Are you one of those people who always grabs
a paper liner before sitting down on the loo? Surely, you do so to prevent
catching a disease from someone else's, er, splashes that may be left on the
toilet seat.
Well, turns out, those liners may have more to do
with providing comfort and reassurance to the user than actually doing anything
to prevent disease, says infectious disease specialist Dr. William Schaffner,
M.D., a professor of preventive medicine at the Vanderbilt University Medical
Center.
"That’s because toilet seats are not a vehicle
for the transmission of any infectious agents -- you won’t catch
anything," Schaffner explains to HuffPost. Toilet seats were once thought
to be a way of transmitting gastrointestinal or sexually transmitted
infections, but that idea has since been refuted in research.
Basically, the reason why those liners exist is
because of toilets' inherent "ick" factor, he says.
That's not to say that there aren't disease-causing
bacteria -- such as E. coli and streptococcous -- on a toilet seat.
But as Dr.
Philip Tierno, M.D., points out to Everyday Health, the skin on our behinds serves as an effective,
protective barrier.
What does help to tamp down on the spread
of gastrointestinal illness is hand-washing. After all, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reports that using good
old soap and water to wash your hands could lower diarrheal
disease-related deaths as much as 50 percent.
When should you wash your hands?
- Before, during, and after preparing food
- Before eating food
- Before and after caring for someone who is sick
- Before and after treating a cut or wound
- After using the toilet
- After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
- After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
- After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
- After handling pet food or pet treats
- After touching garbage
(Washing hands - wet them with water, apply soap, and then lather and scrub
for at least 20 seconds before rinsing with water.)
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