Bath or Shower? Morning or Night?Last night I watched a segment on 60 Minutes about MRSA in schools and associated with athletics. I found the content to be accurate and informative. There was an appropriate emphasis on personal hygiene which is the main point with prevention of MRSA infection. But just saying, "wash your hands" and "practice good personal hygiene" doesn't translate into compliance or competency. There are some underlying issues that could be debated as we all try to "practice good personal hygiene". So.... which is better: a bath or a shower? Most of us have a preference based upon family practices, schedules and routines when we were growing up and current available plumbing resources. My opinions are based upon principles of infection prevention and personal logic and reasoning. There are pro's and con's of each:Tub Bath pro the bathing experience reduces stress due to the relaxation effect of hydrotherapy con requires large volume of water con even though the concentration is generally small, bath water becomes contaminated with soap, chemicals and nanobugs. Generally, this is not a problem except when women take long baths and the contaminated water backs up into the urethra causing irritation and infection (especially in young girls). Bubble baths and other bath additives increase the risk. Shower pro the downward force of the water in the showers allows the soap and the most of the nanobugs to be washed off of the skin and sent down the drain pro the stimulation of the streams of water on the body during the shower experience are invigorating and can wake you up con the floor of a shower can easily harbor nanobugs like the fungus and can causes Tinea pedis or "athletes' foot' con can spoil a hairdo with the steam and splash and splatter of the shower experience Actually, the Japanese have the best system for bathing that accomplishes all the advantages of both. The Japanese bathtub is small but deep. The procedure/experience begins with a washing of the body while you are sitting or standing in the tub. The drain is left open and a hand-held sprayer is used to thoroughly rinse the soap and nanobugs off the skin and down the drain. Then the drain is plugged and the tub is filled with warm water to shoulder level. Then you relax in the clear water for as long as time permits. The next debate is when to cleanse the body - in the morning upon rising -capitalizing on the stimulation of the shower method or at the end of the day with the relaxation benefit of a tub baths before sleeping. I encourage parents of school-age children to bathe the children daily before they go to bed so that all the nanobugs they have collected on their body during the school day don't get to "sleep over".
This entry was posted on November 12th, 2007 at 3:06 pm. RSS
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