advertisement
If you’ve ever used public transport in India for long periods of time, you would know how close toilets come to hygiene rights violation. Now, you may be one of those individuals who have devised techniques like not drinking water for long hours or performing acrobatics to avoid contact with any surfaces in a public toilet.
However, in case you fail to go down these paths, the doom of a stinking, filthy toilet will be your fate. But wait, what if there was a solution to this problem of taking a piss when away from a clean toilet (and no, it does not include the shady highway bushes)?
Looks like your answer lies in toilet seat sanitisers. Before we try to figure out if they really work, here’s a look at what the product actually is.
Too caught up to read? Listen to the story here:
Most toilet seat sanitisers are available in portable spray bottles that can be easily carried around.
They have to be sprayed at the toilet seat from a distance of 10-15 cms and are allowed to dry for 10 seconds. Most sanitisers start disinfecting the surface after the first five seconds.
They are scented which can also have a great psychological effect once they mask the foul odours often encountered in public toilets. They can also be sprayed on door knobs and taps.
Other than sanitisers, some people opt for toilet seat covers which is basically a sheet of paper that is put on the seat. They act as a barrier and prevent your skin from coming in direct contact with the seat. However, if health experts are to be believed, these covers cause more harm than good.
Flushing a toilet seat often carries bacteria upwards to the rim which might come in contact with the human body when the seat is used.
These water droplets may sometimes also contain bacteria and contaminants found in human waste. For instance E coli is a baterium which is found in faecal matter. It is capable of causing diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach ache.
Another bacterium called shigella can also be transferred through toilet seats and can cause dysentery and stomach ache.
Dr Kshitij Anand, Consultant, Department of Internal Medicine, Fortis Hospital, Noida, affirms that toilet seats are indeed breeding ground for several kinds of bacteria and contaminants. In such a case, sanitisers become the need of the hour.
He further adds that sanitisers are more effective than seat covers.
Gynaecologist at Max Hospital, Delhi, Dr Uma Vaidyanathan agrees and says:
Dr Anand reiterates that yes, toilet sanitisers do protect you from infections.
Dr Vaidyanathan comments on the stubbornness of a UTI and adds:
If public toilets are your worst nightmare, you don’t need me to tell you that toilet seat sanitisers are your new best friend.
So, next time you embark on a journey where public toilets are an inevitable reality, just bring out that bottle and spray the bacteria away.
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)
Published: 25 Jun 2018,06:22 PM IST