It ‘s not always the ‘restaurant food’ that causes stomach distress, but can sometimes be something that just about every woman carries with her; the handbag!

It was the other day, during this festive season, when I got upset by some lady guest who came through the kitchen door, immediately plopped up her handbag right at the table that I was setting up food.

It has always been my custom to inform my friends (this particular one inclusive) on how handbags are really dirty because of where they (handbags) have been.

While we may know what is inside our bags, do we pose to think what is on their outside? Women carry their bags everywhere; from the office to public toilets, to the floor of the car. Most women won’t be caught without there handbags wherever they go

Here-below are views of some women interviewed on how they handle their handbags in different situations:
"I drive a school-bus, so I put my bag on the floor of the bus a lot”, one said. "Oh, on the floor of my car and toilet floors”, another added.

The third one said, "I put my handbag in grocery shopping carts, the floor of toilets and of-course on tables in my home which should be clean”.

Most other women said that they never stopped to think about where they placed their handbags, let alone knowing what could be at their bottoms! Others, while at home, they set them on top of kitchen tables and counters where food is prepared.

After collecting these views from a spectrum of women, we searched for any study that could have been done on this subject.

Amazingly, a Microbiologist by the name Amy Karen of Nelson Laboratories in Salt Lake had done a substantial research and had come up with the following findings;

• Handbags are so dirty that nearly all bags tested were high on harmful bacteria such as: Pseudomonas which causes eye infections. Staphylococcus aurous which can cause serious skin infections, Salmonella and e-coli that cause serious sickness in most people

• Leather or vinyl handbags tend to be cleaner than their cloth counterparts.

• Lifestyle also seems to play a vital role- mothers with babies tend to have dirtier bags than those without. The handbag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all; "some kind of feces or possibly vomit”, exclaimed the microbiologist!

Your handbag has gone where individuals before you have walked, sat, sneezed, coughed, spat, urinated, etc. would you really want to bring that stuff home with you?

The moral of this story is that your handbag has the potential to make you or your family members very sick if you keep it on places where you eat or prepare meals from.

Use hooks to hang your handbags at home and in toilets; and don’t put it on you desk, restaurant tables or your kitchen countertop.

You are also advised to wash cloth handbags regularly and use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather bags. Dear moms, grandmoms, sisters, daughters, granddaughters and girlfriends…….this is for you!

E-mail: danbella2001@yohoo.com