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It may be the hygienic way to start the day, but a new survey shows four out of every five women do not shower every day and a third go up to three days without washing their body.
Just 21% of women take time to shower or bathe in the mornings. And previous surveys show two in every five men do not shower every day.
Head of the survey Maxine Flint said: “I understand the appeal of a lie-in but skipping a morning wash is both anti-social for the people around us and unhealthy. “Surely we haven’t become too busy to wash.”
Are we picking up more unhygienic habits in general? Here are some other dirty little secrets we have about our hygiene routines...
Daft as a brush-foregoing toothbrush
Any dentist will tell you that the best way to protect your teeth and gums is to brush twice a day.
But a staggering 28% of people admit they are dental dunces who do not brush daily.
Worse still, 14% go up to two days at a time without picking up a toothbrush - and 21% do not floss regularly. It’s enough to leave dentists gnashing their teeth in frustration.
Not washing hands
Hand washing Basic hygiene: Surely you're not too busy to do this
Barely half of us take the time to wash their hands with soap after using the toilet. And a quarter of workers claim they are too rushed to wash and dry their hands properly after popping to the loo.
Trying not to think about the germs your co-workers may be spreading? Then also consider the fact that more than half of adults rarely wash their hands before cooking and cleaning.
Caught bed-handed-Not changing the bed sheets
Time to change? Many of us aren't using clean bed linen there are few things in life more satisfying than snuggling into fresh bed linen at the end of the day. But the grubby truth is that 35% of adults only change their bed sheets once a fortnight.
One in 10 admit to sticking with the same soiled sheets for an entire month, while some single men change their bedding just four times a year.
Meanwhile the average man wears his pajamas for two weeks before washing them.
It’s enough to make your skin crawl - or perhaps that’s just the bed bugs...
Mining for nose nuggets
Nose Picking: Risks spreading infection by doing this
A survey of 1,000 people found 91% of adults admit to picking their nose and two of those admitted the habit severely interfered with their daily lives.
More alarmingly, two others revealed they picked their nose so much they had actually dug a hole through their septum from one nostril to the other.
But that’s not the only risk. Picking your nose can spread infection: Dutch researchers discovered that patients at an Ear, Nose and Throat clinic who picked their nose were more likely to have Staphylococcus aureus bacteria in their nose than those who kept their nostrils finger-free.
Coughs and sneezes spread diseases…
More than a quarter of us still don’t cover our mouths when we cough or sneeze in public.
Most of those who do use their hands to stop the germs - but that is only effective if they thoroughly disinfect their hands afterwards.
Instead health campaigners recommend using a tissue or, failing that, the crook of the elbow. However, just 5% follow that advice.
It’s no wonder the common cold is still so common.
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