Is the holy water we dip our fingers in at Church filled with germs?

[nannymar]

Yes it is sadly loaded with bacteria, fungi, viruses, dead skin and whatever else.

IMO, it should be changed daily and the fonts cleaned also.

Some older churches still use a sponge which beyond unsanitary.

Our holy water founts are emptied and washed weekly. You could ask the sacristan how often this is done. (we have only two weekly Masses)

 

[VANGUARD59]

I am happy to hear that your holy water fonts are kept clean.

Sadly, I have been to two churches where the holy water fonts contained cloudy, slimy
water. There was matter floating in the water.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

I am happy to hear that your holy water fonts are kept clean.

Sadly, I have been to two churches where the holy water fonts contained cloudy, slimy
water. There was matter floating in the water.

I doubt if it will harm you. Think about all the door knobs you touch each day!

Linus2nd

 

[Cat]

Hmmm - this is an interesting question. It makes me want to start some cultures. I could take some growth media from work and see what happens.

Is there any considerations for applying a bit of holy water to some petri dishes? This wouldn’t be a sin, would it? (I’m just meaning enough water to moisten a sterile Q-tip.)

Where will you get the media? Do you have access to good media? Do you have access to a good incubator?

I work in a microbiology lab at a hospital, and I do have that access, but I would be in trouble using it for purposes other than hospital-related work.

We do water tests at work (on lab water) from several labs. We use BHI media, and the procedure calls for using 1 ml of di H2O inoculated into the melted media, pouring it into the plate and allowing it to harden before incubating it at 36C for 48 hours. We count the colonies, although 99% of the time, the cultures show no growth (that’s what they’re supposed to show!).

I fear that testing the holy water fonts would only serve to frighten you and others because it would probably grow aerobic* Bacillus*, which looks disgusting on the agar, but is usually harmless to humans.

This experiment could lead to a lawsuit from someone who believes that they got sick from the fonts. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to do the experiment. If the fonts truly posed a threat to health, believe me, the Public Health Dept. would be in there shutting them down in two seconds flat!! Consider that over the centuries, there has been no known negative consequence from using these fonts, so maybe it’s best to just leave it and be at peace.

The only people who need to be careful are those who are immunocompromised, and they know who they are and what they have to do to stay healthy.

 

[Hopey]

Where will you get the media? Do you have access to good media? Do you have access to a good incubator?

I work in a microbiology lab at a hospital, and I do have that access, but I would be in trouble using it for purposes other than hospital-related work.

We do water tests at work (on lab water) from several labs. We use BHI media, and the procedure calls for using 1 ml of di H2O inoculated into the melted media, pouring it into the plate and allowing it to harden before incubating it at 36C for 48 hours. We count the colonies, although 99% of the time, the cultures show no growth (that’s what they’re supposed to show!).

I fear that testing the holy water fonts would only serve to frighten you and others because it would probably grow aerobic* Bacillus*, which looks disgusting on the agar, but is usually harmless to humans.

This experiment could lead to a lawsuit from someone who believes that they got sick from the fonts. I’m not sure it’s a good idea to do the experiment. If the fonts truly posed a threat to health, believe me, the Public Health Dept. would be in there shutting them down in two seconds flat!! Consider that over the centuries, there has been no known negative consequence from using these fonts, so maybe it’s best to just leave it and be at peace.

The only people who need to be careful are those who are immunocompromised, and they know who they are and what they have to do to stay healthy.

I agree.

At a parish I go, it is replaced weekly with fresh blessed water.
Since the introduction of wanting/requiring baptismal fonts in the incorporation of the design of the Church, the fonts have grown bigger and more difficult to take care of. At one, we would put bleach in weekly esp during the summer months - hot - humid weather. The most disturbing thing I saw was a woman who filled her bottle then proceeded to drink it! It is NOT for consumption.
If I saw anything that looked unclean, I would avoid it or just let the pastor know. There usually are people TRYING to keep it clean behind the scenes.

