WEDNESDAY, Nov. 7, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- You no doubt think that stepping into your shower will wash away dirt and germs, but a new study shows your showerhead might instead dump nasty bacteria on you that may cause lung infections.
Most people know to keep their bathrooms clean, especially the toilet and sink. But researchers discovered that places in the United States and Europe where germs called mycobacteria are found in abundance in showerheads are the same places where bacterial lung infections are most common. In America, that includes parts of Southern California, Florida and New York.
"We live in a world covered in bacteria, and the bacteria in our showerheads follow some interesting geographic trends, and can be altered by our water source and water chemistry," said study lead author Matthew Gebert.
"We're exposed to microbes constantly in our day-to-day lives, some beneficial, some innocuous and a few potentially harmful," Gebert explained.
He's a research associate at the University of Colorado's Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences.