World Toilet Day: The Thing You Must Do After Going To The Bathroom

Around 60 % of the worldwide population with 4.5 billion folks, either don't have any toilet or one that's not safe, consistent with a report by the United Nations. World Toilet Day, celebrated every year on November 19, since 2013, focuses on taking action to confirm that everyone has a safe toilet by 2030. In fact, the lavatory is one in every of the foremost used rooms in our home, however, it’s conjointly the place wherever heaps of germs live. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a number one national public health institute of the United States, says in a report that washing our hands properly could be an extremely effective way to prevent the spreading of infections and diseases. However, we’re usually in a rush when we wash our hands so we don’t actually get rid of all the nasty stuff that’s lingering on our fingers. After you lather up, you’re supposed to scrub your hands for a full 20 seconds, according to CDC.

That brings up an important question: Are you the one who walks right past the sink after using the bathroom? According to Dr. Sanjay Aggarwal, a general physician at Holistic Healthcare Centre in Delhi, it actually doesn’t matter what you do in the bathroom when it comes to keeping your hands clean. “The rationale is that when in a toilet, it’s possible to have the fecal material and fecal bacteria get onto your hands. So it’s wisest to always wash with soap and water even after urinating. Neither plain water nor alcohol hand sanitizers are effective at removing fecal material or killing bacteria in fecal material,” says Dr. Aggarwal.

He added that washing hands after using the toilet can also keep one from coming in contact with E. Coli and hepatitis. Moreover, Dr. Aggarwal says this is especially important for men to bear in mind, because of perianal sweat. “This type of sweat forms around the perianal area, which is the patch of skin outside the rectum. It can then spread to one’s underwear and to other parts of the body. The point is that simply directing your urine flow can be more than enough to transfer harmful microbes to your hands, and then on to your food,” says Dr. Aggarwal.

In the end, we should all realize that bathrooms are teeming with bacteria. Door handles, sink handles, counters, walls, and basically, everything else in this area is fair game. That’s why hand-washing can literally come in handy.