Why you should never flush a toilet while sitting down

A doctor explains why

Many people prefer flushing the toilet while sitting on it to reduce odors, especially if they tend to sit on the bowl for too long.

But the alarming reason why you should never flush the toilet while seated is that this practice can leave you with spots, warned doctor Mehraveh Seyyed Sayyah, a medical student and influencer, in a video posted to TikTok. This acne can be brought on by E. coli and staphylococcus being thrown into the air and onto your skin.

“When the toilet is flushed without closing the lid, small droplets containing bacteria can be released into the air and travel up to two meters”, the medic explained.

According to The Sun, toilet bowls frequently harbor a large number of harmful bacteria, especially immediately after use. Staphylococcus and E. coli are dangerous bacteria that can be thrown into the air and land on your skin, potentially causing infections and spots.

E. coli can result in kidney failure, severe stomach pain, and bloody diarrhea. If there are no consequences, the symptoms typically last up to seven days, but certain infections can be quite serious and even fatal.

Typically, staph, also known as staphylococcus, only causes skin conditions including boils, spots, and rashes. But if it gets into the bloodstream, it can result in bone and joint infections, pneumonia, or bloodstream infections.

“To prevent this, it is advisable to always close the lid before flushing”, the expert said.

Also, she advised preserving “cleanliness and freshness in the bathroom” to avoid the accumulation of too many bugs, which could cause acne. In fact, US scientists created a video to explain why it’s so crucial to close the toilet seat before flushing.

For the first time, the experts showed how droplets were quickly ejected from a lidless public cubicle using brilliant green lasers and cameras. The particles of poop and pee that emerge from the toilet when you flush were discovered by University of Colorado specialists.

After multiple flushes, the droplets may still be present in the toilet, putting others using it at risk of breathing in harmful germs. The alarming findings, which were reported in the journal Scientific Reports, also provide insight into how smaller particles can get past nose hairs and into the lungs deeper than larger ones, making them more dangerous to people.