What diseases can people catch from sitting on public toilets?

Question

I heard NOT AIDS, but they can get pubic lice (crabs) & maybe other diseases. Are there any others? They don't necessarily have to be STD's.

Answer 1

I found out form a researrch that the HIV virus itself does not even die immediately as we have been taught. It lives for several days outside the host. it exists in all human secretions and that includes urine. You cant even tell if the person who used the toilet last had any form of STD which increases the secretion of mucus or blood particles in the urine.

Herpes can be contacted through public toilets (why not? if it can be contacted through sharing of towels)

Pubic lice, rashes inclusive

If you had any form of brocken skin in the regions used for sitting (no matter how minor) it increases your risk of infection.

PRECAUTION: Bleach is one sure thing that kills these infections including HIV virus. Always keep it handy to wipe the seat before use

Answer 2

You can get cooties, and that's about it. Sexually transmitted diseases are spread via sexual intercourse with an infected person. Most of them are spread more easily from male to female. The diseases vary in how infectious they are, but none of them are spread on toilet seats (well, assuming you're using the toilet seat for what it was intended). Most bugs don't tend to live on cool, hard surfaces.

I could add that a couple of diseases - syphilis and herpes - can be spread by direct non-sexual contact with infectious lesions, so make sure there is not an infected person already on the toilet when you sit down. One should consider HOW people sit on toilet seats. Genital and anal infections most likely would not come in contact with the seat in normal use. Intact skin is a good barrier against most disease organisms ... unless of course one were to pick up a bacterium or virus on the seat, then immediately plant their buttocks on someone's nose and mouth. If this were to happen to me, disease transmission would be the least of my concerns.

As far as other kinds of diseases that have different routes of transmission, such as oral/fecal or airborne, the hands are more to blame for spreading these diseases than the bottom is. Shake hands with a carrier, touch your eyes or mouth, and voila! You've caught that person's cold or influenza. Eat food prepared by a person with hepatitis A (who didn't wash their hands after using the toilet), and hey, you've got hepatitis! I guess theoretically if you sat on feces on the seat, got some on your hands when you wiped yourself, then licked your fingers , you could possibly get hepatitis A, but it isn't a primary route of transmission. Urine doesn't carry any common diseases that I know of, but I sure hate it when people leave the seat wet.

Answer 3

You can get genital lice (AKA Crabs) [Rare]
Critters dont like cold surfaces, and cant really attach to them.

I hear its possible to get Herpes if discharge from the herpes contacts the toilette seat, it is possible to get. (Im not 100%, hell im not even 20% on this one, so ask a doctor!)

Females can also get an certain STD from "The Environment" toilette's included, but is EXTREMELY rare. (The name of the std slips my mind since its not one of the ones commonly heard of, sorry! If anyone else knows what I'm talking about feel free to pipe in!) Dr.Drew was talking about it on Love Line, someones partner called up because they thought her girlfriend was cheating on her because she got this STD, and asked drew if it was possible to get with out sexual contact.

Dr.Drew said something to the effect of: most likely it would not come from the environment, but through sexual contact. However there seems to be rare cases of getting it through the environment.

I was listening to Love Line on the drive from my parents house, to my house.... that killed 2 hours out of a 6 hour drive :)

Answer 4

Well, the material they make toilets out of are not conducive to harboring disease. And what do you mean, it doesn't have to be an STD, are you asking if you can catch pink eye from a toilet??

Answer 5

I don't know.But I'll bet that the list is quite long.
When I use a public rest room I always use one of
G.W.Bush'es campaign hat's.

Answer 6

Depends where you are.

Recent studies have shown that your work keyboard has many times the bacteria of the work toilet.

Answer 7

my buddy sat on the toilet in school in the locker room, then he got a butt rash. nothing permanent

Answer 8

rashes, amoebic diseases and any other skin diseases. but of these....the amoebic r a bit dangerous

Answer 9

Nothing that you didn't already have before you sat down

Answer 10

not much... the most important thing is WASH YOUR HANDS...and keep you fingers out of you mouth.