Your pillow is the breeding ground for pests, diseases

'Your pillow is the breeding ground for pests, diseases'

London: You may never want to use them after reading this: Your pillow is the perfect breeding ground for gruesome array of pests and diseases, scientists say.
According to a study by The Barts and The London NHS Trust, up to a third of the weight of your pillow could be made up of bugs, dead skin, dust mites and their faeces. 

And the condition of pillows in hospitals is even worse as they are the ideal breeding grounds for undesirables ranging from the super bugs MRSA and C.diff to flu, chicken pox and even leprosy, the scientists said.

Your pillow is the breeding ground for pests, diseases

But the problem of bugs in pillows is not confined to hospitals, said study author Dr Arthur Tucker, a clinical scientist at St Barts and the London Hospitals. 

“While some of the bugs will only be found lurking in hospitals or in tropical climes, others will be making themselves at home in the comfort of your bed,” he said. 

“People put a clean pillow case on and it looks and smells nice and fresh but you are wrapping up something really nasty underneath," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. 

Bacteria feast on these and multiply on and inside the pillows -- some of which will never be washed, he added. The warnings came after the researchers studied the “health” of hundreds of pillows used by patients in hospitals run by Bart and the London NHS Trust.
They found high levels of "living" contamination on the outside of the pillows. In some cases, rips and tears meant that the germs had found their way into the filling. 

“People put a clean pillow case on and it looks and smells nice and fresh but you are wrapping up something really nasty underneath," he was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail. 

Bacteria feast on these and multiply on and inside the pillows -- some of which will never be washed, he added. The warnings came after the researchers studied the “health” of hundreds of pillows used by patients in hospitals run by Barts and the London NHS Trust. 

They found high levels of "living" contamination on the outside of the pillows. In some cases, rips and tears meant that the germs had found their way into the filling. 

a pillow is pretty much as good as you can get.”
“It is a wet sponge that absorbs bodily fluids of various kinds providing nutrients. It is kept at the ideal temperature by the warm body lying on top.” Meanwhile, leading bacteriologist Professor Hugh Pennington urged people not to worry about their pillows, as they will simply contain the bugs they have already. 

“There is plenty of opportunity to spread bugs partner to partner without pillows,” he said.