The 4 Easiest Ways to Catch Norovirus, and How to Avoid Them

Do you keep a glass of water next to your bed and fill it up every night without washing it? Or maybe you have a favorite water glass that you use every day without ever putting it in the dishwasher. Since it’s just water, does it really need to be washed?

Doctors say that it is. People say that if you don’t do it, you could get sick. “Norovirus is a highly contagious virus that causes diarrhea and vomiting, and it can live in an unwashed glass for a week or more if it isn’t cleaned properly,” Dung Trinh, MD, founder of the Healthy Brain Clinic, tells Best Life. Read on to find out what else he and other doctors have to say about the health risks of using the same water glass for a week (and then load your dishwasher!).

Our health depends on how well we stay hydrated

It’s good for your body to drink a lot of water: A recent study found a link between drinking enough water and living longer and having fewer long-term health problems. You can drink a lot of different things when you’re thirsty (though you might want to skip the diet soda), but water is the healthiest option. Even one day without water can make you feel dizzy, tired, and cause problems with your stomach and other organs.

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Still, it is important to be careful about the way you drink water. Doctors say that one of them is making sure you’re not drinking out of a dirty glass, which could expose you to harmful bacteria and raise your risk of getting sick.

It’s normal to use the same water glass for more than one day

Whether you drink out of a refillable water bottle or a regular glass, not washing it between refills is a common thing to do, say doctors. “Many people use the same glass over and over again without washing it,” says Devin Stone, ND, founder of biReigns and a naturopathic primary care doctor. “Sometimes the fact that it’s easy to just fill up our glass makes us forget about the health risks. “

But if you do this, some pretty gross things can happen. Once you know about them, you’ll probably wash your water glasses a lot more often.

If you drink from the same glass of water without washing it, you could get sick

Peter Michael, MD, Chief Medical Officer of VUE, tells Best Life, “If you use the same glass for a week without washing it, bacteria will start to grow on the surface of the glass.” “It’s important to wash glasses often with soap and water, not just water, to stop this buildup.”

What if the water runs out and you fill it up again? Will that protect you from germs? Trinh says no. “Even if you fill the same glass with fresh water, bacteria can grow quickly and become dangerous,” he says, naming norovirus as one of the viruses that can live on an unwashed water glass. Stone says that bacteria can form a group called a “biofilm” over time.

“If you don’t wash and scrub these glasses, the bacteria stay in the film and have a place to live, which lets them reproduce and grow in number,” Stone says. “This makes us vulnerable to microbes we don’t want.”

Even leaving out a glass of water can cause trouble

Even if you clean your water glass often, leaving water out can be bad, according to all the doctors we talked to. “A glass left out in the open air could be exposed to bacteria in the air from dust or other things,” says Trinh. Just for this reason, it might be best to keep a water bottle with a lid on your nightstand. (Those of us who tend to spill things won’t have to worry about that either.)

No matter what you use to hold your water, make sure to fill it up with fresh water every day. “Bacteria can also grow in water if it isn’t changed often, which can happen in as little as a few days,” Stone warns. So don’t leave water out in the open next to your nightstand.