Showering every day has become the norm. However, in certain parts of the globe, people only shower when they need to. It is true that taking a shower is a pleasurable experience. After a warm or cold bath with your favourite shower gel, you quickly feel revitalised.
However, there’s a thing called over-showering. Which means that you shower more than you should. People believe they are showering for hygiene or to be cleaner, however this is not the case bacteriologically. Showering can deplete the skin’s natural protective barrier, the acid mantle, leaving it exposed to bacterial and viral invasion. If that’s the case, how long could you go without showering?
Why Do You Need To Shower?
Before knowing what happens when you don’t shower, you need to know the importance of bathing. Your skin is exposed to harmful and good bacteria and because of that, you need to shower to get them off. The skin also secretes oils and other chemicals that, if not wiped away, can build up to harmful levels over time. Other sorts of filth, such as dust, oils, and chemicals, must also be washed off on a regular basis.
How Often Should You Shower?
Most people just need to shower once every three days to maintain their skin clean but that depends on your lifestyle. To stay clean, you don’t need to use any antibacterial soaps or bath bombs in the shower. That’s when a simple bar of soap comes in handy.
Your immune system and the bacteria on your skin will clean your skin on days when you don’t take a shower. They do, however, need you to wash off the filth in order to avoid foul smells and other concerns caused by not washing.
What Happens When You Stop Showering?
Eventually, when you stop bathing, you will notice changes to your body and it’s not just odour but something you might not expect. It actually depends on how active you are. But within a month or two, you definitely will notice some rashes or odour on your body. Here’s are some things that would happen if you stop bathing.
1. Staphylococcus
For the first several days of not showering, your own microbiota and immune system would be able to fight off foreign invaders. However, hazardous germs would eventually overpower them. Staph infections are caused by the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus. If you don’t take a shower, this germ might kill you.
The Staphylococcus bacterium might ultimately make its way into your body if you don’t bathe. This can happen as a result of a wound or by touching your lips, eyes, or nose with unwashed hands. Sepsis, or the spread of germs in the bloodstream, can develop if the bacterium enters your body. This can result in pneumonia, which can be deadly in patients who already have lung problems. Even if you are a healthy person, you still can be affected by Staphylococcus bacteria which will eventually lead to heart attack or stroke. The most painful infection caused by this bacteria is osteomyelitis or bone infection. This condition is rare and extremely painful if you caught one and it is more likely to affect those who go on without bathing.
2. Build up of dirt
Apart from bacteria, there are other gross things that will accumulate on your body if you don’t bathe. Your body will build up dirt, dead skin cells and oil on the skin. Sweat, filth, oil, and dead cells progressively collect on your skin, making it dirtier by the day. Your body will grow filthy if you don’t wash off these chemicals on a regular basis, which might lead to puss bumps. The irritation of hair follicles causes pus pimples. This is caused by an accumulation of germs and oil on your skin. It’s similar to a pimple, except it’s all over your body. The thing that is the most revolting is when it needs to rupture at some point and when it happens, it gets on your skin. If you don’t bathe, the puss lumps will continue to appear on your skin, resulting in bacterial illness.
3. Dermatitis Neglecta
A fancy way of saying neglecting your skin. Your skin will grow dark and scaly if you have dermatitis neglecta. When dead skin cells, perspiration, and your body’s oils build up and aren’t wiped away, you get this condition. Dermatitis neglecta occurs in areas that you sweat the most. Your body would be filthy by the time you reached this stage. Skin outbreaks may result as a result of this.
4. Unpleasant body odour
The majority of individuals incorrectly believe that body odour is caused by sweating, although sweat is odourless. Rather, bacteria break down perspiration into a variety of odorous chemicals, which causes an unpleasant odour on the body. If you let germs and their metabolites build up on your skin, you will begin to stink.
Showering Tips
Like it or not, you still need to shower to keep yourself clean. Here are some simple tips to follow the next time you take a shower.
- Shower at least 1-2 times a day, depending on your lifestyle
- Make it short. About 5-10 minutes will do
- Use mild soap
- Moisturize your skin after a shower
- Use warm water. Hot or cold water will strip healthy oils from the skin.
- Scrub gently. Your skin is delicate.
- Clean your bathing tools. These include towels, sponges, pouffes and others as they easily breed germs.
Sources: The Infographics Show, High Shower, Considerable, Harvard Health Publishing, Very Well Health