Doctor's stark warning after mum and baby pick up disease from shopping trolley

21 November 2023 , 10:47

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They both contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

A doctor has issued a warning after a mother and baby both contracted hand, foot, and mouth disease from an unassuming shopping trolly. Dr Kunal Sood, a board-certified acute and chronic pain doctor, has more than two million followers on his TikTok account @ where he often shares medically backed study-based health advice, tips, and warnings.

In his video, which has attracted more than 1 million views, the doctor spoke about the dangers of bacteria passed on by shopping carts. Dr. Sood reacted to the disturbing video of the hand, foot, and mouth sores that developed all over a mother's skin. She claims after putting her baby in the shopping cart, “for the first time”.

"So it is possible to pass an infection from a shopping cart," Dr. Sood said. "But do you know exactly how dirty a shopping cart actually is?" Dr. Sood shared a study from the University of Arizona that showed over 75% of shopping carts tested positive for traces of fecal bacteria.

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"The study even showed the shopping carts were even dirtier than toilets because toilets were more likely to be cleaner than the shopping carts." He said the best way to lower the risk of infection for a shopper and their kids is to use a disinfecting wipe. "And make sure you wipe the shopping cart handle," he said.

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The video went viral with viewers sharing their fears and thanking Dr. Sood for his advice in the comments section. "Oh my god - new fear unlocked," wrote one person. "I don't know how regular people don't understand this," wrote another person. "Seriously!"

"Been wiping my cart handles for many years now! Especially since Covid!" wrote a third person. A fourth person wrote: "Hand, foot, mouth is still to this day the worst illness I've contracted from my kid. Felt like I had been thrown in a deep fryer with hot oil.

However, some didn't believe the disease could come from the shopping carts. "It takes a few days from being exposed to when you get it so I doubt it was the shopping cart," wrote one person. "It was daycare." "Exactly, how have the rest of us navigated shopping carts all these years?" wrote another person. "Ridiculous!"

Valerie Browne