TAIPEI, June 6: Scooter riders beware; wearing a dirty safety helmet in hot weather can lead to various skin diseases and even baldness, doctors in Taiwan said.

A study conducted in Taipei revealed that 75 per cent of scooter drivers in the city do not regularly clean their safety helmets, while 67 per cent only bother with it after more than six months to one year, local media reported on Thursday.

Wearing a safety helmet in a tropical country can lead to skin problems if the helmet isn’t cleaned often enough as bacteria might gather inside due to a lack of airing and the driver’s sweat, it said.

Drivers with dirty helmets can develop various skin diseases, including dandruff, inflammation of the hair follicles, fungus infections and baldness, the United Daily News said, quoting dermatologists. Only 1.9 per cent of drivers clean their helmets once every month, the report said.—dpa