Hi, and can iPhones pass the flu?

[roberthalles]

My first post, Hello Everyone!!

I used a friends iphone, then I found out a day later that she got the flu.

Does that mean I will get the flu?

Can iPhone pass the flu?

[simsaladimbamba]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

Can iPhone pass the flu?

If it can, then every other object touched by the flu, including business cards, unless inoculated, can do that too, thus not limiting to an iPhone, but then again, this is not a serious thread of yours, just a bait, isn't it?

Or, you could ask your staff about such information, seeing as they are trained in such matters.

[Huntn]

You didn't lick that iphone, or pick your nose after the call did you?

[ideal.dreams]

Don't you have to have some medical knowledge to be the administrator of a hospital?

[mobilehaathi]

Originally Posted by ideal.dreams

Don't you have to have some medical knowledge to be the administrator of a hospital?

Image

Too busy to pick anything up.....OP is always on the phone...

[WhiteIphone5]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

My first post, Hello Everyone!!

I used a friends iphone, then I found out a day later that she got the flu.

Does that mean I will get the flu?

Can iPhone pass the flu?

No, but an android phone can. Hehe lol

[maxosx]

The flu can live on any surface for 8 hours. A sneeze travels twelve feet. Either airborne or touching a surface then touching your face can expose you.

When my iPhone got the flu, I left it home in a warm towel.

It recovered in just two days

[mobilehaathi]

Frankly, I'd be far more worried about the earwigs.

[OnceYouGoMac]

Is there an app for that?

[ucfgrad93]

Should be just a matter of minutes until you catch the flu.

[JoshMKB24]

Originally Posted by ideal.dreams

Don't you have to have some medical knowledge to be the administrator of a hospital?

Image

haha

1 would think, but seeing as I know a lot of people in the healthcare industry who don't have a medical background. Hospital Administrator is not really a doctor, but usually a background in accounting or management.

That being said, working in a hospital or not.....common sense would say that yes germs can be passed on a phone just like any other surface like a door knob.

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Originally Posted by ucfgrad93

Should be just a matter of minutes until you catch the flu.

or ebola!!!

[Carlanga]

Originally Posted by ideal.dreams

Don't you have to have some medical knowledge to be the administrator of a hospital?

Image

You would be surprised at some hospital admins

Originally Posted by mobilehaathi

Too busy to pick anything up.....OP is always on the phone...

lol, he is immune to anything, but his phone.

[roberthalles]

Thanks for all the answers.

It was a serious question, because I wanted to see what people thought, how they perceived the threat. This is because we are looking to do an education program and I just wanted to see some feedback on it.

I also want to ask the real question is, how you you kill the virus on the phone, without damaging the phone?

There are several holes, edges and nooks that are not easy to get to with an alcohol wipe, how do you clean those areas?

[JoshMKB24]

Are people sharing phones at work often with people deathly ill? I don't see why a training would be needed on it. Is this part of Obamacare?

I seriously think just sending out an email reminding people to wash their hands and use hand sanitizer and reminding people its flu season would probably suffice.

[roberthalles]

You would be surprised how many people share their phone, mostly it is when some one asks to talk to the friend, spouse, child next to them to ask them a question or something.

Remember the flu can be spread 24 hours before a person has the symptoms, so just because they don't show anything, that doesn't mean much.

But also it is things like setting the phone on a table, that someone had sneezed at before you sat down and put you phone on it. Or, the phone is laying out and some one coughs in the direction of it and the virus lands on it.

The virus can live on surfaces many hours.

The training would be short, which is wash your hands, and wipe your phone, but it would be good for people to know how to really sterilize their phones.

[ideal.dreams]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

You would be surprised how many people share their phone, mostly it is when some one asks to talk to the friend, spouse, child next to them to ask them a question or something.

Remember the flu can be spread 24 hours before a person has the symptoms, so just because they don't show anything, that doesn't mean much.

But also it is things like setting the phone on a table, that someone had sneezed at before you sat down and put you phone on it. Or, the phone is laying out and some one coughs in the direction of it and the virus lands on it.

The virus can live on surfaces many hours.

The training would be short, which is wash your hands, and wipe your phone, but it would be good for people to know how to really sterilize their phones.

So you answered your own question. What was the point of making this thread, again?

[mobilehaathi]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

Thanks for all the answers.

It was a serious question, because I wanted to see what people thought, how they perceived the threat. This is because we are looking to do an education program and I just wanted to see some feedback on it.

Really?

Surely you won't be drawing any inferences from the responses you've received here....right?

[chown33]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

The training would be short, which is wash your hands, and wipe your phone, but it would be good for people to know how to really sterilize their phones.

You can't possibly sterilize a phone without damaging it. You'd have to autoclave it for quite a long time, and that will definitely destroy some of its components. The LCD screen would probably die first, along with some of the plastics, but frankly some of the chips may not survive either (the chips aren't rated for that kind of temperature, pressure, and humidity).

An alcohol wipe will not make any phone sterile. Phones are not hermetically sealed, so there will be internal contaminants that can "leak out" later, regardless of what you do to the external surfaces.

[JoshMKB24]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

The training would be short, which is wash your hands, and wipe your phone, but it would be good for people to know how to really sterilize their phones.

