If you want to pamper your immune system this winter, then you may want to change your showerhead.
” If you are getting a face full of water when you first turn your shower on, that means you are probably getting a particularly high load of Mycobacterium avium, which may not be too healthy “, says the University of Colorado’s Prof Norman Pace.
The bug can cause lung disease. It forms a biofilm that clings to the inside of the shower head; tests showed that nearly a third of showers had significant levels – around 100 times higher than those found in typical household water supplies.
People with weakened immune systems, like the elderly, pregnant women or those who are fighting off other diseases, could develop an infection; symptoms would include tiredness, a persistent, dry cough, shortness of breath and weakness, and feeling generally unwell. Plastic shower heads are worse than metal.