 

[Coatimundi]

The most disturbing thing I saw was a woman who filled her bottle then proceeded to drink it! It is NOT for consumption.

eep

Did she simply not know where to find the tank of unused holy water? I think most churches have these, so that people do not have to drink germy water.

 

[Hopey]

eep

Did she simply not know where to find the tank of unused holy water? I think most churches have these, so that people do not have to drink germy water.

There was a language barrier with her and that parish didn’t always have the tank filled with blessed holy water. They had a mini swimming pool!

 

[Digitonomy]

The government loads dollar bills with all sorts of anti-biotics so as to prevent biologically based terrorism. This is not new, they’ve been doing it for a long time, even fairly far back into the Cold War if not before.

I would be interested in reading any evidence you have for that, as I think it simply isn’t true.

1. 
   *]Dollar bills have lots of nooks and crannies because of the cotton fiber paper. It makes it easy for powder, dirt, debris to stick to the surface, and not shake off easily, and also for some of that to transfer to the next bill it rubs against. It is for this reason that most bills in circulation have been shown to have traces of cocaine on them.
   *]Dry paper is not a good delivery method of antibiotics to another dry substance.
   *]In wet conditions, much of the alleged antibiotic content would probably dissipate into the surrounding wallet or pocket, leaving a much weaker concentration of antibiotic on the bill.
   *]It wouldn’t prevent bioterrorism because the terrorists could easily identify which antibiotics are present, and use an organism not susceptible or resistant to those antibiotics.
   *]Even if the terrorists spending months engineering the bioterror weapon don’t think about resistance, the widespread presence of your “cashicillin” in the human environment will likely cause a large increase in the percent of the bacteria that are cashicillin-resistant.

 

[dconklin]

I would think that the top back of the pews that most of us use to lean against would be germier.

 

[maryjk]

Ever heard of KPC? or MRSA?

Bacteria that are resistant to all known antibiotics are becoming more common in the U.S.

Yes, most reasonably healthy people have absolutely nothing to worry about. But anyone who is immuno-compromised is right to be careful, and they are most certainly not in “need of professional counseling.” There is nothing Satanic about wanting to stay alive as long as possible.

I have worked in a hospital microbiology lab for over 30 years and have witnessed the development of these super bugs. IMO, it is the most serious health care issue that the world faces.

Thank you.

Yes, I worry about it. I have Lupus. And I take many medications that reduce my immune system. Putting my hand into germ filled water is a problem. Oh, and so is touching door knobs. And drinking from the Chalice. And any number of things at Church. Being cautious doesn’t mean that Satan is taking over. It just means that I carry anti-bacterial gel.

 

[Tarpeian_Rock]

I would be interested in reading any evidence you have for that, as I think it simply isn’t true.

1. 
   *]Dollar bills have lots of nooks and crannies because of the cotton fiber paper. It makes it easy for powder, dirt, debris to stick to the surface, and not shake off easily, and also for some of that to transfer to the next bill it rubs against. It is for this reason that most bills in circulation have been shown to have traces of cocaine on them.
   *]Dry paper is not a good delivery method of antibiotics to another dry substance.
   *]In wet conditions, much of the alleged antibiotic content would probably dissipate into the surrounding wallet or pocket, leaving a much weaker concentration of antibiotic on the bill.
   *]It wouldn’t prevent bioterrorism because the terrorists could easily identify which antibiotics are present, and use an organism not susceptible or resistant to those antibiotics.
   *]Even if the terrorists spending months engineering the bioterror weapon don’t think about resistance, the widespread presence of your “cashicillin” in the human environment will likely cause a large increase in the percent of the bacteria that are cashicillin-resistant.

1. 
   This sounds like a good one for Snopes. Given how many people are allergic to all kinds of medicines, were antibiotics present on money, surely there would be publicity concerning allergic reactions. And even if it were true,how many handlings of a bill would it take to rub off?