"…Simply touching the penis in an effort to direct your urine flow can be more than enough to transfer harmful microbes to your hands, and then on to the pretzels sitting in bowl on the bar," says Pat Fidopiastis, an assistant professor of biology at Cal Poly.
"The perianal area is the small patch of flesh just outside the rectum, a spot on the human body that "inevitably becomes loaded with fecal bacteria," according to Fidopiastis. ("Frankly, toilet paper only satisfies your visual senses into thinking that you're clean"). When you start to perspire, even a little sweat from the perianal area starts dripping around in your underwear, eventually getting into the fabric and moving onto your genitals.
"I've said this before: your boxer-shorts region — from belly button to mid-thigh — is crawling with germs known as coliform bacteria. These bacteria originated in your intestine, and some of them are deadly. Remember punji stakes? They were sharpened sticks that the Vietcong concealed point up along trails and daubed with excrement. If you stepped on one you had a good chance of contracting a fatal infection.
"...when you urinate your fingers come in contact with Mister P. long enough for the coliform bacteria in your pores to hop aboard. Your fingers subsequently touch lots of other infectible items. If you don't wash your hands with soap and water (soap gets rid of the skin oil that the bacteria stick to) … hello, Typhoid Mary."
