• iconNews
  • videos
  • entertainment
  • Home
  • News
    • UK News
    • US News
    • Australia
    • Ireland
    • World News
    • Weird News
    • Viral News
    • Sport
    • Technology
    • Science
    • True Crime
    • Travel
  • Entertainment
    • Celebrity
    • TV & Film
    • Netflix
    • Music
    • Gaming
    • TikTok
  • LAD Originals
    • Say Maaate to a Mate
    • Daily Ladness
    • Lad Files
    • UOKM8?
    • FreeToBe
    • Extinct
    • Citizen Reef
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
Snapchat
TikTok
YouTube

LAD Entertainment

YouTube

LAD Stories

Submit Your Content
Hygiene expert says we don't actually have to wash at all

Home> News

Published 17:14 1 Nov 2022 GMT

Hygiene expert says we don't actually have to wash at all

Professor Sally Bloomfield claims the only reason why we shower is because it's 'socially acceptable'

Anish Vij

Anish Vij

Picture a life not having to worry about how much hot water you're using up for a shower.

Taking things one step further - picture a life where you don't even need to bathe.

Such a life has been endorsed by a hygiene expert from London who has suggested that the only reason we shower is because it's 'socially acceptable'.

Professor Sally Bloomfield, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast: "In my opinion we don't need to bath and shower every day.

"In fact, we don't need to bath and shower at all.

Advert

"There are microbes on our body that produce nasty odours but they're not harmful to us. And the reason we bath and shower is that we want to get rid of those odours and we want to feel comfortable.

"That's fine — but as far as preventing disease, it's really not important."

"There are microbes on our body that produce nasty odours but they're not harmful to us," the professor said.
Pexels

She added: "We don't need to shower or wash at all. The reason we do it is to be socially acceptable.

"We do it in the summer to get rid of sweat, to make us feel more comfortable.

Advert

"But we also have some harmless bugs that set up home in places that are dark and moist and they break down sweat and they break down urine to produce nasty odours, which make us unacceptable to other people.

"So those are the reasons that we mainly shower ourselves.

"We don't have any absolute evidence as to what [daily showering with soap] does, but we do know from the Covid pandemic that when people were washing their hands in a very obsessive way, their hands were being stripped of oils and became dry.

"So it's not good for us to wash too regularly."

49 percent of Brits shower once a day.
Pexels

Advert

By the sounds of things, the only real catch is that without bathing, you'll make a dead corpse smell like a bed of roses.

The professor was also asked if she practices what she preaches, to which Bloomfield replied: "I have a shower every day as part of washing my hair.

"I happen to be vain and I like my hair to look reasonable and in order to do that, it has to be done every other day and so that's what I do."

Despite promoting the lack of a need to shower everyday, Bloomfield stressed that it's still important to wash your hands to 'prevent the spread of infections and diseases'.

She added: "We're very confused about the difference between cleanliness and hygiene.

Advert

Over 58 percent of US adults claim that they wash their hands.
Pexels

"Cleanliness is what we do to look and feel clean, but hygiene is the cleaning we do in order to prevent the spread of germs.

"One of the key things for preventing the spread of germs, as we saw during the pandemic, was hand washing.

"So it's very important to wash our hands but it's targeted.

"We have to wash our hands at certain particular moments like when we're handling raw food, when we've been using the toilet, when we've been touching a lot surfaces we know a lot of other people have been touching and before we eat."

Featured Image Credit: Ian Shaw/H. Mark Weidman Photography/Alamy Stock Photo

Topics: Health

Anish Vij
Anish Vij

Anish is a Journalist at LADbible Group and is a GG2 Young Journalist of the Year 2025. He has a Master's degree in Multimedia Journalism and a Bachelor's degree in International Business Management. Apart from that, his life revolves around the ‘Four F’s’ - family, friends, football and food. Email: [email protected]

X

@Anish_Vij

Advert

Advert

Advert

Choose your content:

11 hours ago
12 hours ago
13 hours ago
15 hours ago
  • 11 hours ago

    Elon Musk urges release of Epstein files weeks after accusing Trump of being involved in fiery X rant

    Musk made a bombshell claim about his former 'first buddy'

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Arne Slot releases emotional statement after Diogo Jota tragically dies aged 28

    The Liverpool forward and his brother died this morning

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    Mum says picture of her son at nursery saved his life after camera flash revealed rare disease

    Laura Davies, from Wales, says she would have 'never known' without the photo

    News
  • 15 hours ago

    Brit, 29, who fell ill moments after getting tattoo on hen do fighting for life in coma

    Poppy-Mae Crutchley began to feel unwell 'instantly' after she got the inking in the Spanish party hotspot

    News
  • ‘Rawdogging’ on flights defended by expert who says it’s actually really good for you
  • Hygiene expert explains where ketchup should be kept after Heinz ‘settles the debate’
  • Woman explains what it's 'actually' like to have a stroke after suffering one at 32 years old
  • Nostradamus' worrying prediction for 2025 that would mean we don't have long left to live