By Amy Solomon
Published everydayHEALTH
Last Updated: 10/21/2011
Using public bathrooms gives many of us the heebie-jeebies. But the biggest danger doesn't come from sitting on the seat.
There's no denying that public bathrooms can be germ-ridden places. According to a study presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting, scientists who studied samples taken from a variety of public restrooms found that the sheer number of illness-causing bacteria present was too big to measure in many cases. So it's only natural to worry about what may be lurking on even the cleanest-looking toilet seats ...
But experts say our fear of sitting on the average toilet seat (one that isn't visibly soiled) is overblown.
There's no question that germs can inhabit the seat, says Philip Tierno, MD, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "The bulk of the organisms found are basically fecal-borne bacteria." These nasties can include E. coli (which can cause bloody diarrhea or abdominal cramps), streptococcus (the bug behind strep throat), or S. aureus (linked to serious skin problems or pneumonia).
But just because they’re on the seat doesn't mean they’ll make you sick. That’s because your skin acts as a very effective barrier to keep germs out (unless you have an open wound or lesion on your behind) ...
Are you safer if you use those paper seat protectors? Dr. Tierno isn't a fan: "They're too thin, they rip and fall apart." If you want to use them, he says, you can double-fold them, or place double-folded toilet paper on the seat ...
But germs aren't only found on the seat itself. "Where you find the organisms in larger quantities would be the underside of the toilet seat, because that is not cleaned as often [as the top]. As you flush, you bring up the contents in the bowl," says Tierno. "It's not just your germs, it's germs from other people." Some toilets can aerosolize the contents for quite a distance after being flushed, he says: "five feet or so, with lower-volume flushes." Older toilets can spray as far as 20 feet! ...
And those far-reaching flushes may be responsible for another germ-ridden area of a typical public restroom: the floor. An ABC News investigation of the germiest spots in public bathrooms found that the floor has about 2 million bacteria per square inch! If you carry a purse or shoulder bag, avoid putting it down on the floor while you're in the bathroom — hang it on the back of the door if possible ...
Read full article published by everydayHEALTH
Published everydayHEALTH
Last Updated: 10/21/2011
Using public bathrooms gives many of us the heebie-jeebies. But the biggest danger doesn't come from sitting on the seat.
There's no denying that public bathrooms can be germ-ridden places. According to a study presented at the Infectious Diseases Society of America annual meeting, scientists who studied samples taken from a variety of public restrooms found that the sheer number of illness-causing bacteria present was too big to measure in many cases. So it's only natural to worry about what may be lurking on even the cleanest-looking toilet seats ...
But experts say our fear of sitting on the average toilet seat (one that isn't visibly soiled) is overblown.
There's no question that germs can inhabit the seat, says Philip Tierno, MD, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University Medical Center and Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City. "The bulk of the organisms found are basically fecal-borne bacteria." These nasties can include E. coli (which can cause bloody diarrhea or abdominal cramps), streptococcus (the bug behind strep throat), or S. aureus (linked to serious skin problems or pneumonia).
But just because they’re on the seat doesn't mean they’ll make you sick. That’s because your skin acts as a very effective barrier to keep germs out (unless you have an open wound or lesion on your behind) ...
Are you safer if you use those paper seat protectors? Dr. Tierno isn't a fan: "They're too thin, they rip and fall apart." If you want to use them, he says, you can double-fold them, or place double-folded toilet paper on the seat ...
But germs aren't only found on the seat itself. "Where you find the organisms in larger quantities would be the underside of the toilet seat, because that is not cleaned as often [as the top]. As you flush, you bring up the contents in the bowl," says Tierno. "It's not just your germs, it's germs from other people." Some toilets can aerosolize the contents for quite a distance after being flushed, he says: "five feet or so, with lower-volume flushes." Older toilets can spray as far as 20 feet! ...
And those far-reaching flushes may be responsible for another germ-ridden area of a typical public restroom: the floor. An ABC News investigation of the germiest spots in public bathrooms found that the floor has about 2 million bacteria per square inch! If you carry a purse or shoulder bag, avoid putting it down on the floor while you're in the bathroom — hang it on the back of the door if possible ...
Read full article published by everydayHEALTH