This new report, says the subway poles may not be as dirty as you think...
According to a 2016 New York Times article by Nicholas Bakalar, most of the germs found on the subway are the harmless kind. He cited a Harvard study that swabbed surfaces all over the subway and determined...
"All the surfaces were contaminated with generally innocuous human skin bacteria, including various strains of propionibacterium, corynebacterium, staphylococcus and streptococcus, among others. Some strains of these bacteria can cause disease under certain circumstances, but all are carried by healthy people and usually cause no problems."
See... "HEALTHY PEOPLE!!".... "USUALLY CAUSE NO PROBLEMS!!!"....
Think of the amount hands you shake in a day. Probably a good amount, right? Well it turns out that holding on to that subway pole for the 15, 20 minutes max you are on the subway isn't as bad as your average everyday hand shaking that you go through anyway.
Regardless, I would still highly advise against touching your mouth, nose or eyes immediately after gripping a subway pole... plus, it can never hurt to keep the hand sanitizer extra close once you get off the train.
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