Habit: Do you know where that pen you’re chewing on has been? You’d better. The mouth is one of the main conduits of germs entering the body, says Philip M. Tierno Jr., director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University’s Langone Medical Center and the author of The Secret Life of Germs. And, he says, it’s a nervous habit that somehow causes pens, pencils and other items—all laden with germs—to find their way into our mouths.
Damage: Tierno puts the number of germ types at about 60,000, with only 1 percent to 2 percent being pathogens capable of doing serious physical harm to humans. If these overt, more potent pathogens land on your pen—perhaps through being contaminated by work colleagues or family members who’ve touched microbe-laden keyboards, door knobs or phones—you’re out of luck. The result may be a cold or an acute case of gastroenteritis. And, he adds, some microbes can live on objects for days.
His suggestion is to wash your hands frequently, so that you’re not transmitting pathogens from contaminated objects you’ve touched—doorknobs, keyboards or desk surfaces—to pens belonging to you or other people. If your oral fixation makes it impossible to give up pen sucking, try substituting another activity, such as drinking cups of tea.
Posted in: America’s Top 8 Nervous Habits
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