Are there health risks to using public toilets? Here’s what experts say.
For some, public bathrooms have always been a source of germ-induced anxiety, but the pandemic, understandably, made those concerns more universal. And now that most people are back to normal life, regularly using shared facilities, many think twice about not just the grime they see — or smell — in stalls, but, more important, the pathogens that linger beyond our eyesight, both on surfaces and in the air.
Truth be told, any bathroom — public or not — is a hot spot for germs, given their function. So do you need to worry about using public toilets? We asked experts for answers.
What’s happening
“What makes public bathrooms particularly germy is the sheer volume of people that go through them, and the microbes that those people might be carrying,” Lena Ciric, professor of built environment microbiology at University College London, tells Yahoo Life. “You ultimately just don’t know who’s been there and what they might have. It’s more sort of a game of chance than anything.”
That game is highly influenced by how often the bathroom is cleaned and how well it’s ventilated, as certain bacteria and viruses can linger on surfaces or in the air longer than others, Kevin Garey, chair of pharmacy practice at the University of Houston, tells Yahoo Life. Norovirus, for example, can survive on surfaces for up to four weeks.
There’s also concern about hand dryers circulating contaminated air. However, research says they make little difference to an indoor area’s bacterial load compared to the use of paper towels. Ciric adds that they may actually be helpful in diluting a concentrated plume of disease by mixing the air around, thereby decreasing its likelihood for infection. “It all depends on how much you’re starting off with,” she says.
Do I need to worry?
It’s very unlikely that you’d get sick by stepping into and using a public bathroom. After all, in order to be infected, microbes have to enter your system, and that’s most likely to happen via ingestion from your very own hands, contaminated by surfaces like the toilet seat, flush handle, stall latch or faucet tap, Ciric says. But if you wash your hands well and don’t touch your face, you should be fine.
Germ-filled post-flush sprays can also be ingested, but again, that’s most likely to happen if you hover your face over the toilet mid-swirl. And “hopefully, people aren’t licking toilet seats,” Ciric jokes.
If you do happen to pick up a bug during your pee break, it’s most likely to be gastrointestinal, such as norovirus, e.coli or shigella, as those are found in feces, says Jyoti Kini, a primary care physician with Medical Offices of Manhattan. The likelihood of catching a virus like COVID in the bathroom, on the other hand, is low. “From a respiratory point of view, you’re in there for a relatively short time,” Ciric explains. “So it’s not the same as ... sitting in a room with somebody for three hours.”
You also don’t have to worry about sitting on a toilet and contracting sexually transmitted infections such as chlamydia, gonorrhea and syphilis, Kini adds, because they die as soon as they leave the protection of the mucus lining. However, viruses such as hepatitis, HPV, HIV and herpes “can live outside the body on surfaces anywhere from a few seconds up to a few weeks,” she says.
Still, generally speaking, intact skin — meaning, not having an open wound — and our body’s existing healthy, protective microbes “do a really good job at preventing germs we pick up in public bathrooms or other places from causing infections,” says Garey. “For that reason, sitting on a toilet seat and picking up a few germs won’t generally make you sick.”
What can I do about it?
In short, the best thing you can do to avoid germs in public bathroom is to minimize your contact with high-touch areas such as flush handles, toilet seats and faucet taps (or at least avoid touching your face after), and wash your hands as soon as possible and thoroughly “with soap and water, scrubbing with the soap for at least 20 seconds,” Garey instructs.
If your bathroom of choice happens to have a trough sink with built-in hand dryers next to the taps, it may be worth opting for hand sanitizer, as Ciric says the dryers can blow germs and moisture within the sink back onto your hands, defeating your efforts — “a recipe for disaster,” she says.
As for sitting on versus squatting over the toilet, that’s really a personal choice. “If you have the leg strength and it makes you feel better, squatting is completely acceptable,” Garey says. However, as Ciric puts it, you’re not likely to pick up a bug from the skin on your legs if you don’t have any open wounds. “It’s easier to hover for some functions than others,” Ciric notes, so it’s not worth hurting yourself while trying to poop.
Both Ciric and Garey say it’s fine to use a toilet seat protector. But if you’re concerned about the seat specifically, it’s even better to carry disinfectant wipes to quickly clean the seat and flush handle — with the handle far more likely to be germy, as people touch it immediately after wiping, Ciric points out — before sitting down. If you’re extra cautious: Carry your own toilet paper to avoid using potentially contaminated — and let’s be honest, crappy one-ply — toilet paper within the stall, Kini suggests. Last, avoid putting your purse or other items on the stall floor as it “tends to be the dirtiest spot in the bathroom and is usually cleaned the least,” Garey says.
The main takeaway
Although public bathrooms can be gross, the limited time spent in them makes them generally safe, as long as you avoid touching your face and wash your hands right away. “That should take care of business and leave a person with no concerns for infectious disease,” Garey says.
