11 Public Places with the Most Germs by Liz Kennedy

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Respiratory droplets—the medical community’s polite term for what comes out of a person when they sneeze or cough—are filled with the germs that made the person sick. When we cough or sneeze, they disperse widely, landing here and there, where they wait patiently for someone to touch them (research shows they can remain potent for several hours). Once on someone’s hands, they stand a good chance of infecting them, since it is human nature to frequently touch our faces. This is exactly how colds and flu happen: The vast majority of cases are passed from person to person. Think of things that are touched by many people in a day, and you’ll come up with the places where germs are shared. These can include:

• Handrails
• Elevator buttons
• Grocery cart handles
• Restaurant menus
• Money from a cash register
• Light switches
• Salt and pepper shakers in restaurants
• Salad bars
• ATMs
• Exercise equipment
• Water fountain handles

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