Do you think you know everything about toilet hygiene? Your routine is faultless and you make no mistake? Read this article to check if this is really the case!
When it comes to hygiene, everyone has their own routine. In the toilets in particular, certain gestures are adopted by all, but are not necessarily hygienic. Here are the 5 mistakes that should not be made when going to the bathroom.
Do not wash your hands
Many people make the ultimate mistake of not washing their hands before and after going to the bathroom, but this small gesture that seems harmless is actually very important to preserve its health.
Indeed, the hands represent the main vectors of bacteria. Do not wash them increases the risk of transmission of these pathogens which can lead to several diseases.
It is therefore important to wash your hands before entering the toilet, not to contaminate your private parts, but also after using the toilet to remove any bacteria or faeces that your hands have come in contact with.
For effective washing, it is important to use soap, because water alone will not get rid of bacteria.
Keep the same underwear for several days in a row
Good overall hygiene also requires impeccable personal hygiene. The latter does not consist only of regular and non-invasive washes, but also requires a daily change of undergarments.
Panties are a real nest with bacteria, which proliferate in wet environments, especially in the intimate parts area, and can cause infections or irritations.
It's not for nothing that we learned to change our underwear every day, from childhood! This will avoid itching, irritation and unpleasant odors.
For women who use panty liners, know that this is not an excuse to keep your panties for more than a day. These products do not prevent the accumulation of bacteria in this area which, when it perspires, provides an ideal environment for their proliferation.
Taking the wrong posture to defecate
The modern toilets have been designed so that they can sit comfortably. Only, this comfortable posture is not the most correct to defecate.
Indeed, we are in a sitting position (angle 90 °), but this anorectal angle is not adapted to defecation and can also exert pressure on the rectum. The proper posture is to crouch, as did our ancestors who used Turkish toilets.
By crouching, an easier evacuation is allowed and one can even prevent the hemorrhoids, which are usually caused by the thrust at the time of defecation.
This position reduces the need to push, since defecation becomes easier.
A study conducted by an Israeli doctor in 2003 and published in the journal Digestive Diseases and Sciences corroborates this information. The physician asked the study participants to defecate in different positions. Some were squatting and others sat on a toilet with a height of 30 or 40 cm. Conclusion: Squatters took an average of 51 seconds to defecate, while those sitting on the toilet took 130 seconds.
Thus, the crouching position remains the best posture to adopt. Since Turkish toilets have practically disappeared from households, it is always possible to put a small stool to raise his feet.
Use of the hand dryer
A very practical invention, hand dryers find their place in the majority of public toilets. These machines were created to reduce the risk of contamination to bacteria in sanitary facilities, but are they really more hygienic? The answer is no.
Hygiene specialists point the finger at them because it has been proven that hand dryers transmit more bacteria than towels.
Researchers at the University of Leeds, England, were interested in this topic and wanted to determine the drying tool that could spread the most bacteria. For that, they did a test. They contaminated a volunteer's hands with a non-hazardous bacteria, to simulate unwashed hands. The participant then dried his hands using the powered hand dryer, electric hand dryer and paper towel.
The results of this experiment showed that the amount of bacteria was 27 times greater with propelled air hand dryers, compared to paper towels.
Fabien Squinazi, co-author of On washes his hands, said that electric hand dryers could absorb ambient air containing many bacteria and propel them on the hands.
Just stick to disposable paper towels!