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What Are the Dangers of Sitting on a Public Toilet Seat?

Public restrooms are convenient and sometimes disgusting. Many people choose not to use public facilities because of the fear of contracting germs or sexually transmitted diseases. Hundreds may use the same public toilet everyday. What is the likelihood of any of them catching a disease?

  1. You Gonna Sit There?

    • Public restrooms can be a breeding ground for viruses from the common cold to hepatitis A and such bacteria as streptococcus and E. coli. The toilet seat can be scary for any germaphobe, but disease-causing organisms can't survive long on toilet seats.

    Sex and the Toilet

    • For a user of the toilet seat to contract a sexually transmitted disease, the organism would have to get from the toilet seat into the urethral or genital tract, or into a cut or open sore on the buttocks or thighs, which is possible but unlikely. Abigal Salyers, president of the American Society for Microbiology, says the only likely way to contract an STD from a toilet seat is by having sex on it.

    Profesionals Say

    • According to Judy Daly, professor of pathology at the University of Utah, most viruses die quickly. She says it would take contact with large amounts of germs or bacteria in a public restroom to catch a disease there. Dr. Philip Tierno, director of clinical microbiology and diagnostic immunology at New York University and Mount Sinai Medical Centers, recommends exiting the bathroom stall immediately after flushing to avoid contact with germs from feces found in the airborne mist from the toilet bowl.

    Stay Clean

    • Proper hygiene and a strong immune system are your best lines of defense against germs found in a public restroom. Tierno says to wash your hands, including your fingernails, thoroughly with soap and hot water for 20 to 30 seconds and then repeat the process.

    Other Tips

    • Tierno recommends avoiding direct contact while in the bathroom by not flushing with your hand, but with your shoe. Use toilet seat covers or toilet paper as a precautionary measure.

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