Is it safe to sit on a public toilet seat? Experts say hygiene fears may be overblown — but precautions still matter

Click here for more articles by Kormedi.com. For 66-year-old Choi, who lives in Seoul’s Gangnam District, using a public restroom is almost unthinkable. “I’ve avoided them since childhood because I think they’re filthy,” she said. Even when she does use public restrooms, she refuses to sit down — instead hovering awkwardly above the toilet. “I have friends who lay toilet paper on the seat first because squatting is too difficult as you get older,” she added. According to The Conversation, a nonprofit Australian media outlet, public toilets — including the seat and surrounding surfaces — can harbor a variety of microorganisms. These include gut bacteria such as E. coli that can cause gastroenteritis, norovirus and rotavirus, as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria like MRSA, parasite eggs and protozoa. Lotti Tajouri, an associate professor of genomics and molecular biology and biomedical sciences at Bond University, said that poorly maintained public restrooms used by many people can become a “microbial soup.” The toilet rim and undersides are often coated with bioWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times