Because it is important to take off your shoes before entering the house

After a long day away from home, the long-awaited moment finally arrives: in front of the threshold, however, there is still a small gesture to be made. Take off your shoes before setting foot inside our apartment it’s a healthy habit, and science explains why.

Many people are used to it walking around the house without shoes, removing them as soon as you arrive at the entrance. It is not only a good habit that is handed down from parent to child, to avoid having to clean the floor too often, but also a matter of hygiene and health. A great deal of dirt lurks under the sole of our shoes, including some bacteria, viruses and dangerous substances for our body. A study conducted by Dr. Charles Gerba, a microbiologist and professor at the University of Arizona, has brought to light a fact that, at first glance, can only arouse concern.

By analyzing the shoes worn by ten volunteers for two weeks, the researchers found that on their sole there were on average just over 421 thousand bacteria, while inside the footwear the number dropped to just under 3 thousand. Many of these microorganisms are completely harmless to our health, while others can expose us to dangerous infections. This is the case, for example, of Escherichia coli: this bacterium is often responsible for gastrointestinal problems and urinary tract diseases, but is also linked in some cases to meningitis.

A research conducted instead on a sample of 30 families Texas residents showed that in many objects of common use in the home there are potentially harmful bacteria. For example, large quantities of Clostridium difficile have been found on shoes, causing intestinal diseases such as diarrhea. The study, published in 2014 in the journal Anaerobe, did not, however alarmist tones.

Normally, a healthy person has no problem in being faced with this kind of bacteria. First of all because the infection is contracted with direct contact: we should therefore touch the sole of the shoes (or the floor on which we walked) with the hands and then bring them to the mouth. And secondly why our immune system is able to protect us from most of the microorganisms we can come into contact with.

However, taking off your shoes before entering the house can reduce even the slightest risk of having to deal with some annoying infection. Furthermore, this advice is very valid if we have small children at home, who are crawling or otherwise playing on the ground and are used to putting anything in their mouth, or immunosuppressed people. For the latter, contact with harmful bacteria can be very harmful – it is no coincidence that in the hospital, especially in the wards where people from compromised immune system, suitable shoe covers or footwear are worn.

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