Use of Public Toilets And Urinary Infection

"Doctor I used a public toilet and got a urine infection!"

This is probably a myth!!

It is true that public toilets are a home to lots of bugs like E.Coli, Staphylococci and streptococci. But before you panic, let me tell you that toilet seat is not a common vehicle for transmitting infection to humans. As a matter of fact, most of these bugs don’t survive long enough on the toilet seats for them to be transmitted to humans.

The reasons for Urine infections are:

– Female sex: Females have a shorter urethra and the urine and anal openings are located very close to each other. E.Coli, the commonest bug responsible for urine infection is present naturally in all of us, located primarily in the stool. So bugs can easily travel from anal opening tom urinary opening in females. Men in comparison don’t get urine infection so easily.

– Menopause also increases risk of urine infection.

– Sexual activity: Having sex can introduce bacteria into the urinary system in females.

– Incomplete bladder emptying: This can happen if there is an obstruction to outflow of urinary tract like prostate in men or poor bladder tone in diabetics or underlying kidney or urinary bladder stones.

– Suppressed immune system as in diabetics.

– Urinary catheters as in hospitalized patients.