Flip-flops are a magnet for dangerous, deadly bacteria

By Leah Chernikoff AND Jacob E. Osterhout
DAILY NEWS WRITERS
Tuesday, August 11th 2009, 4:00 AM

The flip-flop is the preferred summer shoe for many New Yorkers. But on city streets, the flimsy footwear can be deadly.

That film of grime that coats your feet at the end of a day of flopping around town is some dangerous dirt.

Lab tests of two reporters' flip-flops, worn for four days, revealed a potentially deadly germ - Staphylococcus aureus - lurking on the rubber.

If it seeps into a cut on your foot - an entirely common summer affliction - the bacteria can enter the bloodstream and, if left untreated, kill you.

"It can make you pretty sick if it got into a wound and into your blood, where it could attack any of your internal organs," says Dennis Kinney, Ph.D., the manager of the microbiology lab at EMSL Analytical. "If you didn't treat it with antibiotics, you could die from it."

Kinney's team at EMSL tested two pairs of flip-flops we wore throughout the city for four days each.

The sandals took a trip on the F, A, C, G, 2 and 3 trains, went on walks through Prospect Park, out to bars in the West Village, to a Cyclones baseball game in Coney Island and rode the Cyclone. Twice. They even waded through a murky public restroom at the Coney Island subway station.

The results? Pretty heinous.

The $3.50 flip-flops harbored approximately 18,100 bacteria of the five most prevalent varieties found. (Unsurprisingly, the pair that made the trip to Coney Island and stopped off in the public restroom had roughly 13,900 more bacteria.)

And that's what accumulated in just four days.

"If you wear shoes for three months, 93% have fecal bacteria and 20% have E. coli," says Dr. Charles P. Gerba, professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona.

While some of the bacteria found were common, non-disease-causing staphylococci, more dangerous offenders lurked underfoot.

Aerococcus viridans and Rothia mucilaginosa, bacteria that normally reside in the mouth, were present.

"It's not a good sign," says Kinney. "It means that people are spitting. If someone were sick and spitting on the ground, you could pick something up."

Not to mention the worst offender, Staph aureus. Worst-case scenario: It enters your bloodstream, goes untreated and you die. But even mere contact with the skin can yield nasty results.

"Staph aureus can be pretty dangerous," says Kinney. "This strain isn't methicillin-resistant (MRSA), but it is Staph aureus, and it can still cause infections - typically boils and skin infections."

Still not convinced, flip-flop lovers? Here's a compelling argument for putting on a pair of shoes:

"There's more bacteria in the city," says Dr. Philip M. Tierno Jr., the director of clinical microbiology and immunology at New York University's Langone Medical Center. "There's garbage and rat-doo. This city is strewn with rats, and rats are harbingers of all sorts of germs. The same is true with cockroaches. It is all potentially harmful."

http://www.nydailynews.co...z0OEWlijIZ

BTW I got my first crocs yesterday, but I don't plan to wear them in public and IMO they are not even comfy.

Serious said:

Charlotte will be very disappointed.

I suppose this'd be true of all sandals and, to some extent, open-toe shoes?

.... BTW I got my first crocs yesterday....

I suppose this'd be true of all sandals and, to some extent, open-toe shoes?

Serious said:

Nooooo! Not you too?! I think I'm going to cry

...or puke

Lammastide said:

Ugh! Yes! You'll have black, gross, dirty feet at the end of the day

Lammastide said:

Maybe, but I don't think so. Part of the issue is that flip-flops are so open and the soles are (usually) so thin. And they flop around a lot, flinging the bacteria all over your feet and legs. Put your feet up on your sofa, get into bed at night without washing your feet...well...you get the picture. You're spreading that filth all over the place.

Of course, one might argue that this kind of exposure makes your immune system stronger. But for me, the "ick factor" outweighs the other.

I have one pair of flip-flops that I only wear to and from the nail salon. (They're the only kind of shoes that won't smudge a fresh pedicure, so they're a must.) But they are only worn to and from my car. And they are never worn into a restroom.

Lammastide said:

Maybe, but I don't think so. Part of the issue is that flip-flops are so open and the soles are (usually) so thin. And they flop around a lot, flinging the bacteria all over your feet and legs. Put your feet up on your sofa, get into bed at night without washing your feet...well...you get the picture. You're spreading that filth all over the place.

Genesia said:

I went yesterday, and before I went into the supermarket I put my shoes on. I figured the drive from the salon to the store was enough to make sure the toes were dry.

Remember the "flip flop thread"?
Don't get me started!

Lammastide said:

Maybe, but I don't think so. Part of the issue is that flip-flops are so open and the soles are (usually) so thin. And they flop around a lot, flinging the bacteria all over your feet and legs. Put your feet up on your sofa, get into bed at night without washing your feet...well...you get the picture. You're spreading that filth all over the place.

Of course, one might argue that this kind of exposure makes your immune system stronger. But for me, the "ick factor" outweighs the other.

I have one pair of flip-flops that I only wear to and from the nail salon. (They're the only kind of shoes that won't smudge a fresh pedicure, so they're a must.) But they are only worn to and from my car. And they are never worn into a restroom.

I suppose this'd be true of all sandals and, to some extent, open-toe shoes?

Genesia said:

Well, that's just being nasty.

I love flip flops.
Everything requires a STUDY these days.

johnart said:

It's a good thing you don't live in New York then. And even if you did, I'd think you'd have the good sense to not wade through "a murky public restroom at the Coney Island subway station". Most subway restrooms are locked to the public, but if I saw one that was open, I wouldn't walk in there unless I was wearing a hazmat suit.

johnart said:

It's a good thing you don't live in New York then. And even if you did, I'd think you'd have the good sense to not wade through "a murky public restroom at the Coney Island subway station". Most subway restrooms are locked to the public, but if I saw one that was open, I wouldn't walk in there unless I was wearing a hazmat suit.

sextonseven said:

The problem is the city you live in not flip flops.

Serious said:

You're ignoring the fact that flip-flops are just plain UGLY.

sextonseven said:

The problem is the city you live in not flip flops.

sextonseven said:

They are not . I would never wear them if I thought they were .

Serious said:

You would look HOT in these:

Serious said:

The city probably plays a big part in it...I once broke my shoe at college and I had to walk around campus, and a mile to the mall with one shoe on before I could get a new pair, but my foot wasn't as gross after that as is was after one day in NY wearing sandals

Serious said:

You're ignoring the fact that flip-flops are just plain UGLY.