Wearing outdoor shoes inside could bring deadly bacteria and cancer-causing chemicals into your home, an expert has warned.
Toxic E. coli, which can trigger life-threatening kidney disease, is found on up to one in four pairs of shoes that have been worn outside, according to a new alert by microbiologist Dr Manal Mohammed.
Meanwhile, sealants used on driveways and roads known to contribute to multiple types of cancer are also likely to be trudged into your home, the medic warned.
Studies suggest there may even be 37-times the level of these substances indoors, compared to outside, as a result of dirty shoes.
Dr Mohammed, who is based at the University of Westminster, has urged people to remove their shoes at the door to ‘significantly reduce your family’s exposure to harmful microbes and chemicals’.
‘Outdoor shoes carry bacteria, allergens and toxic chemicals – many of which are linked to serious health concerns,’ she wrote in an article for The Conversation.
‘Wearing outdoor shoes indoors is like inviting the streets – and everything on them – into your most intimate living spaces.’
She said footwear picks up the harmful bugs and substances from multiple sources during the day, such as lavatory floors, hospital corridors, as well as fields and parks.
Dr Manal Mohammed, an expert in microbiology at the University of Westminster, said shoes tracking mud or dirt into carpets should be the least of our worries. Stock image
Dr Mohammed added this posed a particular risk to young children as they play and crawl on household floors.
E. coli is a type of bacteria found in the faecal matter of both animals and people.
Some strains of the bug can be incredibly dangerous triggering bloody diarrhoea, as well as a potentially deadly kidney condition called severe haemolytic uraemic syndrome.
Last year, a deadly of E. coli wave linked to contaminated supermarket sandwiches killed two people, hospitalised more than 100 and sickened nearly 300.
Other studies have found shoes can also harbour Clostridium difficile, a bacteria that can cause diarrhoea, and staphylococcus, a bug that can cause agonising skin infections.
Another hazard of wearing shoes indoors is walking in lead dust, a heavy metal that is known to impair the brain development of young children, Dr Mohammed added.
She also warned allergens like pollen can cling to outdoor shoes and contaminate the home, aggravating allergies for hay fever sufferers.
Banning outdoor shoes from the home is ‘one of the simplest and most effective public health measures’ people can achieve, she said.
However, some experts have argued there could be benefits to wearing outdoor shoes inside, particularly for children.
In 2019, researchers from Finland found those in households who kept their footwear on were less likely to have children with asthma.
Experts theorised that those youngsters exposed to more types of soil helped build up their resilience to potential triggers of the condition.
Some have warned of what is called the ‘hygiene hypothesis’ — a theory that modern living is too sterile.
Without exposure to dirt and germs early in life, it’s claimed the immune system doesn’t learn how to control its reaction to everyday particles such as dust and pollen, leading to a rise in overreactions like allergies.
But the science behind the theory is still widely disputed.
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