To use a bathroom without catching illness it is important to take some simple care as giving the flush only with the toilet lid closed or wash your hands thoroughly afterwards.
These precautions help prevent serious illnesses such as intestinal infections, urinary tract infections or hepatitis A, for example, especially in public toilets such as restaurants, malls, gyms, nightclubs, schools or universities that are used by many different people.
1. Do not sit in the toilet
Ideally, do not sit on the toilet because it is common for it to have traces of urine and feces. However, if sitting is unavoidable, one should first clean the toilet bowl with toilet paper and alcohol in gel or disinfectant gel and still lining it with toilet paper to avoid contact of the vessel with the intimate regions of the body.
2. Using a foot peal funnel
This type of funnel was specially developed to help the woman pee standing up, reducing the risk of catching illness in a public toilet. So you can urinate without having to lower your pants, getting even further away from the toilet.
3. Discharge with the lid closed
In order to discharge properly, the toilet lid must be lowered before activating the discharge mechanism, as the discharge causes the microorganisms present in the urine or in the faeces to be spread in the air and may be inhaled or swallowed, increasing the risk of infections.
4. Do not touch anything
The most contaminated areas with microorganisms in the public toilets are the toilet and its cover, the flush button and the door handle, since they are places where all people touch while in the bathroom and therefore it is so important Wash your hands whenever you use the public toilets.
5. Wash your hands with liquid soap
You can use the public toilet soap only if it is liquid, as bar soaps accumulate many bacteria on its surface, representing a danger to those who wash their hands.
6. Always dry your hands properly
The most hygienic way to dry your hands is to use paper towel, as the fabric towel accumulates dirt and favors the proliferation of micro-organisms. In addition, hand dryers, present in many public toilets, are also not the best options because they can spread particles of dirt, including feces, through the air, soiling the hands again.
Having a pack of tissues in the bag can be a good strategy to use to dry your hands in public toilets in the case of a lack of toilet paper or paper to dry your hands.
Here's how to wash your hands properly to avoid diseases.
So if the bathroom is in good hygienic condition and if used correctly, the risk of catching disease is quite small. However, it is important to remember that when the immune system is weak, such as during cancer treatments or the presence of AIDS, the body becomes more susceptible to contagious diseases and care must be taken in public places.
See which symptoms indicate intestinal infection.
