All the dots on i: what can get infected in public restrooms

It is normal to be afraid of getting sick. But should we really be afraid of public toilets? Here’s what the 2022 study found.

The scientists conducted a systematic review of 38 scientific papers from 13 countries, of which 14 were conducted in medical settings, 10 in laboratories or experimental chambers and 14 in restaurants, offices, commercial and educational establishments.

Intestinal, skin and subterranean bacteria, as well as intestinal and respiratory viruses, have been found to live in public toilets. Simply put, the toilet is where there is a real risk of transmission of infection from one person to another.

And at the same time, it turned out that very few real cases of infection were recorded in the scientific literature – the authors of the study found only two of them. Why so little? Here’s what the experts think.

“The toilet seat,” explains Christine Greves, an obstetrician-gynecologist, “is not a breeding ground for STD pathogens: they don’t live outside the human body for more than 10 seconds.”

Theoretically, there is a risk of contracting an STD, but in practice it can only happen in a very specific situation – for example, if a sick person’s blood from a seat gets into an open wound on the leg of a healthy visitor. toilet.

As the authors of the study explain, the reported cases of infection concern intestinal diseases whose pathogens have passed “from the hand to the mouth following faecal contamination of the hands”. In other words, it is enough to wash your hands well to minimize this risk.

Should we now abandon the “suspended” above the toilet? According to Christina, everyone decides this question for themselves. “It may not protect you from infections, but you’ll be less worried about germs you’ve picked up, which will make you feel more relaxed,” she says.

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