When it comes to using public restrooms, you probably have the urge, or have been encouraged, to cover the toilet seat or squat over the toilet if you end up having to use it. It’s likely because these areas tend to have a lot of bacteria — especially if they’re high-traffic toilets that don’t get the cleaning attention they need, according to a January 2022 report. Science of the total environment review.
It’s normal to be worried about the possibility of getting sick after visiting a public toilet. You may be particularly concerned that you might get a sexually transmitted infection (STI) if you sit on the toilet seat. However, getting an STI can be one less worry if you need to use the bathroom while you’re out and about—and here’s why.
STIs can be transmitted from one person to another through different types of physical contact with the mouth, genitals, rectum, skin, and bodily fluids. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).
The main way contact can happen is during unprotected (without a condom) vaginal, oral or anal sex with someone who has an STI. Other ways STIs can be transmitted are from a pregnant or breastfeeding woman to her child or through intimate physical contact, according to Office of Women’s Health (OVH).
There is little or no chance of getting an STI from sitting on a toilet seat: that chance would have to happen under very specific circumstances. For example, with hepatitis B or HIV (which can be spread through blood), transmission would require rapid and close contact with bodily fluids (for example, blood on a toilet seat coming into contact with an open wound on a person’s leg).
However, “(STIs) usually don’t survive when they fall off the human body,” he said Christine Greves, MD, Health Advisory Board Member and Gynecologist at Orlando Health Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies. “The VC board doesn’t offer an environment for (SPI) to thrive, so it can’t live there for more than 10 seconds.” In other words, STDs thrive in environments created by warm human tissue and fluids, not cold, hard toilet seats.
This does not mean that toilets are free of bacteria, viruses or other things that can make you sick. In January 2022 Science of the total environment review, 17 studies mention the presence of microorganisms in and around toilets. Researchers have also found that germs like influenza A, norovirus (which causes vomiting and diarrhea) and Staphylococcus aureus (causing skin or soft tissue infections) were discovered around the toilet.
As for the transmission of infectious diseases in toilets, a January 2022 study identified “flushing toilets with open lids, ineffective hand washing or hand drying, substandard or infrequent surface cleaning, clogged drains and uncovered trash cans” as culprits for bacteria in the toilet. or viral contamination.
That’s why it’s important to use soap and warm water, always stop at the paper towel dispenser, and try not to touch door handles when you leave the restroom. It’s possible to pick up germs from a door lock, toilet water, or other surfaces, then touch your eyes or mouth without realizing it—eventually depositing those germs right into your system.
Finally, if you’re wondering why you’ve been squatting or putting toilet paper on the seat all this time, that’s a normal consideration for public restrooms. “It can make us feel better psychologically,” Dr. Graves said. “It might not protect us from infection, but it can protect us from worrying about what germs we’re sitting on.”