Like I said, a nice short email that everyone will roll their eyes at and delete right away would probably suffice

[Solomani]

Originally Posted by roberthalles

My first post, Hello Everyone!!

I used a friends iphone, then I found out a day later that she got the flu.

Does that mean I will get the flu?

Can iPhone pass the flu?

Yes, iPhones can pass the seasonal flu.

But only Samsung phones are capable of passing the Asian Swine Flu.

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Originally Posted by chown33

You can't possibly sterilize a phone without damaging it.

Yes you can sterilize electronic gadgets safely.... but it's not cheap.

Handheld Disinfecting UV Scanners ..... destroy just about any kind of bacteria, viruses, other microbes. It's like shining concentrated UV sunlight onto your iPhone for a couple of seconds. Viola. Sterilized.

They do work. But they're not cheap. And some models/brands are effective, others are just junk. Best to read reviews first.

By the way.... NEVER leave one of these UV scanner wands lying around the house when you have kids. Or stupid adults/friends who act like kids. They will cause serious skin burns, blindness, etc (not to mention skin cancer).

[chown33]

Originally Posted by Solomani

Yes you can sterilize electronic gadgets safely.... but it's not cheap.

Handheld Disinfecting UV Scanners ..... destroy just about any kind of bacteria, viruses, other microbes. It's like shining concentrated UV sunlight onto your iPhone for a couple of seconds. Viola. Sterilized.

Those only sterilize the surface. They don't affect any contaminants already inside the phone. Since the phone is not sealed, those can leak out. Or new contaminants can leak inside, to leak out later.

[Solomani]

Originally Posted by chown33

Those only sterilize the surface. They don't affect any contaminants already inside the phone. Since the phone is not sealed, those can leak out. Or new contaminants can leak inside, to leak out later.

Yes, you are technically correct, the UV scanners only sterilize the surface areas. But then again, our hands usually touch only the surface of our smartphones (e.g. the touch screen of the iPhone). That is where the majority of bacteria and microbes are hanging around. Rarely do we come in contact with the "dirty insides" of the phone.

But it's still the best way to kill off the vast majority of germs clinging to the surface of your smartphone and iPads/iPods, etc. The point is that these UV scanners/wands can do that without physical harm to your iPhone or iPad. Alcohol swabs and disinfectant "bleach wipes", like the ones we use in hospitals, are likely to cause some damage to your iPhone/iPad.... especially the sensitive touch-conductive screens.

P.S. -- the UV scanners/wands are also great for disinfecting TV remote controls, land-line phones, other gadgets we touch daily that harbor a LOT of bacteria and viruses, etc.

[JoshMKB24]

Originally Posted by Solomani

Yes, iPhones can pass the seasonal flu.

But only Samsung phones are capable of passing the Asian Swine Flu.

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Yes you can sterilize electronic gadgets safely.... but it's not cheap.

Handheld Disinfecting UV Scanners ..... destroy just about any kind of bacteria, viruses, other microbes. It's like shining concentrated UV sunlight onto your iPhone for a couple of seconds. Viola. Sterilized.

They do work. But they're not cheap. And some models/brands are effective, others are just junk. Best to read reviews first.

By the way.... NEVER leave one of these UV scanner wands lying around the house when you have kids. Or stupid adults/friends who act like kids. They will cause serious skin burns, blindness, etc (not to mention skin cancer).

Image

The one you posted was only like 100 bucks on Amazon, what constitutes expensive? Also, it appeared the best reviewed one on Amazon was only 39. I'm not trying to argue, but I had never heard of these UV lights before and was intrigued.

[Solomani]

Originally Posted by JoshMKB24

The one you posted was only like 100 bucks on Amazon, what constitutes expensive? Also, it appeared the best reviewed one on Amazon was only 39. I'm not trying to argue, but I had never heard of these UV lights before and was intrigued.

Expensive is relative, of course. My UV wand/scanner I got from Amazon over 2 years ago. It was one of the better rated models back then, the Nano-UV Wand by Zadro. The going price back then was about $150. I'm not surprised if they have dropped in price by now.

To me, expensive does not matter if it means the product is worth it, because it may help prevent the spread of those same microbes in my home, and may prevent me and family from getting sick. This is especially true during the winter flu season. To me, that's worth it.

There are cheaper models of the UV scanners.... from the research I did, I would recommend the larger "wands", avoid the small ones that look like a flip-phone. The difference is quantitative. The big wands/sticks have a much larger surface area which bathes the target items with a lot more UV light. The small cellphone-sized ones can do the same job but they will take much longer.

For example, on a weekly basis I do this: I dump my iPod/iPhone, my earbuds, my leather wallet, my keys/keychains, my eyeglasses, on a flat table. I use my UV wand to bathe them all for a couple of swipes (usually they are limited to 10-second timed swipes). I flip them around to expose the reverse sides, and then do one more pass. Did I kill 100% of the bacteria/viruses on those items? Probably more like 98%. But still, that's much better than not doing this at all.



UV light disinfection is not new technology. Large hospitals have used them for a few decades via the large "UV lamps" to bathe, sterilize and keep certain equipment clean and disinfected. But it's only in the last few years that this technology has made it into handheld devices which anyone can buy from Amazon/eBay these days.

[tech4all]

Originally Posted by WhiteIphone5

No, but an android phone can. Hehe lol

But iPhones are more prone to STDs