Your skin’s own microbiome is strengthened by bacteria on your hands

How often have you thought, “I should wash those hands to get rid of those germs!” when you stared at your dirty hands? Actually, hold off on running to the closest restroom to scrub them off. It turns out that everyone’s hands are always covered in bacteria. And each person has a different skin microbiome that includes these microorganisms.

How frequently do you believe that when you contact something with your hands, microorganisms are transferred to another surface?

The answer is every second of the day, perhaps even when you’re not even aware of it.

When your face itches, you touch it. In a home, you touch surfaces. You touch your phone or the bed even when you are lying in bed.

Keep in mind that we live in a microbial environment where bacteria are present on, inside of, and all around us. Microbes and human skin communicate with one another. And through our skin, bacteria communicate with us.

About the microbes on your skin

The largest human organ is the skin. It serves as a deterrent to invasive bacteria and diseases. Scientists learned that our skin has its own microbiome as a result of advancements in the study of the human microbiome. Due to the fact that we frequently spread infections through our hands, the hand microbiome is particularly fascinating for studies in public health. Also, your index finger is the one you use the most. It has the widest range of microorganisms as a result. Hence, if you stop to think about it, hands are never Actually clean and people constantly touch a lot of objects.

The regular activities of your hand’s microbiota

We engage with many various settings throughout the course of the day with our hands. Our hand microbiota is affected by all of these interactions. This means that the microbial population on hands varies very quickly rather than being a stable, unchanging colony.As a result, it is impossible for scientists to describe or explain what a “healthy hand microbiome” is. But, we do know that each person’s hand microbiome might contain both “good” (useful) and “bad” (pathogenic) bacteria.

Bacteria that coexist with humans are referred to be “good” or “useful” bacteria. Mutualism is the name for this mutually beneficial arrangement. This implies that interactions between microbes and people are advantageous to both. Pathogen defense and immune system assistance are provided by bacteria. Humans give the skin’s habitat and nutrition necessary for bacteria to develop.

On the other hand, “bad” or “pathogenic” microorganisms originate from the environment. They are skilled at manipulating our immune system, which allows them to spread diseases like acne. We are instructed to wash our hands to get rid of certain kinds of bacteria and prevent illness as a result.

Bacteria were discovered to be the most prevalent microorganism when researchers examined what the typical hand microbiome may resemble. In addition, the microbiome of our hands’ skin contains fewer viruses and fungi. Less than 5% of the discovered microbes are these.

Factors affecting our hands’ skin microbiota

As we saw above, a variety of factors affect the composition of the microbiome on our hands. And it turns out that your way of living has the biggest influence on the microbiome in your hands. Just consider your diet, the location and manner in which you exercise, or even your employment… Several variables affect which microbes accumulate on your hands and join your skin’s microbiome.

And who would have guessed that gender had an impact on the bacteria population on your skin? It is true that the bacterial profiles of male’s and women’s skin are generally different. Nobody is aware of the reason behind this discrepancy. That might be one of the biological characteristics that set men and women apart. Not to mention how your hand microbiota is impacted by outside factors. Your skin’s microbiota alters each time you leave your home.

Also, researchers discovered that the hand microbiomes of people living in the same home are comparable. Hence, despite the fact that each person has a special collection of germs on their hands, living in the same environment makes people more similar to one another.

Also, if you have a dog, the microbial communities on its paws and the microbiome on your hands become more similar to one another. The bacteria on your hands can trade places with those on your pet when you interact with them throughout the day. Who knew that having a pet might make the bacteria on your hands more diverse?

The surfaces of our personal items, including keyboards and cell phones, are home to a wide variety of microbes. These microorganisms probably originated from our skin microbiome because they are frequently handled during the day. As an alternative to forensic investigations using human DNA, some scientists are even considering integrating microbiome analysis of personal items.

How does knowledge of the skin’s microbiome benefit us?

Hands connect our microbiota with the microbiomes of other individuals, locations, and things like busy intersections. Your hand’s microbiota can change even after a brief encounter with an inanimate object in your home. What can we discover by researching the hand microbiota, then? A second fingerprint exists in the microbiota of our hands. Hence, research in this area can reveal information on the diagnostic potential of a hand microbiome.

A microbiological tool like that might hasten the diagnosing procedure! Doctors would be able to focus just on the areas that require urgent treatment by creating generic microbiological profiles for each patient. And fewer prescriptions for broad-spectrum drugs would result from this!