Used books have virus?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alma
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

Alma

Guest
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
 
Alma said:
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
Click to expand...
the flu virus can survive on a surface for 18 days.
tb bacteria can only survive outside the body for a few hours.
 
Most life forms are water based. Microwave them! any fluid will boil killing germs. Honestly most books have sat for a while before being sold. It’s no more dangerous than going grocery shopping.
 
i wouldn’t boil or microwave books. theres no need nor any way to disinfect them. the plants you put in your mouth and eat grow outside on the ground in the soil and are fed with manure.
 
Alma said:
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
Click to expand...
That’s a scary thought, if that were the case though, people who read library books would be sick all the time, who knows what kind of houses library books were in before you borrowed it? But I don’t think germs can live on books like that. 🙂 Thank God!
 
Virus can remain in a crystalline form for long time on paper, like any organic substance. Taken into organism, the crystalline viral RNA is revived, and attacks the surrounding cells. So, take care in handling old books. There were cases when a tailor got rabies being in contact with clothes contaminated by the saliva of the animal.
 
If this were an issue, the CDC would be warning of used bookstores as centers of infection; and users of university libraries (where thousands gather around books that were there for centuries) would wear spacesuits.

Let’s give God some credit. A world where the air in our noses, and every surface we touch (even our own surfaces) is non-antiseptic, is precisely the “nature” our NATURAL bodies were designed for.

ICXC NIKA
 
One of my wife’s friends runs almost everything she gets from the thrift store (books, clothes, etc.) through the microwave as soon as she gets it home out of the same concern. If it’s something that has metal on it, or that would be destroyed by running it through the microwave (videotapes, CDs, etc.) she doesn’t it do it because, according to her, the flu and all those other pathogens can’t survive on plastic surfaces or clothing with zippers or metal snaps/buttons. :ehh:
 
The microwave works by agitating water molecules or other conductive material.

You’re much more likely to get a burnt out microwave if you try to cook a book in it.

People try to live in completely antibiotic bubbles… Where will they get their natural resistance from if they pathologically avoid any form of bacteria? There’s a good body of opinion that suggests that over-keenness on hygiene is the reason why our bodies are seemingly now more susceptible to allergens than they used to be - our immune systems were previously much too busy to take any notice of pollen and stuff like it. We might have gone too far in our obsession with cleanliness!
 
If you are just lending them to that friend then he can still read them and not catch anything if you give him a decorator mask that covers nose and mouth and a pair of latex glove like they wear in hospital,
I know its extreme, and i dont believe you can get sick from old books but at least its a way he can read it while reassuring and calming his fears
 
crystal_waters said:
If you are just lending them to that friend then he can still read them and not catch anything if you give him a decorator mask that covers nose and mouth and a pair of latex glove like they wear in hospital,
I know its extreme, and i dont believe you can get sick from old books but at least its a way he can read it while reassuring and calming his fears…
Click to expand...
…but terrifying everyone else if he takes to reading it in public dressed like that.🙂
 
MarioPop said:
Virus can remain in a crystalline form for long time on paper, like any organic substance. Taken into organism, the crystalline viral RNA is revived, and attacks the surrounding cells. So, take care in handling old books. There were cases when a tailor got rabies being in contact with clothes contaminated by the saliva of the animal.
Click to expand...
I love this post.

Honestly, it depends on the virus. I don’t know too much about human disease, but out of the animal viruses that I am quite familiar with, there are extremes. For example, the Maedi Visna (OPP) virus in sheep (very similar to HIV- but cannot be transmitted to people of course) can only survive outside the sheep for a few minutes. In contrast, the contagious ecthyma virus (orf, soremouth- transmissible to humans) can live for years as long as it is protected from getting wet and exposed. I am sure that human viruses are the same.

Bacteria, I really wouldn’t worry about.

Perhaps the book could be autoclaved? 😃
 
Paddy_Walker said:
i wouldn’t boil or microwave books. theres no need nor any way to disinfect them. the plants you put in your mouth and eat grow outside on the ground in the soil and are fed with manure.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

I would be much more worried about handling paper money. For all you know last week that dollar was tucked into some stripper’s g-string and two days ago it was used to snort cocain and last year is laid in the gutter of a wet street…🤷
 
DexUK said:
The microwave works by agitating water molecules or other conductive material.

