Are you a person who immediately takes off your shoes when you enter a house? Or would you rather just keep them on, because you’re going to hit the road again soon? We have news for people who keep their shoes on at home: not taking off your shoes at home is sometimes dangerous to your health.
Also read: This is why more and more people suffer from hay fever
Take off shoes in the house
In some cultures it is very normal to take off your shoes immediately when you enter the front door (or back door). In the Netherlands there is not much of a culture of normalcy and everyone just does what they want. Nothing wrong with that either. At least, that’s what you thought. Research has shown that keeping your shoes on at home can be dangerous to your health.
Research
Doctor Kelly Reynolds, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, told Huffington Post that as many as 421,000 different types of bacteria enter your home if you don’t want to take off your shoes in the house. Wow! “We walk through things like bird poop, dog poop and germs on the floor of a public restroom, for example. These are all sources of E-coli,” says Reynolds.
E-coli
Okay, but what exactly is E-coli (Escherichia coli)? Well, it’s certainly no fun, we can tell you. If you get this infection, you may experience diarrhea, cramps and sometimes fever. You can get this infection by walking a lot indoors with shoes on, because you bring in all kinds of bacteria and the like.
Nice slippers
The best solution to have something on your feet, but not to drag in 421,000 bacteria, is to purchase comfortable slippers that you only wear indoors. So no, not even quickly in the backyard. Just get outdoor slippers for that. It is also best to simply ask visitors to take off their shoes, or, just like at the swimming pool, place a basket of blue shoe slippers. It may sound a bit awkward, but at least you won’t suffer from health problems because of your shoes.
