People use the cellphone and other devices for communications and entertainment as if they clean themselves. But they really cannot wipe themselves clean so users should be responsible in handling them and take time in cleaning them.

Considering the places on which people place them and the ways in which these devices are used (some people multitask and put their iPhones on speaker mode before placing it into their mouth and hold it with their teeth as they do something else with their hands), it is not surprising at all that bacteria has thrived in many cellphones across the world.

Be very careful on lending your phone. In fact, just do not let anyone else touch it.

It has been recently reported that 16 per cent of mobile devices in UK were contaminated with E coli.

E. coli or Escherichia coli are a common type of bacteria that is found in unclean food, usually contaminated due to careless toilet habits. E. coli can get a person really sick if these bacteria found a way into someone's system. Unfortunately, a mobile phone has been revealed to be a common E. coli vessel due to users' poor hygiene.

The study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary, University of London found that 95 per cent of the 390 people surveyed said they washed their hands with soap where possible, but 92 per cent of mobile phones and 82 per cent of hands were found to be contaminated with bacteria.

How do you keep your mobile phone clean and bacteria-free?

Damp a small piece of cleaning cloth with rubbing alcohol to clean the keypad and casing of your phone. Leave the screen for the last part of the cleaning as the rubbing alcohol is not good for screens. With your small piece of cleaning cloth (ideally the type used for cleaning eyeglasses), clean the buttons, speaker area and the entire external part of the phone except for the screen.

Remember the rubbing alcohol is for the external part only, as this is the part that is really exposed to bacteria. If you want to clean the internal part of your phone, seek phone-specific professional assistance. Generally, you can wipe the battery and battery slot with a cloth, and make sure that none of these get even remotely wet.

As for the phone screens, use a different piece of cleaning cloth (no trace of alcohol) and damp it with a small amount of glass cleaner.

These simple steps could keep you illness-free from the bacteria on your mobile phone. It would greatly help, too, if you wash your hands with soap and water every chance you get. When it comes to good health, prevention is always better than cure.