Sales receipts and fertility
Card card terminal with a long stream of receipt paper on an orange background
Sales receipts and fertility - is this something to cause concern? At least once a week, you will likely find yourself waiting in line at a grocery store or pharmacy. Maybe you used the free hand sanitizer as you walked in the door. You check out, pay for your items, and the cashier hands you a receipt. No big deal, right? Evidence is mounting to the contrary. Handling sales receipts may be affecting your hormones and fertility.
Sales receipts can be a source of bisphenols — about 250 to 1,000 times more than a can of food! A report found that 9 out of 10 receipts contained at least one type of Bisphenol. Bisphenols are a plasticizer used in paper receipts. They can leave the bisphenol residue on your hands and fingers, easily absorbed through the skin. The hand sanitizer you use to protect yourself from germs contains alcohol. If your hands are still wet from the hand sanitizer or lotion applied while waiting in line can increase bisphenol absorption even more.
Bisphenols have been identified as threatening to fertility in both eggs and sperm. It has also been considered a potential environmental factor contributing to symptoms that look a lot like Polycystic Ovary Syndrome. They have also been implicated in lowering sperm count and affecting the functionality of sperm.
How can you reduce exposure? Here are some ideas:
When checking out, ask your cashier or choose on the credit card terminal to email or text your receipt.
Avoid touching receipts with wet or greasy fingers/hands.
Keep receipts away from your little ones and pets.
If you have to keep the receipt, store it away from other paper or currency as they can become contaminated with plastic.
To learn more, here are a few interesting articles.