Bacteria on Different Types of Athletic Headbands

Bacteria on Different Types of Athletic Headbands

"Contact with bacteria is something all people experience every day and there are many bacteria that are common on the skin. If in contact with bacteria for too long someone can get infections like folliculitis, acne, impetigo, and cellulitis. There are many factors that increase the chances of someone getting an infection, one of these factors include friction or abrasion between the skin and clothing. The objective of this study was to determine what type of athletic head band holds the most bacteria. For my study the Lake Superior State Softball team wore athletic headbands while working out to determine if wearing a certain head band while working out causes more bacteria growth. After the one week trial the headbands were brought to the lab. The headband was cut into a small, was then immersed into a test tube containing nutrient broth. The headband was mixed into the nutrient broth and was taken out of the test tube. Then the nutrient broth that had the head band in it was added to a brain heart infusion agar plate and spread evenly throughout the plate. Then the petri plates were kept in the incubator at 37 degrees Celsius for 24 hours. An unpaired T-test was performed to show the differences between the three types of headbands. Based on the results the headband that harbors the most bacteria is the thick headband and the headband that harbors the least bacteria is the thin elastic headband. Based on this study there are headbands that hold more bacteria than others."

Anderson, Brandi

Biology

Lake Superior State University

2015

Dr. Martha Hutchens

Copyright Brandi Anderson: All rights reserved. LSSU use only.

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