Thread: I just thought about something

Originally Posted by TyRANTosaur

Isn't money one of the dirtiest things out there. I don't know. I don't have any of it, anyways.

CORRECT.........give the man a prize

Never put your hands on your face after handling any money, green or coin.

Originally Posted by 2ndamendsis

Originally Posted by TyRANTosaur

Isn't money one of the dirtiest things out there. I don't know. I don't have any of it, anyways.

CORRECT.........give the man a prize

Never put your hands on your face after handling any money, green or coin.

Actually, one of the benefits of silver coin (back when there was such a thing) was the germicidal nature of silver. It's the reason that fine flatware has long been made of silver. But the junk they giver us for coin these days doesn't do squat when it comes to killing germs.

Friday » February 23 » 2007

Paper money makes the germs go 'round

MICHELLE LALONDE
The Gazette


Sunday, January 21, 2007



CREDIT: GORDON BECK, THE GAZETTE
There might be a dusting of cocaine on this bill, but public health officials say you should be more concerned about germs and viruses that might be passed along with your change.

Most paper money carries traces of cocaine, recent studies show, but that says more about the potential for cash to spread disease than it does about the prevalence of drug use, public health officials say.

On Jan. 10, researchers at City University in Dublin, Ireland, revealed that 100 per cent of the banknotes in their study carried trace amounts of cocaine. Last month, a study suggested 94 per cent of banknotes in Spain carried traces of the fine white powder. And dozens of studies in the past decade have shown that a majority of bills in various U.S. cities tested positive for traces of cocaine.

Although some read the studies as evidence that a majority of bills have been used to snort cocaine or passed through the hands of users, others suggest counting machines and automated banking machines could easily spread traces of the drug from one bill to another.

But rather than raising concerns about rampant drug use, public health authorities say these tests show that paper money is dirty - and an effective vehicle for the spread of germs through the population.

While minute amounts of cocaine might be harmless, bacteria, viruses and spores clinging to banknotes passed from hand to hand might not be.

"Cocaine is not a living organism, while germs are, although most become inoffensive after a certain amount of time" on an inanimate object like a bank-note, said Blaise Lefebvre, a spokesperson for Montreal's public health department.

"You would also have to pick up a significant quantity (of bacterium or virus) for it to cause illness, although with the Norwalk virus, you only need a little and this is why gastroenteritis is so easily transmitted."

A particularly contagious strain of the Norwalk virus has caused a recent wave of gastroenteritis at Montreal hospitals and long-term-care facilities. Ten Montreal hospitals and 16 long-term-care facilities are currently affected and at least one school was closed temporarily because of the Norwalk virus infection.

Lefebvre noted most germs die quickly on inanimate objects or surfaces, although the Norwalk and Norwalk-like viruses are more tenacious than others.

While he said transmission could "theoretically" occur through money-handling, the virus is much more easily transmitted by swallowing food or water that has been contaminated with stool from an infected person.

Peter Ender, an infectious diseases expert who has studied the prevalence of germs on paper money, said the contamination of banknotes is a reflection of what is commonly present on human skin, particularly on hands.

In 2001, Ender and his team at the Wright-Patterson Air Force Base Medical Centre, near Dayton, Ohio, obtained dollar bills from people waiting to buy food at a high school basketball game in Dayton. Seven per cent of the bills collected showed traces of harmful bacteria, like Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella pneumoniae, that can cause serious illness. Eighty six per cent carried less harmful germs, like streptococcus, enterobacter, pseudomonas and other bugs that rarely cause illness among healthy individuals but can be very dangerous to people whose immune systems are compromised.

Only seven per cent of the bills in that study were found to be germ-free.

"For a healthy individual, contact with most of these bacterial organisms is no big deal because we all have all kinds of bacteria on our hands," Ender said recently in a telephone interview from his home in Bethlehem, Pa.

"We were interested in whether resistant strains of bacteria could make it to patients in hospitals through their friends and relatives who had handled (dirty) money," he explained.

Ender said he doesn't worry about handling money with his bare hands, because he washes his hands "dozens of times a day."

He advised the public that frequent handwashing with soap and water is still the best way to prevent infections and disease.

So could dirty money be a vehicle for the current epidemic of viral gastroenteritis sweeping Montreal health-care centres?

"It's certainly possible," Ender said.

"However the Norwalk-type virus is highly contagious via multiple modes, be that hand to hand, surface contact or vomitous particles suspended in air."

Lefebvre agreed that money could theoretically act as a conduit for all kinds of germs and viruses.

But he noted bills are usually handled less than things that are grabbed with the whole hand, like shopping-cart handles, metro car grab bars, doorknobs - or that water glass in the bathroom.

mlalonde@thegazette.canwest.com

Cash is a big culprit in spreading infections

Anything that is passed from hand to hand is likely to be contaminated with the germs and viruses we typically have on our skin, so money is an obvious culprit when it comes to spreading illness.

Here are some of the bacteria

typically found on paper bills:

Staphylococcus aureus: A bacterium commonly found in the nose of a healthy person that can cause a range of symptoms, from minor skin infections and abscesses to potentially fatal illnesses like pneumonia, meningitis, endocartitis, toxic shock syndrome and septicemia.

Klebsiella pneumoniae: A bacterium commonly found on skin and in the mouth and intestines that can cause bacterial pneumonia. The most common transmission mode is fecal-oral. The bacterium can cause flu-like symptoms, the coughing up of blood-tinged sputum, broncho-pneumonia, bronchitis and urinary tract infection.

Streptococcus: A bacterium commonly found on skin and in the mouth, intestine and upper respiratory tract that can cause strep throat, meningitis, bacterial pneumonia, endocarditis, erysipelas and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating infection).

Enterobacter: A species of bacteria commonly found in the human

intestinal tract that can cause opportunistic infections of the urinary tract as well as other parts of the body, and are sometimes associated with respiratory tract infections.

Pseudomonas: These bacteria can lead to urinary tract infections, sepsis, pneumonia, pharyngitis and other potentially fatal illnesses. They are rarely a cause of infection in healthy people, but can be very dangerous to those with compromised immune systems or individuals with catheters or on respirators.

What you can do: Health authorities stress the importance of washing hands thoroughly and often, especially before and after eating, after using the toilet, after handling paper money, before and after handling food, and before and after visiting hospitals.

© The Gazette (Montreal) 2007








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Imagine the path your last dollar took after it left the G-String of a local "men's club" employee! Use your imagination

Ee-gads!! I have the dry heaves!! I am going to start trading pelts, tobacco and gold nuggets starting tomorrow.

If it is only a dollar that is a cheap tip. That is something I never tought of. Gross!

So basically you throw it all into a cart that has been used by the homeless for months on end and then you dig into your pocket to pay for it with money that has who knows what on it.

I wwwaasss thinking of taking a nap. I'll be laying there bug eyed for hours.

Most germs and viruses will not live too long on money. They need a warm moist environment to thrive so only the tip can remain infectious for some time.

Buy all the Monopoly game boards in your local area. Use Monopoly game money.

Okay, I'm going to go buy a few bags of those latex gloves and start wearing those when I go out. Maybe Michael Jackson knew what he was doing when he started wearing those famous gloves.

Originally Posted by gingerurp

Okay, I'm going to go buy a few bags of those latex gloves and start wearing those when I go out. Maybe Michael Jackson knew what he was doing when he started wearing those famous gloves.

Just don't let your nose fall off.