Have you ever been through airport security behind somebody with stinky feet? Ever wondered where those feet have been? Ever considered the amount of bacteria that passes through those security gates and how it may affect you. Think about all those bare feet. I never really thought about it until a recent trip back from New York and I found myself wondering, am I going to get athlete’s foot from somebody? I read a story on MedicineNet.com about this subject and one person stated:
“The scary part of all that is that I’ve been fighting a fungus on my left foot for about a year — no joke — and that’s about the time I was all but stripped at the Orlando International Airport when I escorted my stepson to his plane. I’ve had to replace all my shoes, bleach my tile floors, I’ve taken topical creams (almost every OTC kind, then got an Rx or two from my doc), and even an Rx pill to take – and NOTHING has worked. My doc is baffled! Ok, now I am totally grossed out. Totally and completely. I never even considered the airport incident!” http://bit.ly/209ArS
Ok, I guess I’d rather risk athlete’s foot than being blown up by some lunatic. I started thinking about all the different places that utilize some sort of screening procedure and wondered what they do. I’ve been to courthouses before and had to walk through the metal detector and then had them “wand” me. But, they never bothered to check my shoes. That begs the question, are we “safe” in our courthouses? What about schools that screen, they don’t check shoes either. Train stations, seaports, border crossings, government agencies, prisons, stadiums (ha just think of the jocks and their stinky feet going to sporting events, eww), nightclubs…then list is endless.
So, I Google’d alternatives to shoe removal at airports. Then, on the TSA.Gov blog I found that two cases of scabies were reported at Boston Logan. Did you know that 300 million cases of scabies occur worldwide every year? http://bit.ly/1flEoZ I’m really getting grossed out now. We all put our shoes in bins, the same bins we put our coats in. Do you see where I’m going with this? Just think of the implications.
What troubles me is that I did find an alternative and I don’t understand WHY it’s not being utilized. There is actually a company out there that has invented what they call the MagShoe™ which allows for shoes-on screening for
weapons and metals. This company has worked closely with the ISA (Israeli Security Agency) and developed a patented technology that offers a convenient step-in device that extends security screening and metal detection to include ankles and feet WITHOUT requiring shoe removal.
I went to the Company’s website www.idosecurityinc.com and found that this technology is being used in Australia, all over Eastern Europe to include Prague, Czech Republic, Budapest, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. In the Middle East, it’s being used at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Israel. In Western Europe, Germany is using it at some private clubs. Madrid Barajas Airport in Spain is using it for chartered and private flights.
If this technology is available that could prevent millions of people from being exposed to scabies, athlete’s foot, staph infections etc., then why in the world are we not using it here????
Click here to view our disclaimer.
