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AOL America sure has some dirty secrets. More than one out of five people around you right now is wearing dirty underwear, one in three didn't shower today and most are professed nose-pickers. These are some of the disgusting disclosures in a recent online poll measuring American hygiene - or lack thereof. "That's nasty," said Tasha Harley, 22, of lower Manhattan. "I'm very surprised at people admitting these habits." Some 71% of respondents to the unscientific survey, conducted by AOL, confessed to picking their nose. That's "probably one of the worst habits," said Dr. Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology at NYU Langone Medical Center. "It's okay as long as you wash you hands." Rewearing unwashed underwear - as 22% admitted doing - "is not going to kill you, but it's bad hygienic activity," said Tierno, explaining that bacteria counts grow as clothes stay on. "The most important thing is hand-washing," the doctor advised, especially in light of the current swine flu scare, "because 80% of all infections get passed by direct or indirect contact." The good news is that only 2% responding to the survey said they never wash hands during the day. The bad news relates to the rest of the body - one-fifth of poll takers said they shower or bathe every other day and 10% wash even less often. Infrequent bathing is not going to hurt you - "it's just going to make you smell," said Tierno, encouraging folks to soap up at least once every two days "for the sake of other people." Williamsburg bartender Amy Severino, 27, agrees. "That's disgusting," she said of the findings. But Manhattan student Sam Tierney, 21, admitted to many of these dirty dispositions. "You gotta do what you gotta do," he said. "I'm not that bothered by these things - in moderation." Habits are not a lot better in the kitchen, where only 49% of those polled immediately wash dishes. Thirty-seven percent allow them to fester for a day and 14% let them sit even longer. That can cause cross-contamination, said Tierno, adding the overall results are in line with other studies. "Nothing surprises me," he said.
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