You’re much more likely to get a burnt out microwave if you try to cook a book in it.

People try to live in completely antibiotic bubbles… Where will they get their natural resistance from if they pathologically avoid any form of bacteria? There’s a good body of opinion that suggests that over-keenness on hygiene is the reason why our bodies are seemingly now more susceptible to allergens than they used to be - our immune systems were previously much too busy to take any notice of pollen and stuff like it. We might have gone too far in our obsession with cleanliness!
Click to expand...
Indeed, the peanut allergies that are such a plague in the western world seem to be unknown elsewhere; which is good, as goobers are a great protein source!

ICXC NIKA
 
Used books vs. door handles and faucets and seats in public restrooms? Coins in change? Handles of supermarket shopping carts? Door handles going imto stores? There’s lots and lots of potentially scarier stuff out there than used books that may have sat on a shelf for weeks and months.
 
Hmm… when buying a second book next time, I shall first roast it for an hour at 200’C, then freeze it for a day, then fumigate it, then expose each page to ten minutes of high intensity ultraviolet light and then I shall put it in a sealed plastic bag, replace the air with something toxic, and then leave it for at least a month.

If my book hasn’t turned to a pile of dust after that month, then I’ll read it! 😛

That’s assuming all these cleaning procedures haven’t accidentally maimed or killed me first!
 
Gordon_Sims said:
One of my wife’s friends runs almost everything she gets from the thrift store (books, clothes, etc.) through the microwave as soon as she gets it home out of the same concern. If it’s something that has metal on it, or that would be destroyed by running it through the microwave (videotapes, CDs, etc.) she doesn’t it do it because, according to her, the flu and all those other pathogens can’t survive on plastic surfaces or clothing with zippers or metal snaps/buttons. :ehh:
Click to expand...
Wow that’s weird. She should just wash everything down with good laundry soap or cleaning products. 🤷
SamH said:
Agreed.

I would be much more worried about handling paper money. For all you know last week that dollar was tucked into some stripper’s g-string and two days ago it was used to snort cocain and last year is laid in the gutter of a wet street…🤷
Click to expand...
Yes I’ve always been taught that money is one of the dirtiest things to handle! People keep money in their socks, down their pants, in their bra, and all kinds of things! That reminds me that I hardly even handle paper money anymore, I buy everything everywhere with a debit card. My paycheck is direct deposited and I buy everything using debit card so it’s been a while since I actually even handled physical paper money. 🙂
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Used books vs. door handles and faucets and seats in public restrooms? Coins in change? Handles of supermarket shopping carts? Door handles going imto stores? There’s lots and lots of potentially scarier stuff out there than used books that may have sat on a shelf for weeks and months.
Click to expand...
Good point! 😉
 
DexUK said:
Hmm… when buying a second book next time, I shall first roast it for an hour at 200’C, then freeze it for a day, then fumigate it, then expose each page to ten minutes of high intensity ultraviolet light and then I shall put it in a sealed plastic bag, replace the air with something toxic, and then leave it for at least a month.

If my book hasn’t turned to a pile of dust after that month, then I’ll read it! 😛

That’s assuming all these cleaning procedures haven’t accidentally maimed or killed me first!
Click to expand...
:rotfl:
 
Alma said:
I ordered some paper books (yes that old stuff printed on paper :rolleyes: ), and since there was a huge difference on the price of a new book (12 dollars) or a used one (.10 dollars!!) I bought the used ones.

I wanted to give some to a friend, but he is concerned they might have been read by someone with the flu or tb or some other contagious disease.:eek:

I told him I would ask you guys ( who always give me good answers;)) , how much time, if any, can a virus survive in the cover or pages of a book?

And is there an easy way to desinfect a book?

Sorry for this weird question…😛

Alma
Click to expand...
I hope it’s not rude to ask, but has he received any help for what sounds like OCD? If not, perhaps you could suggest it, gently and politely. Or kindly tell him that it’s not necessary to worry so much. 🙂 I will pray for him.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top