Beardly Weirdly enough, beards may help fight infections…
According to the BBC, beards are not the breeding grounds of bad bacteria that many people believe they are, in fact, having one may help you fight infections and make you a healthier person.
In a study published in the Journal of Hospital Infection, 408 hospital staff with and without facial hair had their faces swabbed.
Surprisingly enough, it was the clean shaven guys and not those sporting beards, who were the most likely to be harbouring germs on their faces.
The smooth-faced staff were three times as likely to carry methicillin-resistant staph aureus (MRSA) on their faces compared to their bearded equivalents. This is highly relevant because MRSA is a common hospital acquired infection that is resistant to many antibiotics.
So why is this happening to those with bare faces?
It’s suggested that shaving may cause micro-abrasions in a person’s skin which “which may support bacterial colonisation and proliferation”.
Unfortunately that means beards do not have antibiotic powers and in the near future, we can’t see beard hair being sold on the black market as a brand of medicine.
We must confess ourselves disappointed, the idea of beards with medicinal properties was just starting to grow on us… *JOE gets coat*
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