Bathroom habits that are making you sick

Everyone hates getting sick, but while most of us blame a coughing colleague or that man on the bus who did not cover his mouth when he coughed, the real culprit could be closer to home. Courtesy photo

What you need to know:

  • Using toilet paper is actually worse because when you use toilet paper to cover a toilet seat, you are only increasing the surface area where microbes can multiply.
  • Toilet paper is usually covered in bacteria caused when flushing the toilet. Unless the seat is visibly dirty, avoid the temptation to cover and just use the toilet like it was meant to be used.

One would not be faulted to assume that proper use of the bathroom should be something every adult has mastered. However, the reality tells a different story. Some people do not even know the basics which is potentially dangerous to their health.
Dr Moses Semulya, a general practitioner at Le Memorial Hospital in Kigo, notes that people need to be reminded the importance of washing their hands properly every time they use the toilet.

“Not washing hands properly is the commonest habit that causes and spreads diseases,” he notes. The best way to wash your hands according to the World Health Organization, involves rubbing your hands palm-to-palm first, then with interlaced fingers, and finally by rubbing your fingertips (thumb included) against each palm
The type of soap used can also be part of the problem. Health experts discourage the use of bar soap because it tends to collect the various bacteria from the different people that use it. They instead recommend using liquid soap that comes out of a dispenser.

The hand towel
Also sharing the same hand towel for long can spread bacteria. Hand towels should be washed at least once a week, more often if there are children in the house. In case you use a public bathroom avoid the air dryers because research has found that they instead disperse bacteria onto the hands. (University of Connecticut study published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology). Instead, go for the paper towels but in case you use the air dryer remember to use an anti-bacterial hand sanitiser.

And while we are in there, it is also very important to learn how to wipe yourself properly. According to Dr Herman Ssewagude, a general practitioner at Seven Hills Medical Centre, the correct way to wipe is from front to back. “When a woman wipes back to front she can easily spread bacteria from the anal area to the vaginal area, which can lead to urinary tract infections,” says Dr. Ssewagude. It can also cause infection of the vulva and vagina, yeast infections, and itchy, red rashes.

Don’t use your phone
Microbiologists says phones and tablets should never enter the bathroom because when someone uses the toilet, germs, including faecal matter, are released into the air and can land on those surfaces, leading them to spread outside the bathroom.

Your tooth brush too should not be left in open air in the bathroom because when you flush the toilet with the lid open, an almost invisible spray of water from the bowl is sent into the air landing on everything in its way.

That water is usually mixed with faecal matter and can transfer E. coli and other infection-causing bacteria to your brush which ends up in your mouth. If you must keep your toothbrush in the bathroom make sure it is locked behind a door. Also make sure the toilet is covered when you flush the toilet.

Dr. Semulya urges regular cleaning of the bathroom to avoid germs spreading around the home. “Scrub the toilet, sink and every surface with an antiseptic cleaner to prevent dirt and germ build up,” he urges.

Some people never think twice about sanitising their hands with an anti-bacterial after washing. While proper hand washing is an effective way of preventing infection adding a sanitiser never hurts.

Infection prevention experts say the sanitiser should contain at least 60 per cent alcohol and applied liberally onto the hands and fingers. The hands should be rubbed together until they are dry. Alcohol-based hand sanitisers quickly reduce the number of most germs on the hands.

To cover or not cover the toilet seat
Most of us are wary about public toilet seats and rightly so because they host bacteria too. In an effort to protect our bodies from these germs, we cover the seats with either liners or toilet paper.

While they help create a barrier and the mess on the toilet seats, the covers unfortunately do not do much good because by the time you sit down on a public toilet seat even if it was recently shared by someone else the vast majority of harmful pathogens lingering on its surface will no longer be harmful unless you have a cut or open wound, which could allow the bacteria to get in.

Using toilet paper is actually worse because when you use toilet paper to cover a toilet seat, you are only increasing the surface area where microbes can multiply. Toilet paper is usually covered in bacteria caused when flushing the toilet. Unless the seat is visibly dirty, avoid the temptation to cover and just use the toilet like it was meant to be used. The single biggest risk factor for disease in public restrooms is faecal matter coming into contact with your mouth.

Source: http://scrubsmag.com