Germs on Toilet

Q: Can I catch an STD from sitting on a toilet seat?

A: There are lots of different people who have probably sat on the toilet seat before you, but can you actually “catch” something from them? In theory…perhaps. But in reality…probably not. We asked a NYC-based epidemiologist (with a sense of humor) who specializes in infectious disease to explain. Here’s what he had to say:

‘As always, your mother was right:  you can be exposed to germs from toilet seats.  But it would be really, really, really unlikely (I won't say ‘impossible,’ but you get the picture) to contract an STD that way. 

 For one thing, it would be unusual for little germy things to actually be on a toilet seat.  Assuming nobody had used the toilet seat to perform surgery, and that the seat was only used for its usual applications, the possible germ-carrying items that might be on it are feces, blood, or semen.  Germs don't live in pee, so that's out. 

 Now, if there ARE germs left on the seat by a previous user, the bugs might live there contentedly for a little while -- hours or, in the case of a few hardy little fellows, days.  But how likely is it that some part of your body that is susceptible to infection will contact the little spot on the toilet seat where there is a leftover bit of, say, stray feces or semen?  Even if that should happen, and even if your penis brushes past the hypothetical spot of feces or semen on the seat, the mucous lining of the male urethra is pretty well-protected from external invasion by the skin of the head of the penis, so, it's (again) really, really, really unlikely for any germs to get inside and land on the membranes where they can start infecting.  For vagina owners, the chances of infection are a bit higher, but hair (if you have any) and the labia should sidetrack and stall any stray particles of bacteria or virus. 

 The one way that someone could pick up an infection from a toilet seat without some pretty vigorous contortions on his or her part would be if there was a pre-existing lesion, like a herpes sore or syphilis chancre.  That could provide a route of entry, if there were some viruses waiting on the seat.  But note the double conditional here:  it could provide entry, but that doesn't mean it definitely will; and of course, if you had taken care to keep your sore away from the seat, or cleaned the seat ahead of time, you have no worries.

So, it’s not utterly impossible to get an STD from a toilet seat.  But it’s not even close to likely.’

Right on. But people, please keep those sores and body fluids off the toilet seat anyway, ok? It’s just the polite thing to do.