A man's beard contains more bacteria than a dog's hair, says a research study
The beard in all its forms and styles has always been a cultural feature that is a distinctive and stylish feature of men throughout the world over the centuries.
Whether it is mustaches or goatees, over the years, beards have also become increasingly widespread, so much so that they have become a mainstay of current fashion.
According to a recent study that has compared the load of bacteria present in a man's beard to that in a dog's hair, it would seem that nestling in the beards of many men, there are more bacteria than we would actually believe!
A new scientific study, that is provoking controversy, has shown that a man's beard can carry much more bacteria when compared to dog hair.
The study published in the scientific journal "European Radiology" by the Swiss professor Andreas Gutzeit, actually had as its objective to establish whether it was hygienic or not to share some medical diagnostic equipment, such as MRI scanners (Magnetic Resonance Imaging ) with our four-legged friends.
The experiment compared the bacterial load of human pathogenic microorganisms in a sample involving 18 humans and 30 dogs. All participants and findings were then compared with the level of bacterial contamination of a MRI scanner used by humans and dogs with another used only by humans.
The results were surprising and the researchers found that substantially fewer bacteria were present in the MRI scanners used by both research groups than in the MRI scanners used by humans alone.
After analyzing the nature of the contamination, the researchers came to the conclusion that it was the men with beards who were the source of the bacteria found inside the MRI scanners.
Obviously, these are the results of a small sample that is not representative of all the men who wear beards and absolutely does not want to serve as an accusation or even to say that these men are anti-hygienic a priori.
A lot depends on cleanliness and personal hygiene which, as everyone knows, varies greatly between individuals.
