Most women carry them and admit they couldn't live without them - we're talking purses.  But could your handbag pose a health risk?

Like most women, Rachel Tramonte brings her bag everywhere with her.  But some recent research has found evidence that organisms and germs that can make us sick gather on the outside of a woman's purse.

Infection Control Manager Nancy Hanson explains, "We carry a lot in our purses but we carry just as much on our purses.  Especially on the bottoms of our purses."

Nancy says that researchers found purses carried fecal bacteria that you'd normally find on the floor of restroom, as well as bacteria that can cause skin infections and other germs like cold viruses or viruses that cause diarrhea.  "And people sometimes are, you know, cautious about even sitting on public restroom toilets but, again, they'll plop their purse on the floor and put their briefcase or anything else down there.  So sometimes we just have to be conscience of our actions and think them through."

In order to determine just how "dirty" an average purse can be, researchers took swabs from the outside bottom of 10 women's purses, every single one had at least some bacteria, most had tens of thousands and a few were saturated with millions.  One even had 6.7 million bacteria.  Rachel says that "I was really shocked to find out that even if you're playing it safe by hanging it on the hooks that they provide for you, the germs can live there too and you're still going to have the same problem, germs all over your purse."

It's a good practice for women wipe their purses daily with a disinfectant wipe; and -- most importantly --, don't place purses on a table, kitchen counter or other eating surface.

The lesson here is to really watch where you put your bag, even when you return home.  You don't want to put it anywhere where you're going to be preparing foods, or eating foods or where the children are going to come in contact with it, before you get to clean it off.