For years people have thought that playing an instrument could lead to a higher risk of sore throat or airway inflammation. Research suggested that saliva and micro organisms could build and get blown deeper in the instrument. Until now scientists didn't know if the germs could survive long enough to make someone sick. The International Journal of Environmental Health Research, Tufts University scientists tested 20 instruments — flutes, clarinets, trumpets and saxophones. All were found to harbor living bacteria, mold and yeast, some of which survived for several days. Wooden reeds and mouthpieces had the most contamination. Researchers have not been looking at infection rates in musicians there have been numerous reports of lung problems linked to instruments. Such as a 35-year-old trombone player who had suffered a bad cough for 15 years; it went away after he started disinfecting the instrument with rubbing alcohol, and a 67-year-old saxophonist with shortness of breath saw the problem disappear after he made a habit of washing his mouthpiece. a 67-year-old saxophonist with shortness of breath saw the problem disappear after he made a habit of washing his mouthpiece. In the end Certain instruments can raise the risk of infections if not routinely cleaned.
I think that this article shows the need for hygiene. For example if nobody cleans an instrument that they share it can end up getting many people sick. It also suprises me that no one thought to clean their instrument by them selves. This is a problem that can be easily prevented and should be.
nytimes.com
No comments:
Post a Comment