Sharing cutlery with other people? be aware of the risks & bull; hello healthy

Eating with the people closest to you is a precious moment where you can share stories and laughs. In addition, you will usually share and taste each other's food or drink. Getting along, you may immediately take a sip from your friend's glass. Or if the food your sister ordered looks good, you will taste it with the spoon your sister used.

For some people, sharing cutlery with other people is a form of friendship and intimacy. However, borrowing utensils from each other such as spoons, forks, straws, or drinking bottles has the risk of causing disease transmission. The problem is, sometimes people who suffer from an infectious disease themselves do not realize that they have contracted a disease because the symptoms have not yet appeared. To find out what are the impacts of sharing cutlery, read on the following explanation.

How is the disease transmitted through eating utensils?

Various types of germs, viruses, and bacteria that cause infectious diseases live in saliva (saliva). Whether you realize it or not, your saliva will naturally move from your mouth to cutlery that is in direct contact with your mouth, such as spoons, forks, chopsticks, and bottle lips. The germs, viruses, and bacteria contained in saliva can survive for hours even after being contaminated with air and touching cutlery. When you share cutlery with other people, you are at risk of contracting various viruses that stick to the cutlery.

What diseases are at risk of being transmitted through eating utensils?

Indeed, not all infectious diseases are spread through borrowing utensils to eat. However, you must be aware of several types of infectious diseases that can be transferred through the following cutlery because the risks can be fatal.

1. Strep throat disease

Strep throat is caused by a Streptococcus bacterial infection that occurs in the throat. Usually children aged 5-15 years are more susceptible to this disease, but it does not rule out people of all ages contracting step throat. This disease is characterized by sore throat, fever, abdominal pain, and pain in the joints and muscles.

2. Mumps disease

Mumps or mumps is a disease transmitted through a virus that attacks the parotid glands which are responsible for producing saliva. People who suffer from this disease will experience swelling of the cheeks, jaw and neck area accompanied by high fever, stiff muscles, and loss of appetite. Usually the symptoms of mumps will appear 16 to 18 days after infection occurs. So even if other people appear healthy, you will not know what diseases and viruses are lodged in other people's bodies or even yourself.

3. Influenza

Influenza or flu is a respiratory disorder that is easily spread through the air, eating utensils, and personal items such as towels and toothbrushes. Transmission that occurs via this virus can occur about a day before you show symptoms of influenza. Symptoms include cough, fever, runny nose and headaches.

4. Inflammation of the lining of the brain (meningitis)

This disease is caused by a bacterial infection that causes inflammation and swelling of the meninges membrane that protects the brain and spinal cord. Meningitis is serious and can cause death. Transmission of the bacteria that cause this disease is not as easy as influenza, but if your immune system is not good enough, you are more at risk of contracting meningitis. Signs that the sufferer shows include nausea, vomiting, and being in a daze.

5.Oral herpes (HSV)

Be careful if you drink from the rim of a bottle or straw that has come into contact with someone else's mouth. Herpes, also known as herpes simplex virus (HSV), can be transmitted through sores or canker sores on a person's mouth, tongue, or lips. If this wound comes into contact with the mouth of the bottle or straw you are using, you are at risk of contracting this disease as well. The symptoms you need to watch for are itching or burning in the mouth area, sore throat when swallowing, and fever. After that the infected skin or mouth will appear blistered and pus.

Is sharing eating utensils a risk of HIV?

Maybe you've heard that by sharing eating utensils, you can get HIV. In reality, this is nothing more than a myth. The HIV virus cannot survive outside the human body for more than one second. The possibility is very small. So, if there is a virus that sticks to your spoon or fork, it will die immediately before you touch it. In addition, saliva does not contain much of the HIV virus. This virus is more commonly found in blood, semen and vaginal fluids.