Who would have thought it? A cuddly toy in the shape of a virus! These cuddly characters are incredibly endearing and educational too. Each one comes with a detailed scientific description and photograph of what he looks like under the microscope, along with medical tips on how to avoid picking up these bugs in daily life. Children seem to be totally fascinated by them, and it really helps when explaining all about why they are feeling poorly. The perfect gift to accompany a Get Well card. Also a brilliant present for medical students, doctors and nurses etc. You will soon understand why they are becoming amazingly popular! Start collecting now. FACTS: Many people believe that bad breath or halitosis is caused by gas rising up from the stomach particularly after eating onions or spicy foods. In fact, most cases are caused by microbes such as Porphorymonas gingivalis! Between three and four hundred types of microbes typically call the human mouth home. Most are harmless. But a few produce volatile sulphur compounds. These compounds, such as hydrogen sulphide which smells like rotting eggs, give bad breath its characteristic odor. Other oral bacteria by-products include cadaverine and putrescine, which are typical of rotting corpses and rotting meat! VSC producing bacteria are generally present in inoffensive quantities. However, as oxygen levels in areas of the mouth are reduced behind layers of plaque and food, for instance these anaerobic bacteria thrive. Furthermore, as VSC levels increase, the Ph of the mouth is reduced, which creates the sour, metallic taste experienced by halitosis sufferers! So what can you do about Porphorymonas gingivalis? Brush and floss of course! Oh and avoid onions and spicy foods: they're very high in sulphur content.