A recent study conducted in the United States discovered that if pillowcases are left unwashed for a week, there may be 17,000 times more bacteria on them than on a toilet seat. Doctors also caution against sleeping for extended periods of time on dirty pillows since it might cause skin issues.
The study, which was reported by the Daily Mail, showed that layers of dead skin cells, sweat, saliva, and other fluids, as well as a large number of fungi and bacteria, collect on pillowcases. Unwashed pillowcases were used as samples in the experiment, and after being cultured for seven days, bacteria that may cause skin conditions and inflammation grew on them. The number of bacteria on pillowcases can be 17,000 times greater than that on a toilet seat if they are not washed for a week.
According to the findings, people should wash or replace their pillowcases every 24 days, although dermatologist Dr. Hadley King of Weill Cornell Medicine recommended doing so at least twice a week. She says that your sheets are covered in layers of dead skin cells (around 50 million per day), sweat, cosmetics, lotions, hair, pet dander, bacteria, and virus particles as you go into bed.
Dust mites are drawn to the bed to reproduce, as Dr. King notes because they feed on dead skin cells and perspiration. A week of using the same pillowcase could result in allergies, skin infections, or irritation. It is well known that a particular strain of Staphylococcus aureus can result in skin illnesses including cellulitis and pimples.
Research last month by the mattress maker AmeriSleep revealed that while 3 million bacteria are present on pillowcases, they vanish within a week. Three unwashed pillowcases from volunteers were wiped at the start of each week for a month, and the findings were recorded. Although the business claimed that pillowcases contain 3 to 5 million bacteria per square inch, they did not discover any bacilli or Gram-positive cocci.
According to the paper, bacilli can result in eye infections, sepsis, pneumonia, and toxic shock syndrome in Gram-positive cocci. Because bed bugs prefer the pillowcase over the filling within, pillowcases can also harbor germs and bed bugs. As a result, it is common for people to complain about waking up with painful, extremely itchy bed bug bites on their faces, neck, and shoulders.
