A TikTok doctor has gone viral after sharing how often you should change your pillows – and there’s a horrifying reason.
Dr Jason Singh shares his expertise and knowledge with 96,500 followers on TikTok.
He has previously hit headlines after urging holiday-makers not to unpack as soon as they get home, explaining that bed bugs could be lurking.
READ MORE: TikTok doctor reveals shocking warning for women who drink diet sodas
- Advertisement -
Now, Dr SIngh has shared why you should definitely change your pillows on a regular basis, in a video. thathas over 110,000 views, as reported by What’s The Jam.
“Pillows actually have an ‘expiration date’ from a health perspective,” he says.
“Over time, pillows become a haven for dust mites which feed dead skin cells that naturally shed from our bodies during sleep.
“These microscopic creatures and their fecal matter, your sweat, your saliva, all that drool thats landing on your pillow.
“It creates its own eco-system of dust mites, fungus bacteria, which don’t just live on the surface of the pillow but colonize the entire pillow.”
- Advertisement -
He claims that they bury themselves deep into the filling material.
The doctor, from Loudoun County, Virginia, US, added: “That’s why changing the pillow cover doesn’t completely make it go away.
“Covers only help with surface level cleanliness but they don’t address the issues that accumulate inside the pillow over time.”
- Advertisement -
Dr Singh advises to wash your pillow covers once a week and to change your pillows every two years.
He said: “I know some people love holding onto their pillows.
“But let it go, cry if you need to, it’s not a family heirloom and it’s not a fun petri dish.”
Users have taken to the comment section to share their thoughts.
One person said: “Bro, pillows aren’t cheap. I’m riding mine to the grave.”
Victoria added: “I have a zippered pillow cover. The dust mites aren’t getting in.”
Kimberly commented: “I’ve had the same pillows since college. 1992.”
But Abba wrote: “I change [mine] every six months.”
Mady said: “I always change my pillows on Black Friday! They go on sale and there you go I change all my pillows.”
Dr Jason Singh says that the microbial ecosystem that pillows carry become a thriving biological environment during use.
He added: “Each night, we shed approximately 500,000 skin cells per two inches of body surface area.
“This cellular debris, combined with the warm, often humid environment created by our body temperature and moisture from breathing, creates an ideal growth medium for fungi, dust mites, and various bacteria.
“Including staphylococcus species which is prone to cause inflammatory skin changes.
“Change your pillows!”
READ MORE: Men ‘slowing down the ageing process’ with FISH SPERM face injections loved by Kim Kardashian
