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Actors Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis recently raised a scent on social media when they revealed that bathing was not part of their family’s daily schedule. During an appearance on Dax Shepard and Monica Padman’s podcast Chair expert, the celebrity couple revealed that they only bathe when absolutely necessary.
“Here’s the thing – if you can see the dirt on them, clean them up. Otherwise, there’s no point,” Kutcher said when they chose to bathe their children. As for Kunis herself, she says she doesn’t. wash her whole body with soap every day, “but I wash pits and breasts and holes and soles”, while her husband joked that he washes “my armpits and my crotch every day , and nothing else ever “.
Shepard, also an actor, agreed with the couple. “You shouldn’t get rid of all of your natural skin oil with bar soap every day,” he said on the podcast. “It’s crazy.” In the August 3 episode of ViewHe and his wife, actress Kristen Bell, said bath time was not a priority for their children either, explaining that it was sometimes an afterthought. “Yeah, we’re forgetting,” Bell said on the show.
Celebrity couples are not wrong when it comes to this hygienic habit, says Darren P. Mareiniss, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. “Daily showers can dry out your skin and antibacterial soap can kill normal skin flora,” he explains.
Richard Antaya, MD, director of pediatric dermatology at Yale Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, adds that avoiding a daily shower may also be beneficial for people with certain skin disorders, such as atopic dermatitis, the most common form. eczema.
That said, daily showers aren’t a real cause for concern or a health hazard, notes Dr Mareiniss. He points out that not taking a proper shower can lead to body odor and fungal and bacterial infections. “However, it is not necessary to take a shower every day, unless you are particularly dirty or grimy.” Showering several times a week is usually sufficient for good hygiene.
RELATED: 7 ways you could go wrong with your shower
The idea that you have to take a shower every day isn’t the only hygiene myth. We asked experts like Dr Antaya and Mareiniss about similar common misconceptions to set the record straight.
Hygiene myth 1: you should use cotton swabs to clean your ears
Cotton swabs were invented in 1923, when company founder Leo Gerstenzang saw his wife add cotton swabs to toothpicks in order to clean their baby’s ear. But the company no longer formally approves them for hygiene purposes.
Douglas M. Hildrew, MD, otologist and medical director of the hearing and balance program at Yale Medicine, confirms that the idea that you have to stick them in your ears to clean them is wrong – and potentially dangerous.
“The ear canal is designed to be a self-cleaning structure. While the ear is constantly waxing and removing dead skin cells, it is also designed with a natural migration pattern that pushes any excess buildup out of the ear canal, ”he explains.
Plus, earwax has antimicrobial properties that destroy bacteria before they can create an infection and acts as a moisturizer for the ear canal, says Dr Hildrew.
Not only are cotton swabs not necessary to clean your ears, they can also cause damage. “The combination of thin skin lying just above a hard bone makes the skin very vulnerable to tearing if pricked with a cotton swab, paper clip or hairpin. Small tears in the skin can lead to bleeding and painful infections, ”says Hildrew.
RELATED: A Complete Guide to Ear Infections
Hygiene myth 2: douching will cleanse your vagina
Like your ears, your vagina cleans itself. Awesome, isn’t it?
That’s not to say that people haven’t tried to help, with douching, for example. Douching dates back to the 19th century. It was used for everything from birth control, with Lysol introduced as the active semen killer ingredient in the 1930s, according to Smithsonian magazine, to prevent infection. Yet there is no evidence to support these claims.
“In fact, douching is often damaging to the vaginal flora (normal bacteria present) and changes the natural pH in the vagina,” explains Mareiniss, noting that the majority of doctors do not recommend the practice. “By showering, women can increase the risk of bacterial vaginosis (BV) – a vaginal infection – pelvic inflammatory disease and ectopic pregnancy.” The Office on Women’s Health adds that this unnecessary cleaning can also make you more likely to develop sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Plus, douching during pregnancy can cause preterm labor, says Mareiniss.
RELATED: What are the most common types of vaginal infections?
Hygiene myth 3: Always wash your hands with hot water
It’s true: boiling water effectively kills harmful bacteria, as the World Health Organization points out. But there is no scientific evidence that it is necessary to wash your hands with boiling water to clean them, says Mareiniss. He argues that lukewarm water is just as effective as it is hot.
Well above the temperature, the most important factor is to soap your hands before you even get them wet. “Rub the [liquid] of soap in your hands, then rinse with water to remove all the soap and dirt, ”he notes. And of course wash for at least 20 seconds.
RELATED: Why proper hand washing is crucial during cold and flu season
Hygiene myth 4: The 5 second rule means food is safe to eat
The five-second rule dates back to the 1200s, when Genghis Khan is said to have implemented the “Khan rule” at his banquets, stating that “if food fell on the ground, it could stay there as long as Khan allowed”, according to Science friday website.
Over the years, this has become the “five second rule” which you probably heard about as a child. But dropping food on the floor for even a second and then eating it can be harmful, says Thomas Murray, MD, PhD, pediatric infectious disease specialist and associate professor of pediatrics at Yale Medicine. “Bacteria can attach themselves to food as soon as it hits the ground,” he explains. “The longer it stays there, it is reasonable that more bacteria could attach itself to it, but I don’t think it can be assumed that if the food is picked up in five seconds, it is not contaminated.” This is especially true if that surface, like a floor, is not cleaned frequently.
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