Kuvela. How we get contaminated in a public restroom?

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How we get contaminated in a public restroom?

When we take a look at the few and apparently clean restrooms, even though when they post a security label stating that is “disinfected”, it could be not the case from the microbiological standpoint.

Dr. Gerba, a bacteriologist of the University of Colorado found that about 50% of toilet seats at main hotels and restaurants were contaminated with a type of bacteria called “Coliform”.

There are people that could get contaminated more easily:

While in general, the user could get sick from this kind of contamination, a 25% of the population have a highly risk to get sick more easily due their particular susceptibility caused by an immature and weak immunologic system.

Cancer patients treated or under chemotherapy regimen.
Pregnancy.
Kids and young people.
People with diabetes.

Surprisingly, in an additional study made in hospitals and schools restrooms, the toilet seats showed a significant and important amount of bacteria such as staphylococci and pseudomonas, in part due the additional and abundant presence of these pathogenic micro-organisms in the pipes and water tanks.

How a person get infected?

Upon direct contact with a toilet, you have to know that the bacteria always travel through the skin most likely reaching wet and humid zones in order to survive, therefore they will try to search open wounds, sores, skin pimples, the vaginal mucosa and the urinary orifice of the tract in males.

According to Dr. Gerba, is important for people, no matter if they are males or females of any age, take good care of themselves and practice good hygiene habits, specially, at public restrooms. In these places, they also may be susceptible to get infected by other kinds of pathogens such as Tricomona vaginalis, a parasite that cause vaginal infestations and urinary tract infections in females, also there are other types of bacteria capable to develop the called “stomach flu” no matter the person gender; these different types of bacteria may cause infections through direct skin contact just by sitting on a dirty toilet seat without the proper cover seat protection.