Did you know that many people walk around their house with their shoes on? Yes, the same shoes they wear to work in? Yes, the ones they go to the gym in, or go shopping in? Yup, even the ones they went to the public bathrooms in.

Do you think it’s rude when you get invited into someone’s house and they ask you to remove your shoes? Well, they may have a fairly valid reason to do so.

The shoes we wear outside have so much germs and toxins. We certainly do not want the outside gunk and junk to contaminate our homes. Contact our Temecula CA chiropractor for more information.

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What grossness do our shoes carry in Temecula CA?

According to a web article from Huffington Post, there was a study conducted at the University of Arizona which found an average of 421,000 bacteria on the outside of shoes, with nine different strains of bacteria. Escherichia coli, or E. coli, was one of the harmful strains found, which is known to cause intestinal infections, diarrhea and in rare cases, meningitis; Klebsiella pneumoniae and Serratia ficaria, were two others found, which can cause urinary tract infections and respiratory infections.

According to a web article from the San Francisco Globe, another study published in a 2014 issue of Science Direct found that bottoms of shoes carried Clostridium difficile (C. diff), which can result in life-threatening intestinal infections.

Other web articles documented that per a Baylor University Study, people living close to asphalt roads, sealed with coal tar have an increased risk of cancer from toxins, which can be tracked inside by your shoes. You can even track toxins from your shoes into your home from treating your own lawn, according to Battelle Memorial Institute.

With all the dangerous bacteria, feces and various chemicals that can live on our shoes, it may be best to just leave them outside.

By: Inland Valley Integrative Health Team

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References:

• https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/why-you-shouldnt-wear-shoes-in-house_us_55a11558e4b0a47ac15caad1. 3 Gross Reasons You Shouldn’t Wear Shoes In The House. 07/11/2015. By Ellen Breslau.
• http://sfglobe.com/2016/02/02/scientific-studies-reveal-high-levels-of-bacteria-on-shoes/: Scientific studies reveal high levels of bacteria on shoes. 08/06/2017. By Lia Blanchard.