From WebMD.com, Thursday, June 15, 2006
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Someone posted on the WebMD General Health Board recently, horrified that her four-year old sat on a public restroom toilet seat without a protective cover or a lining of toilet paper. The mother was worried about all of the diseases her child may now be incubating.
Is this four-year old likely to get a Rotavirus infection (a common cause of diarrhea)? How about Herpes? I have seen some disgusting public restrooms in my life, so I can understand this mother’s concern; however, exposure to an infectious organism does not necessarily mean a person will develop a disease.
The human body is well-adapted to fighting off these ongoing exposures. Germs do not typically enter intact buttocks skin from a toilet seat, but no one wants to sit on them anyway. Using seat covers and paper is fine, but it really doesn’t protect you from microorganisms.
Children have a bad habit of holding on to the toilet seat, with their little fingers clutching underneath the rim. Granted, they don’t want to fall in, but those little fingertips will pick up under-seat germs like Velcro.
Germs do enter the body through the nose, eyes, and mouth, usually transmitted from our own, contaminated hands and fingers. If you watch a child wash their hands, you will see that they tend to miss the fingertips — perhaps the most contaminated part of the hands. And, those dirty fingertips will most likely be probing a nose or rubbing an eye within a few minutes.
I have to admit that I avoid public restrooms; however, the call of nature is not always convenient. Men do have a distinct advantage of being able to stand at a urinal — a very hygienic method to urinate ...
I diagnose several urinary tract infections per week in my pediatric clinic. As part of the medical history, I always inquire about the restrooms at the schools. Many school toilets are worse than some backwoods gas stations. Some do not have locks that work or even doors for privacy. When restrooms are dirty, or not private, children won’t use them.
When children (usually little girls) hold their urine, they are more likely to get urinary tract infections ...
Custodians usually clean restrooms at the end of the day, but it is rare that the toilets and other fixtures are disinfected.
Rotavirus infections can cause profound diarrhea and vomiting. This organism is easily spread in public restrooms and schools. As gross as this statement sounds, diarrhea tends to splash, spreading highly contaminated feces on surfaces and other fixtures. And, the dominant hand that wipes is the hand that contaminates door handles and faucets; and the hand that shakes your hand during greetings ...
When Nature calls, we must answer. Public restrooms are a very necessary convenience, but they are not without inherent risks ...
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