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When you go out of Spain and travel to countries such as Finland, Sweden or Japan, you discover different lifestyle habits to those we are used to having in our country. Without a doubt, one of the things we should imitate is taking off our shoes as soon as we get home, and not so much for comfort, religious reasons or because our feet move freely, but because we are unknowingly putting our health and especially that of our children at risk.

In which countries does this custom exist?

Not allowing people to enter the house with street shoes is a very common custom in Asian and Middle Eastern countries. In our continent it is the citizens of the countries of northern Europe who have this custom more deeply rooted, and not so much in Spain, Portugal or Italy, although in our country it is becoming more and more widespread.

What does the science say?

One of the most recent studies was conducted in 2008 by Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, which also yielded very clear results. For this research, he distributed new pairs of shoes to a group of people, asked them to use them in their daily lives, and collected them for analysis after fifteen days.

The result left no room for doubt: each pair of shoes, on average, had 421,000 bacteria attached to the soles. More than we can find on a toilet seat.

Do those bacteria on the soles stick to the tiles?

Correct. Those hundreds of thousands of bacteria don't stick to the soles without affecting anything else. In another phase of the study, they were able to verify that, in 90% of the cases, a considerable number of them remained adhered to the tiles and flooring of the house. From the floor of the street to the floor of our home.

How can these bacteria infect me?

Touching the soles of shoes with our hands and then bringing them to our face seems unusual, since we don't usually touch them, but if we rest our hands on the floor at home or if we eat some food that has fallen, then we can get infected.

If I have children at home, is the danger greater?

Absolutely, just like if people with weakened immune systems live. Children crawl, play lying down almost anywhere in the house, rest their toys on the floor, bring their hands from the floor to their mouths... And that's why hygiene measures have to be stricter. Walking in street shoes on the surfaces where they play can put their health at risk.

Would it be useful to clean the soles of your shoes?

It is true that if we clean the soles with water and detergent, practically all of these microorganisms will disappear, some studies speak of up to 99%, but it is not a practice that most people can incorporate into their day to day. We should be more aware of washing our hands frequently and leaving aside cleaning the soles.

What dangers can these bacteria have?

The microorganisms that this researcher found in higher concentrations are e-coli, klebsiella pneumoniae, serratia, c-difficile and s-aureus. All of them are well known and usually responsible for health problems such as intestinal infections that cause diarrhea and vomiting, urinary tract infections, conjunctivitis, pneumonia... Diseases that can have significant consequences in immunocompromised people.

Christmas: A Good Time to Start

In a few days the visits to other houses for lunch or dinner with the family will multiply, and it may be a good time to ask the host if he prefers us to leave our shoes at the entrance.

Having throwaway slippers or socks with non-slip soles in different sizes can be a good option to encourage guests to take off their shoes.

  • Saturated Nurse