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08th Jul 2015

Do you wear festival wristbands for months after a festival has ended? Here’s why you shouldn’t

Eewwww

Conor Heneghan

And not just because it’s a ridiculous thing to do anyway.

It might even be you, but we all probably know of at least one person who continues to wear a festival wristband for months and months after that festival has ended?

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Yes, we know you were at Glastonbury last year and Coachella a few months’ back, but that arm of yours is getting awful dirty looking. Get over it!

For all those who aren’t fans of the practise, there is now a scientific reason to tell your mate to rip the wristband off; they cause boils. That’s right, boils.

Microbiologist at the University of Surrey, Dr Alison Cottell, recently tested two wristbands from the Reading Festival that had been worn for two years after the festival had finished.

The results showed that the wristbands contained over 10,000 bacterial cells, 20 times more than you’d find in normal clothing that would be subject to regular laundering.

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The bacterial cells found were made up of micrococci and staphylococci, a bacterium that can cause boils, food poisoning or infections.

Speaking to University newspaper The Tab, Cottell said: “The amount of bacteria that grew on wristbands was about 20 times higher than you would expect to find on the sleeve of a piece of clothing that would be regularly laundered.

“Staphylococci are usually harmless although they can cause boils and infections of cuts and grazes, and can also cause a form of acute food poisoning if they are ingested.”

No doubt some hardcore festival goers will ignore the news and continue to carry evidence of their attendance at a festival long after its over, but other people’s blood is not the only thing that’ll be boliing if they’re not careful.

Hat-tip to The Telegraph