Didn’t use a toilet seat cover in that public restroom?
You may regret it
Hi guys, Crystal here for DNews.
Are you afraid of contracting a terrible disease from using a public restroom?
How dirty are those toilets really?
and how useful are those annoying paper covers that always tear and then fall into the bowl
after you’ve set them down anyway?
Well, according to modern science, those paper covers, don’t actually do very much…
Concern over the possibility of contracting disease from public restrooms has been around
for over 100 years.
US patents for “sanitation covers for latrine seats” date back as far as 1911 and I believe
it was the late great Louis Pasteur* one of the founders of germ theory who said: “Women,
it is best to hover when peeing” (*Louis Pasteur definitely did NOT say this).
We know bathrooms and kitchens are a hotbed of bacteria and other microorganisms due to
the abundance of moisture and nutrients.
Toilet seats are known hang outs for disease agents like E. coli, strep- and, staphylococcus
bacteria, and the common cold but studies have shown that the toilet bowl isn’t the
worst offender when it comes to germs -- I will never eat off of anything touched by
a kitchen sponge again.
Also, unless you have an open sore or other breach in the protective body casing that
is your skin, the chance of disease transmission through toilet seat use is slim.
People have gotten their knickers in a bunch over the safety of toilet seats when a few
cases of sexually transmitted diseases cropped up in individuals who claimed that they could
not have contracted their infections through the usual manner.
Dirty toilet seats were blamed but scientists have repeatedly refuted this conclusion on
the grounds that the infectious agents are not viable for long outside a host body and
transmission requires direct contact with mucosal membranes.
Actually, according to a paper in the journal of Applied and Environmental Microbiology
you are far more likely to get sick by breathing the aerosolized bacteria in water droplets
from your flush than you are from copping a squat.
There is a psychological factor at work here though.
For some people, the act of using a disposable seat cover just makes them feel safer and
that’s hard to argue with.
But if you’re looking for habits more conducive to disease prevention than using a toilet
seat cover wash your hands with soap and water.
Yep, that’s it.
That’s the best way to avoid getting sick from the use of a public restroom is to wash
your hands.
Also when possible, close the toilet seat cover before you flush.
(or at least don’t stand with your face over the toilet when you do).
So what have we learned?
Toilets are not the worst offenders of disease transmission and Nature has once again beat
out Man in efficient engineering of sanitary barriers through the evolution of skin.
So let us know what you think!
Are toilet seat covers a wasteful american phenomenon or necessary precaution?
Subscribe to DNews and let us know in the comments.
Also check out this video where I list my five favorite things about pee: