60% chance that your toothbrush has poo

Billions of humans could be brushing their teeth with other people's poo, a shock study has revealed.

Experts at an American university found that dental hygiene products were muck magnets, which gathered up micro scraps of human waste.

As well as tiny turds, previous research claimed toothbrushes could harbour a variety deadly bacteria including staphylococcus aureus, which causes MRSA, as well an array of nasties including the herpes virus. “The main concern is not with the presence of your own faecal matter on your toothbrush,“ said Lauren Aber, a researcher at Quinnipiac University. “It's when a toothbrush is contaminated with faecal matter from someone else, which contains bacteria, viruses or parasites.“ 

Aber analysed toothbrushes in bathrooms used by nine people or more, to find that about 60% were packed full of other people's poo. This means that anytime someone else uses your toilet, they could actually be bombarding your brush with their unspeakable emissions. 

Worryingly, there does not seem to be any reliable way of protecting yourself from this horrible onslaught. “Using a toothbrush cover doesn't protect a toothbrush from bacterial growth, but actually creates an environment where bacteria are better suited to grow by keeping the bristles moist and not allowing the head of the toothbrush to dry out between uses,“ he added.

Toothbrushes spread a variety of diseases, ranging from MRSA to some strains of hepatitis. The NHS advises Britons to avoid sharing them -whilst experts would urge you to keep that toilet seat down when flushing to try and limit the spread of nastiness.