In an age when smartphones are almost invisible to us, there is a growing concern about the health of mobile phones, and antibacterial cell phone shells should be brought in, and many people have high hopes that they will stop the transmission of bacteria to users. However, this is in fact an exaggerated fantasy, with many errors that need to be clarified.
Antibacterial cell phone casings typically achieve their antibacterial properties by adding antibacterial agents such as silver ion and zinc nano-oxidation to the production material. These antibacterial agents do have a certain capacity to inhibit bacteria from growing and growing, and in some tests in the laboratory environment they can reduce the growth of bacteria on the surface of mobile shells. But this is far from the goal of “stopping the transmission of bacteria from mobile phones to users”.
First of all, there is a wide range of bacterial sources on mobile phones. When we use mobile phones on a daily basis, we have frequent hand contact with the surfaces of various items, with which contaminated bacteria are transferred to mobile phones; mobile phones are also exposed to parts of our face, mouth, etc., which themselves also have large microbial communities, and bacteria are easily transmitted between mobile phones and humans. Even with antibacterial cell phone casings, bacteria cannot be prevented from being contaminated from these routes to mobile phones. Moreover, the internal heat, sutures, etc. of the cell phone, due to appropriate environmental factors such as temperature and humidity, can also become a hotbed for bacterial breeding, which is even more impotent in the case of antibacterial cell phone shells.
Secondly, the antibacterial effects of antibacterial cell phone shells will diminish over time. Antibacterial agents are consumed in constant contact and reaction with bacteria, their concentrations are gradually reduced and their resistance is significantly reduced. The wear, cleaning, etc. in day-to-day use can also destroy antibacterial coating or structures on the surface of mobile phone shells, further affecting their persistence. For example, the frequent removal of cellular shells from mobile phones or the use of rough cleaning agents to wipe them may accelerate the loss of antibacterial functions.
Moreover, bacteria are transmitted in diverse and complex ways and are not entirely blocked by cell phone shells alone. Even though the number of bacteria on the surface of the cell phone shell is controlled to a certain extent, when we touch the cell phone screen, key buttons, etc., then contact the eyes, nose, nose or other objects, bacteria can be transmitted through these indirect contact, enter the human body or spread to the surrounding environment.
In practical terms, overdependence on antibacterial cell phone shells may also lead us to ignore more important mobile phone hygiene practices. For example, simple and effective measures such as regular cleaning of the face of a mobile phone with clean rags, avoiding the use of a mobile phone in an unclean environment, handwashing, etc., are also essential to reducing the bacterial spread of mobile phones. Cell phones can still be an “agent” for bacterial transmission if they simply place their hopes on antibacterial cell phone casings and ignore routine health maintenance.
Antibacterial cell phone casings contribute to some extent to the reduction of bacteria on the surface of mobile phones, but their effects are limited and do not completely prevent the transmission of bacteria to users. We should take a rational and objective view of anti-bacterial cell phone casings as an aid to mobile health protection, rather than as the only “life-saving straw”. At the same time, a combination of good mobile phone use and hygiene practices is needed to truly reduce the risk of bacterial transmission from mobile phones and to protect themselves and others ‘ health.
