The Worst Places for Your Health

Apr. 12, 2008— -- Location, location, location: Store owners aren't the only ones concerned with finding the perfect spot in which to situate their stuff.

Researchers in a wide variety of fields know that how you organize your environment -- from where you stand in fitness class to the place you choose to store your meds -- has a surprising effect on everything from your weight to your chances of staying well. In other words, when it comes to how you feel, it's not just what you do, it's where you do it.

Here, surprisingly bad locales for your health -- and the best places to optimize your location.

The Worst Place for Your Toothbrush: On the bathroom sink

There's nothing wrong with the sink itself - -but it's awfully chummy with the toilet.

There are 3.2 million microbes per square inch in the average toilet bowl, according to germ expert Chuck Gerba, PhD, a professor of environmental microbiology at the University of Arizona. When you flush, aerosolized toilet funk is propelled as far as six feet, settling on the floor, the sink, and your toothbrush.

"Unless you like rinsing with toilet water, keep your toothbrush behind closed doors - -in the medicine cabinet or a nearby cupboard," Gerba says.

The Worst Place for Your Sneakers and Flip-Flops: In the bedroom closet

Walking through your house in shoes you wear outside is a great way to track in allergens and contaminants. A 1999 study found that lawn chemicals were tracked inside the house for a full week after application, concentrated along the traffic route from the entryway. Shoes also carry in pollen and other allergens.

Reduce exposure by slipping off rough-and-tumble shoes by the door; store them in a basket or under an entryway bench. If your pumps stay off the lawn, they can make the trip to the bedroom -- otherwise, carry them.

The Worst Place to Try to Fall Asleep: Under piles of blankets

Being overheated can keep you from nodding off, researchers say: A natural nighttime drop in your core temperature triggers your body to get drowsy.

To ease your way to sleep, help your body radiate heat from your hands and feet, says Helen Burgess, PhD, assistant director of the Biological Rhythms Research Laboratory at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Don socks to dilate the blood vessels in the extremities -- then take the socks off and let a foot stick out from under the blankets.

The Worst Place to Cool Leftovers: In the refrigerator

Placing a big pot of hot edibles directly into the fridge is a recipe for uneven cooling and possibly food poisoning, says O. Peter Snyder Jr., PhD, president of the Hospitality Institute of Technology and Management in St. Paul, MN. The reason: It can take a long time for the temperature in the middle of a big container to drop, creating a cozy environment for bacteria.

You can safely leave food to cool on the counter for up to an hour after cooking, Snyder says. Or divvy up hot food into smaller containers and then refrigerate -- it'll cool faster.

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The Worst Place to Sit on an Airplane: The rear

Avoid this section if you're prone to airsickness, says retired United Airlines pilot Meryl Getline, who operates the aviation Web site fromthecockpit.com.

"Think of a seesaw," Getline says. "The farther from the center you are, the more up-and-down movement you experience."

Because the tail of the plane tends to be longer than the front, "that's the bumpiest of all," she says. "The smoothest option is sitting as close to the wing as you can."

The Worst Place to Pick Up a Prescription: The pharmacy drive-thru

In a survey of 429 pharmacists, respondents ranked drive-thru windows high among distracting factors that can lead to prescription processing delays and errors, says survey author Sheryl Szeinbach, PhD, professor of pharmacy practice and administration at Ohio State University.

If you don't want to give up the convenience of a rolling pickup, be sure to check that both drug and dose are what the doctor ordered.

The Worst Place to Set Your Handbag: The kitchen counter

Your fancy handbag is a major tote for microbes: Gerba and his team's swabs showed up to 10,000 bacteria per square inch on purse bottoms -- and a third of the bags tested positive for fecal bacteria!

A woman's carryall gets parked in some nasty spots: on the floor of the bus, beneath the restaurant table -- even on the floor of a public bathroom. Put your bag in a drawer or on a chair, Gerba says -- anywhere except where food is prepared or eaten.

One company, PursePal, has devised a product that helps women avoid the conundrum of finding a place to put their bags.

The Worst Stall to Pick in a Public Restroom: The one in the middle

The center stall has more bacteria than those on either end, according to unpublished data collected by Gerba. No, you won't catch an STD from a toilet seat. But you can contract all manner of ills if you touch a germy toilet handle and then neglect to wash your hands thoroughly.

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