Using the toilet with the phone leads to sitting for a long time

Why is it urgent to stop using the phone in the bathroom?

It often happens that some people expose themselves to pathogenic risks. This is the case for those who are used to going to the bathroom with their phone. A gesture that is not only bad for hand hygiene but also for overall health.

Sitting on the toilet bowl with your phone in your hand is a common habit that puts you at risk. Even with hand washing after this passage, this gesture can be responsible for many ailments.

Why are those who use their phones in the toilet at risk?

Whether it is a public or private toilet, some people cannot do without their smartphone. However, using the washroom while we check our emails is bad for personal hygiene and health. Urinating or having a bowel movement with a cell phone in hand exposes illnesses and long-term consequences.

1- Using the toilet with the phone leads to sitting for a long time

The reason it is best not to sit on the toilet bowl with your phone is because the hygienic habit can make you sit longer. Relayed by our colleagues at the BBC, these dangers are explained by the fact that our anal canal tilted at 90 degrees for a long time can cause suffocation of the pelvic floor which blocks the colon.

 The American media point out that this use while going to the toilet can cause hemorrhoids and many other inconveniences.

2- Using the toilet with your phone facilitates the transmission of bacteria

Accessing the toilet with a phone is a habit that speeds up contamination with germs and microbes. And for good reason, our hands touch many surfaces and objects potentially contaminated by bacteria in the bathroom and these pathogens can contaminate cell phones.

Science reveals a phone is dirtier than a toilet bowl

As you will understand, bringing your phone with you while you defecate is far from synonymous with perfect hygiene. Regardless of the type of toilet, this fact is scientifically proven.

 This study of high school students shows that cell phones can carry Escherichia coli bacteria and other pathogens because of this habit. According to this research, this device is dirtier than a regular urinal or toilet.

How to have good hygiene when going to the toilet?

Beyond keeping the bathroom clean and stopping using the phone in that room, there are some rules to follow. When interviewed by Healthline, Karen Zaghiyan, colorectal surgeon provides advice when a bowel movement takes too long.

 The specialist explains that if after a few minutes this has not happened, you have to get up and go do something else.

Getting out of the toilet: what hygiene practices to adopt?

After using the toilet, it is essential to respect certain basic rules of cleanliness. Among them, applying a cleanser or soap to wash your hands, even if you have not had a bowel movement. Turning on the tap for this hygiene gesture is more complex than it looks.

 And for good reason, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends disinfecting in the hand-wash for at least 20 seconds, insisting on all parts of the ends before drying.

What if you have been in contact with the toilet seat while using the phone?

While using the surgeries with your smartphone is not recommended for hygienic reasons, it is nevertheless possible to protect yourself against intimate ailments and bacterial contaminations linked to feces. 

Doctor Marcos Del Rosario, urologist, advises in this case to immediately close the toilet lid before flushing the toilet. The doctor explains that this jet of water can cause the expulsion of particles of fecal matter in the air which can touch the phone but also other parts of the body, not to mention objects in the bathroom such as the toilet brush. teeth, towels or toilet paper.

 After activating the cistern, the specialist recommends cleaning your phone with antibacterial wipes, a very effective gesture to prevent the dangers of this habit.