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According to researchers, your cell phone is 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat.

A researcher recorded a microscopic view of the average cell phone to see what’s on it. Caution: This video will make your skin crawl.

Smartphone under a microscope
byu/CuriousWanderer567 ininterestingasfuck

According to a recent study, the typical cell phone is loaded with bacteria and creepy crawlies.

The main problem is smartphone users don’t wash their hands before they handle their phones.

Via Time magazine:

“Because people are always carrying their cell phones even in situations where they would normally wash their hands before doing anything, cell phones do tend to get pretty gross,” says Emily Martin, assistant professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. A recent study found more than 17,000 bacterial gene copies on the phones of high school students. Scientists at the University of Arizona have found that cell phones carry 10 times more bacteria than most toilet seats.

As you know, our skin is crawling with bacteria that snack on dead skin cells. There’s not much you can do about that. The good bacteria are beneficial. They keep us from getting sick by controlling the bad bacteria.

Face mites

Face mites also snack on the dead skin cells on our face. Supposedly, face mites crawl on our cell phones when we hold the phone to our face.

Click here if you missed my Medical Minute on face mites.

Get rid of pesky face mites by exfoliating daily to remove dead skin cells. You can also use cleansers that contain tea tree oil.

How to clean your phone

Experts suggest cleaning your phone with a mixture of rubbing 40% alcohol and 60% water.

Put the ingredients in a spray bottle and spray on a clean cloth before wiping your phone.

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Or better yet, grab a box of alcohol swabs from a drugstore and wipe your phone down with a swab. I buy this cheap brand of alcohol swabs from Walmart. But any brand will work.