Is your bag making you sick?

I’ve never been one to throw my handbag on the ground. I love all my bags too much and would never dream of putting them on the floor, not even at home. But if you do, you might want to think twice about it…

I came across an article on The PurseBlog today suggesting that ladies’ handbags may be one of the dirtiest items around. Actually, I’ve read something on that ages ago that says it’s one of the top 10 dirtiest things. That’s right girls - it ranks up there with the kitchen sink, handle of a supermarket trolley and the toilet brush. Just think about all the places you’ve put your handbag.

With swine flu cases on the rise, we should start being mindful of keeping not only our hands clean, but our bags too.

And here’s why…

We wanted to find out what kind of germs a woman’s bag might pick up along the course of a day. A lab tested more than two dozen handbags for traces of various bacteria. Even the scientist who conducted the tests was surprised at what she found.

“I had no idea that it would be that much bacteria,” said microbiologist Amy Karren of Nelson Labs.

This was not just the harmless kind of bacteria you find around your house, this was the kind that makes you sick.

“We found pseudomonas, staphylococcus aureus, E-coli family and salmonella”, she said.

Pseudomonas can cause eye infections, staph aureus can cause skin infections and E-coli and salmonella can cause serious intestinal problems.

The test found leather or vinyl purses were generally cleaner than cloth bags and women with kids tend to have dirtier purses than singles.

[Taken from purseblog.com]

See full article here.