<p>I bet regular shoes pick up as many bacteria as flip-flops do, but at least they protect the foot from cuts and bruises. </p>
<p>My family doesn’t wear our street shoes indoors. Of course, we do get our share of bacteria brought in by the pets from the backyard, however, they do not roam the streets of NY or another large city.</p>
<p>Not only that, but the heat from the pavement goes right through those flimsy soles and who wants to risk their toes to getting mashed by crowds hurrying on city streets?</p>
<p>I don’t own any proper footwear, but I have casual flip flops, professional flip flops, and dress flip flops. Everybody here wears flip flops and people aren’t getting staph infections. Maybe it’s because we don’t have much of a “city”, or because we have mongoose instead of rats, but most likely it’s because we have some sort of natural immunity to tourist cooties.</p>
<p>Never in NYC. Flip flops should only be worn around a pool, because of chlorine. We don’t wear shoes in the house. When my kids used to play in the yeard, I used to make them strip down in the laundry room before they could come in the house. I did that to one of kid’s friend one time, washed her clothes before her mother picked her up (I gave her my kid’s clothes to wear while I washed her clothes). Her mother said that she’s never seen her kid so clean before. I am a bit psycho.</p>
<p>dmd, I beg to differ - “common staph” could be a problem, too, and can be deadly in certain cases. Staph can exist on the surface of human skin and cause no problems until it gets into the bloodstream. Normally, a healthy immune system will suppress the bugger, but if it gets inside a scratch or a scrape that is not washed out or treated with ointment right away it can create a nightmare.</p>
<p>My insurance just paid $2000 for D’s staph-related ER visit and follow-up treatment. The little scratch on her leg got rapidly inflamed to the point the kid could not walk and had to be transported to a hospital. Thank goodness it was “just staph” and D’s immune system is OK :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Socks and sturdy shoes are the best “foot condoms” for tourists navigating big cities. Washing feet after touring crowded places is a good idea, too. And if you get a scratch, wash it, put some antibacterial ointment on it, and cover it up with a bandaid.</p>
<p>One of the reasons my girl chose her urban college was because “everyone wears flipflops and sweats” which she noted on her accepted students weekend. She cleans up very well but I think the flip flops and sweats wardrobe is all her fellow students see her in.</p>
<p>Seriously, oldfort? You made a kid remove his clothes just from playing in the yard and washed them? Not because they were ground in mud or something, but just from being outside? That is a bit much! What were you afraid of?</p>
<p>BunsenBurner–I’m not questioning the expense of a staph infection; I’m questioning whether wearing shoes instead of flipflops would have any effect on the likelihood of developing said infection.</p>
It makes sense that flip-flops could present just slightly more danger since they leave most of the foot in the open exposing it to a higher chance of getting a cut or abrasion. I guess the same would be true for women’s sandals. However, I wear flip-flops every day and have for many years in all kinds of conditions including hiking, biking, etc. and I rarely inflict damage to my feet - but maybe I tend to watch where I’m going. </p>
<p>If I do get a cut anywhere though, I make sure to wash it with anti-bacterial soap right away (or at least as soon as I notice it), put the ointment on, and band-aid it as duly instructed by ‘bunsenburner’. I get most of my cuts and scrapes from working on one of my cars - I hope all that grease and grime doesn’t have a lot of staph in it.</p>
<p>Cleaning too much is probably more dangerous than not cleaning enough - at least that’s what I tell myself. Ever since I discovered that all kinds of allergies and immune problems are caused when people clean too much, I have been a much happier person. </p>
<p>Flip flops are also really bad for the body. They alter the gait and can cause long term problems from the feet to the hips. They should definitely not be the shoes worn the most. Podiatrists say they are much more problematic than wearing high heels.</p>
<p>cartera, I want to add - using antibacterial soaps everywhere is a recipe for disaster. The soap might kill 99.99% of the nasty bugs, but as the folk wisdom says, what doesn’t kill bacteria makes them stronger. That 0.01% becomes resistant to some things that are supposed to kill it. It is really hard to find regular plain old soap in stores anymore.</p>
<p>Not that I would recommend it- but my D wore " flip-flops" all through India for three months of travel, including Mumbai ( which she said actually feels much smaller than NYC, even though technically it is 2nd largest city in the world)</p>
<p>She did have a few bugs and illnesses- but they were mainly heat related.
( the heat probably kills or at least maims most of the bugs too!)</p>
<p>I don’t think they provide much support- and they are thin- plus you could fall flat on your face if someone stepped on the back.</p>
<p>( I am wondering what * professional flip flops* are though )</p>
<p>Flip flops are the worst kind of shoes to wear for everyday use. They ruin your body balance (causes extra strain on legs) and will cause foot problems later in life. The exception are flip flops with a heel. I don’t wear them outside the home.</p>
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