Beards may contain bacteria which could potentially develop into new antibiotics, a study has found.

They had good reasons for doing so. We know that hospital-acquired infections are a significant cause of disease and death in hospitals, with many patients acquiring an infection they didn’t have when they went in. Hands, white coats, ties, and equipment have all blamed, but what about beards?

Researchers found that clean-shaven men were more likely to harbor infection-causing bacteria resistant to antibiotics when compared to bearded men.

The study was done by swab testing 408 hospital staff with beards and without. Check out the link that was published in the Journal of Hospital Infection.