Experts say washing your hands after going to the toilet can greatly reduce the chance of getting sick. (Schematic/Pixabay)
Public toilets are like an oasis in the desert for people who are in a hurry, and clean public toilets are hard to come by. Experts pointed out that not only the toilets of public toilets will have pathogenic bacteria and microorganisms, but there are even a large number of bacteria on “the surface of other objects in the public toilets”, and “flushing the toilet” will also make microorganisms splash in the air and stay for 1 hour. or longer before falling to the surface of the object. However, as long as you actually wash your hands after going to the toilet and avoid touching other objects, you can greatly reduce the risk.
According to the “New York Times” report, Charles Gerba, a professor of microbiology at the University of Arizona, pointed out that germs and microorganisms in feces and urine are mainly sprayed out in the form of “aerosol glue” by flushing the toilet in public toilets. Although disease-causing germs and microbes can be splashed to a height of 1.5 meters and stay in the air for at least an hour, allowing norovirus, salmonella and hepatitis A virus to fill the air, “some germs on the skin” does not necessarily make people sick.
Gerba points out that unless a skin infection, especially the drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), can make people sick from skin-to-skin contact, MRSA can also spread through the skin to other surfaces and then to the skin of another person. Therefore, Gerba suggested that if you are really worried, you can use disinfectant wipes to clean the seat cushion or use toilet seat paper to reduce the risk of infection before going to the toilet.
Erica Donner, a professor at the University of South Australia, also said that “whether you wash your hands properly after going to the toilet” is the only way to determine whether you are likely to be infected, rather than focusing on cleaning the seat cushion or using a half squat to reduce the contact area. The essential. He quoted the US CDC’s recommendation that after going to the toilet, rub with soap for at least 20 seconds before rinsing and drying, but he also admitted that “most people don’t wash their hands long enough” and “public toilets often lack soap and wipes”, etc. thing.
Downer also strongly suggested that “it’s best to keep your mobile phone away when you go to the toilet”, “try not to touch any surface”, “close the toilet lid before flushing” can greatly reduce the generation and contact of aerosol glue, and To indirectly reduce the risk of “fecal-oral route” infection, of course, the key to hand washing is indispensable. Dr. Ina Park, an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco, also mentioned that unless germs enter the genitals, the chance of contracting an STD in a public restroom is almost zero, stressing that objects such as cash machines, elevator buttons, and locker handles “are as risky as possible. The toilet is the same.”