As a teenage girl, I heard many references made to “toilet infection” and the need to be careful when using public toilets. Many women refuse to sit when using public toilets and would rather stand up to pee because they are afraid of “toilet infections”.
However, the chances of getting an infection from using a shared toilet are quite small.
Fortunately, many disease-causing organisms are only able to survive for a short time on the toilet seat. In order to get the infection, the germs need to be transferred into your urethral or genital tract or via a sore or cut on the thighs or buttocks.
A splash back from the toilet bowl is hardly going to cause you any problems if you do not have a festering open wound through which the germs can gain access to your body.
Here are some of the infections you may need to worry about.
Escherichia coli, or E. coli
This can be found in fecal matter. Toilets are the perfect breeding ground for this bacteria. E. coli is found in your intestines, but if you’re exposed to it from contaminated food, water, self inoculation by wiping from your anus to your vagina or nonporous toilet seats, you could suffer from diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting.
Gastrointestinal viruses
like norovirus, often mistaken for “food poisoning,” cause stomach issues similar to E. coli. They are easily transmitted and can live on contaminated nonporous surfaces such as toilet seats for up to two weeks, even if the toilets were cleaned.
Shigella bacteria
is passed from person to person, especially when people don’t wash their hands properly. Shigella infections are similar to E. coli and spread when an infected person’s feces contaminate a surface, including toilet seats, handles, and lids.
Streptococcus
is a bacteria that causes strep throat and bronchial pneumonia. It can also cause contagious skin infections such as impetigo. Many bathrooms harbor this bacteria.
As you can see, most of the infections that can be transmitted via a contaminated toilet seat are gastrointestinal type infections. This means that they mostly affect the tummy and are likely to present as diarrhea but not as a vaginal discharge. It is not common to get sexually transmitted diseases via a toilet seat.
How to prevent catching infectious germs from public toilets
Thankfully, there are many ways to limit your contact with bacteria in the bathroom, starting with the following steps:
Limit what you take with you into the restroom, starting with your phone. According to the Cleveland Clinic, up to 20% of cell phones have more fecal matter than a toilet seat. If you have to take your belongings with you, at least leave your cell phone in your bag. Wipe the phone with alcohol wipes after using it while in a restroom. Also practice wiping your phone down with alcohol wipes regularly as they tend to harbor multiple organisms from the different surfaces they come in contact with daily.
Avoid putting your bag/belongings on the floor while in the restroom. It’s much better to hang it on a hook and avoid setting it down on any restroom surfaces if at all possible.
- One study of public restrooms revealed 77,990 kinds of bacteria and viruses, including staph. Staph is common on skin surfaces but can cause life-threatening infections. Washing your hands thoroughly after restroom use is crucial if you want to avoid as many bacteria and germs as possible.
- How you dry your hands also makes a difference. Paper towels are much more sanitary than blow dryers in public bathrooms due to constant toilet flushing. You might want to consider taking an extra towel to turn off the tap as well as to open and close the doors of the bathroom — the fewer surfaces you touch, the better in this environment.
- While it is true that there are plenty of bacteria living in public bathrooms, it is still possible to use them safely without needing to endanger yourself by standing on the toilet seat to pee. Following the above precautions should reduce your risk of infection when using a (shared) toilet.
