As a slight germophobe, toilets are not my favorite. This is especially true of the ones in public places, which are sometimes such blatant displays of depravity that I think humans don't deserve anything good in the world, period. But all that fecal disgustingness aside, are there actual health risks from putting your bits where other bits have gone before? Is it true that you can catch a sexually transmitted infection from a toilet seat, or is that one of those completely false gynecological urban legends? Show Readers, you can rest easy. There’s basically no chance of you contracting an STI from a toilet seat, and any chance thatdoes**exist is so negligible that it’s not worth devoting much brainpower to, Mary Jane Minkin, M.D., a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Yale Medical School, tells SELF. “Most of these microbiological bad guys don’t like to live outside of nice, warm human tissue,” she explains. “They do much better with skin-to-skin contact and fluids” than hanging out on cold, hard toilet seats. In a previous article about why there's not much point in putting toilet paper on the seat, Philip Tierno, Ph.D., clinical professor in the departments of microbiology and pathology at NYU Langone Medical Center, told SELF that viruses like herpes, chlamydia, and gonorrhea can only live outside of the body for around 10 seconds. "The top of a toilet seat is much cleaner than most people’s kitchen sinks,” he said. Minkin says she did have one patient show up in her office with herpes lesions on her thighs that she claimed were from a bathroom on a public bus. And while Minkin can’t know for sure one way or the other—“[the lesions] were in a perfect distribution on her thighs in a way that would be consistent with a toilet seat”—she thinks it’s more likely it came from sexual contact the woman wasn’t owning up to. “The patient may have been mortally embarrassed about getting herpes. I have no proof she didn’t have sexual contact, so you never know—sometimes people don’t want to tell you,” she says. According to the Mayo Clinic, "Because the [herpes] virus dies quickly outside of the body, it's nearly impossible to get the infection through contact with toilets, towels, or other objects used by an infected person." Same goes for STIs like syphilis, HPV, HIV, and even pubic lice, all of which aren't transmissible via toilet seats according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You'd basically have to try to get an STI from a toilet by rubbing an open wound or mucous membrane all over fluids left there by someone who had used the toilet only seconds before. So, while there are plenty of reasons not to be a huge fan of public toilet seats, the chance of getting an STI isn't one of them. The short answer is no; you can get Chlamydia from John (or Sally) but not from using the john. Chlamydia, a common sexually transmitted infection (STI), is caused by the bacteria Chlamydia trachomatis. The only way chlamydia is spread is by sexual contact — specifically, when infected fluids (vaginal fluids, semen, and/or pre-cum) come into contact with mucous membranes. Both men and women can get chlamydia through vaginal, anal, and, less frequently, oral sex with an infected partner. Using a condom or dam during sex can reduce the risk of transmission. However, you can't get chlamydia by sharing the same bathroom or toilet seats with someone who's infected: the bacteria can't live for long outside of the body, and it's pretty unlikely that a person could come into contact with someone else's body fluids, even in the bathroom. Because untreated chlamydia can cause serious complications — including inflammation of the urethra or reproductive organs, resulting in damage and even sterility — it's recommended that sexually active people get tested. The good news is that testing is usually done using a urine sample and chlamydia is easily cured with antibiotics. You might want to note that those who are infected often don't have symptoms and so may not get tested or treated. You can talk with your health care provider if you are interested in getting tested for chlamydia and other STIs. For more information on chlamydia, search through the Go Ask Alice! Sexual and Reproductive Health archive or take a look at the related Q&As. You can also check out the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National STD webpage. In the mean time, know that you can comfortably use the commode without having to fear getting chlamydia, or any other STIs. It's passed on through unprotected sex (sex without a condom) and is particularly common in sexually active teenagers and young adults. If you're a woman, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year, and when you have sex with new or casual partners. If you're a man, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners. Symptoms of chlamydiaMost people with chlamydia do not notice any symptoms and do not know they have it. If you do develop symptoms, you may experience:
If you think you're at risk of having a sexually transmitted infection (STI) or have any symptoms of chlamydia, visit a GP, community contraceptive service or local genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic to get tested. How do you get chlamydia?Chlamydia is a bacterial infection. The bacteria are usually spread through sex or contact with infected genital fluids (semen or vaginal fluid). You can get chlamydia through:
It can also be passed by a pregnant woman to her baby. Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery. Is chlamydia serious?Although chlamydia does not usually cause any symptoms and can normally be treated with a short course of antibiotics, it can be serious if it's not treated early on. If left untreated, the infection can spread to other parts of your body and lead to long-term health problems, especially in women. In women, untreated chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disease (PID), ectopic pregnancy and infertility. In men, in rare cases, chlamydia can spread to the testicles and epididymis (tubes that carry sperm from the testicles), causing them to become painful and swollen. This is known as epididymitis or epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the testicles). It can also sometimes cause reactive arthritis in men and women. This is why it's important to get tested and treated as soon as possible if you think you might have chlamydia. Find out more about the complications of chlamydia Getting tested for chlamydiaTesting for chlamydia is done with a urine test or a swab test. You do not always need a physical examination by a nurse or doctor. Anyone can get a free and confidential chlamydia test at a sexual health clinic, a genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic or a GP surgery. In England, if you're a woman under 25 years old, you may be offered a chlamydia test when you visit some health services, for example a pharmacy or GP. This offer is part of the National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP). If you're offered a chlamydia test you should consider taking it. If you're a woman, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year, and when you have sex with new or casual partners. If you're a man, sexually active and under 25 in England, it's recommended that you have a chlamydia test once a year if you are not using condoms with new or casual partners. You can also buy chlamydia testing kits to do at home. Find out more about chlamydia diagnosis How chlamydia is treatedChlamydia can usually be treated easily with antibiotics. You may be given a course of doxycycline to take for a week or azithromycin to take once a day for 3 days. If you have doxycycline, you should not have sex (including oral sex) until you and your current sexual partner have finished treatment. If you have azithromycin, you should wait 7 days after treatment before having sex (including oral sex). It's important that your current sexual partner and any other recent sexual partners you have had are also tested and treated to help stop the spread of the infection. Under-25s who have chlamydia should be offered another test 3 to 6 months after being treated. This is because young adults who test positive for chlamydia are at increased risk of catching it again. Sexual health or genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics can help you contact your sexual partners. Either you or the clinic can speak to them, or they can be sent a note advising them to get tested. The note will not have your name on it, so your confidentiality will be protected. Preventing chlamydiaAnyone who's sexually active can catch chlamydia. You're most at risk if you have a new sexual partner or do not use a barrier method of contraception, such as a condom, when having sex. You can help to prevent the spread of chlamydia by:
If you do share sex toys, wash them or cover them with a new condom between each person who uses them. Can you catch clap off a toilet seat?Chlamydia cannot be passed on through casual contact, such as kissing and hugging, or from sharing baths, towels, swimming pools, toilet seats or cutlery.
Can chlamydia be passed through toilet seat?Bacterial STIs
They can't survive in air or on surfaces, such as a toilet seat. You can't contract a bacterial STI from sitting on a toilet seat. Bacterial STIs are transmitted through sex without a condom or other barrier method, including oral, anal, and vaginal sex.
Can you catch anything from toilet seats?Many disease-causing organisms can survive for only a short time on the surface of the seat, and for an infection to occur, the germs would have to be transferred from the toilet seat to your urethral or genital tract, or through a cut or sore on the buttocks or thighs, which is possible but very unlikely.
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Can you get the clap from a toilet seat
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