CU Boulder are on a never-ending quest to justify their poor hygiene. Don't be fooled! Shower every day!
-Peter
Re:Now what? (Score:5, Funny)
sponges are also full of germs. better stick to a good hand-rubbing. ;-)
A Victory for Open Source! (Score:4, Funny)
I declare this a victory for Open Source. Now - on to making beards, sandals with black socks, and red suspenders fashionable again!
Re:not to be stereotypical here but... (Score:5, Funny)
(lifelong acme sufferer)
Ah, but how often do coyotes normally shower?
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:3, Funny)
He's posting on Slashdot. Is it really a mystery?
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
I think it's obvious; he's on slashdot, after all.
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
Or is that the Army approach?
Re:Sensationalism (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Dear Slashdotters (Score:5, Funny)
In order for many slashdotters to cease bathing, they would first have to start bathing.
Sorry, I saw a nit and had to pick it! ;)
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
Jerry: Hey, you're not giving it to me, man. What's wrong?
Kramer: I just took a bath, Jerry. A bath?
Jerry: No good?
Kramer: It's disgusting. I'm sitting there in a tepid pool of my own filth.
All kinds of microscopic parasites and organisms having sex all around me.
http://www.seinfeldscripts.com/TheShowerhead.htm [seinfeldscripts.com]
Re:Sensationalism (Score:1, Funny)
and the article glosses over that MOST water supplies in the USA are so heavily chlorinated, that the chance of this happening are nearly ZERO.
So if you have well water, you're hosed.
And if you shower in hose water, your welled.
Re:hmmm (Score:3, Funny)
I highly doubt that you use soap + hot water + friction inside your lungs (but if you do, you're more of a man than I).
Weed kills these bugs and prevents lung cancer. I read it on www.good-skunk-is-a-humanright.co.uk
Government response (Score:2, Funny)
The Dept of Health and Human Services has released guidelines to prevent this phenomenon.
The General Order Lessening Dirty Elevated Nozzles is now in effect and mandatory for all.
Everyone will be required to take G.O.L.D.E.N showers henceforth.
Re:Sensationalism (Score:2, Funny)
Fatal deaths are a worry. I'm not too concerned about the other types though.
Re:Nothing to see here, move along... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:3, Funny)
On the other hand, it kinda defeats the purpose of taking a shower to use a dirty shower head. Except if you take someone else there with you.
Re:Gentlemen, start your start-ups (Score:4, Funny)
spray alcohol through the nozzels after every shower
Forget after, how about during?
Re:Oligodynamic effect (Score:2, Funny)
Intelligent life. (Score:2, Funny)
You're fat.
Wash behind your ears.
Having you been getting enough sleep?
Where have you been?
Have you been showering in another bathroom?
It's better to just apply a regular scrubbing and avoid the headaches altogether.
Simple Enough Solution (Score:5, Funny)
This problem of the dirty shower head is easily solved by my approach. Instead of hooking up to a city water tap, I just had a giant tank of bactine installed that I use instead. Best part: no soap required, just a wire brush and a brillo pad and you're in and out as fast as you can say, Where'd all my skin go?
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:not to be stereotypical here but... (Score:5, Funny)
Or suffer from the chronic purchasing of bogus, yet name-brand, gimmicks?
Stop making fun of Macs. That's mean!
Re:does CLR kill it? (Score:5, Funny)
No doubt. Forget how dirty the shower head is. Try swabbing a human. Yucky people.
Flamebait? (Score:4, Funny)
If you think that the above is flamebait then you are a hippie who needs to take a shower. I am from Santa Cruz and may use the word hippie as much as I want because people all over the world automatically think I am one. I do exhibit many of the characteristics; I do, however, shower.
If you were offended by my frequent overuse of the word hippie, you'll hate these jokes even more:
Q: How do you hide money from a hippie?
A: Hide it under the soap.
Q: How do you know a hippie has been on your couch?
A: They're still there!
Now grow up, and allow your sense of humor to drop out of the cavity it's hiding in.