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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 The findings were published in this week's online issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Feazel stressed that most people shouldn't be concerned about showerheads.
"If a person is worried about the risk of lung infection from showering, they have several options," she said. "Bathing, rather than showering, is probably best for those who are at risk. The size of the water droplets produced in bathing is too large to go deep into the lungs, whereas showering creates tiny particles that can go very deep and cause disease."
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An all-metal showerhead -- not a plastic one with a metal coating -- is another alternative, as is replacing a showerhead several times a year, Feazel said.
"Cleaning the inside of a showerhead is very difficult and may be only partially effective," she explained.
George A. O'Toole, an associate professor in the department of microbiology and immunology at Dartmouth Medical School, noted that germs lurk everywhere.
"I imagine that if you looked at the kitchen sink, faucet and drain, the insinkerator, your dishwasher, the toilet, your washing machine and the hose in the yard, you might find similar pathogens," he said.
In the case of showerheads, he said, "people with good immune systems really don't need to worry about this. People with bad immune systems probably do, but they also need to worry about every encounter with microbes."
People with weakened immune systems include those infected with HIV, cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, and recent transplant recipients.
More information
Learn more about germs from the Nemours Foundation.
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