tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/toilets-4284/articlesToilets – The Conversation2023-06-16T03:37:43Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2068692023-06-16T03:37:43Z2023-06-16T03:37:43ZDoes it matter if you sit or stand to pee? And what about peeing in the shower?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532080/original/file-20230614-29-n8jj3y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C2%2C1000%2C663&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/closeup-young-caucasian-man-using-his-656574232">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you sit or stand? That is the question about <a href="https://docs.cdn.yougov.com/0l6u6ha4yz/YouGov%20-%20Sit%20down%20urination%20men%20international.pdf">7,000 men</a> around the world <a href="https://today.yougov.com/topics/society/articles-reports/2023/05/16/where-world-are-men-most-likely-sit-down-wee">have been asked</a> about how they pee.</p>
<p>We’ll get to their answers soon. But the <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/urologist-reveals-men-are-emptying-their-bladders-wrong/news-story/b3a86aeab9cc97825554dfef5b28a7f0">media interest</a> that followed prompted one urologist <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/health-fitness/body/the-health-benefits-of-sitting-down-to-pee/">to recommend</a> some men sit to urinate, especially as they age.</p>
<p>What is the best way to urinate? Does that apply to women? We research the <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21688370.2022.2099214?journalCode=ktib20">bladder</a> and <a href="https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpcell.00441.2022">lower urinary tract</a>. Here’s what the evidence says.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-can-your-doctor-tell-from-your-urine-74990">Health Check: what can your doctor tell from your urine?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Do most men stand to pee?</h2>
<p>The survey found men in different countries differ in how they pee. </p>
<p>In Germany, 40% of men report sitting while they pee every time, as do 25% of Australians. In the United States, it’s just 10%. </p>
<p>Some people even view <a href="https://www.bmj.com/content/1/1174/1281.1">standing to pee</a> as “superior” and sitting inferior. In German, the word <a href="https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Sitzpinkler">Sitzpinkler</a> means
someone who sits to pee; it can also be used as an insult.</p>
<p>But habits may be changing. In Australia, for instance, the survey found younger men are more likely to sit down than older men. Some 36% of younger men sit down most or every time, while only 20% of men aged 55 and older report doing so.</p>
<h2>So should men stand or sit?</h2>
<p><strong>When it doesn’t matter</strong></p>
<p>In general, the literature suggests it <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101320">doesn’t matter</a> if a healthy man stands or sits when he pees.</p>
<p>Regardless of the position, there seems to be no difference in the time taken to pee, the flow rate, and how completely the bladder is emptied.</p>
<p>So long as there are no urinary concerns, men are free to choose their preferred position. If you chose to stand, just be sure to aim well.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/is-urine-sterile-do-urine-therapies-work-experts-debunk-common-pee-myths-191862">Is urine sterile? Do urine 'therapies' work? Experts debunk common pee myths</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>When it can</strong></p>
<p>Recommendations for sitting or standing become less clear for men with <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/nau.24839">lower urinary tract symptoms</a>. These include issues such as having poor stream (for example, a dribble rather than a steady flow of urine), straining while urinating or feeling the bladder has not <a href="https://www.ics.org/committees/standardisation/terminologydiscussions/feelingofincompletebladderemptying">completely emptied</a> after finishing.</p>
<p>For some of these men <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0101320">sitting</a> is preferred to help increase the flow and empty the bladder. Others find the same relief comes from standing.</p>
<p>For men with <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/news/novembers-all-about-mens-health-so-whats-bph-anyway">benign prostatic hyperplasia</a>, otherwise known as an enlarged prostate, there is evidence <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7361486/">standing</a> may help fully empty the bladder. But this advice may not work for all. That’s because how much the prostate has become enlarged, and the impact this has on urinary flow, can be different between people.</p>
<p>As standing or sitting <em>can</em> matter, for some men, it’s worth having a chat with your doctor about what’s best for you.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-men-really-take-longer-to-poo-152233">Do men really take longer to poo?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How about women?</h2>
<p>The structure of the female pelvic area is quite different to males, as it accommodates the vagina, uterus and reproductive structures. And the female anatomy is just not designed to pee standing up. So, making a habit of, say, peeing in the shower, is not advised.</p>
<p>Females do not have a prostate, which helps supports the male bladder while standing. This lack of support can place extra strain on the bladder region when not sitting down, making it harder for the bladder to fully empty.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Illustration of female pelvic floor muscles and urinary tract" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=480&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/532082/original/file-20230614-22-pxzvyy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=603&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When standing, women’s pelvic floor muscles don’t relax properly, so their bladder may not fully empty.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/female-pelvic-floor-labeled-157672304">Alila Medical Media/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The structure of the <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/about-continence/continence-health/pelvic-floor">pelvic floor</a> muscles are also different in females. For females, it is particularly important to allow these muscles to fully relax to allow the urine to flow freely.</p>
<p>If the bladder doesn’t <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/types-incontinence/urinary-incontinence/chronic-urinary-retention">empty fully</a>, it can lead to increased infections, bladder stones, and even impact kidney health in the long term.</p>
<p>Even with one leg up, the pelvic floor does not rest properly, so the bladder may not be able to fully empty. As such, sitting down is usually the best position to let these muscles relax.</p>
<p>Standing and “hovering” over the loo may keep these muscles slightly constricted, making it hard to fully empty the bladder. A contracted pelvic floor can also cause the urine to spray more than usual, which is why you might often find drops of urine on a toilet seat after someone before you has tried to hover over it.</p>
<h2>How about peeing in the shower?</h2>
<p>Peeing in the shower not only makes it harder for your muscles to relax, it can be unhygienic. It might also cause an association between water and urination, leading to issues where hearing water might make you need to rush to the bathroom.</p>
<p>So, for both males and females, peeing in the shower is a clear no-no.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>If you or someone you know has bladder or bowel issues, the Continence Foundation of Australia has <a href="https://www.continence.org.au">online resources</a> and a <a href="https://www.continence.org.au/get-support/who-can-help/national-continence-helpline">helpline</a> (1800 33 00 66).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206869/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The recent survey confirmed what many people think – men prefer to stand when peeing. But is that the best way?Christian Moro, Associate Professor of Science & Medicine, Bond UniversityCharlotte Phelps, PhD Candidate, Health Science and Medicine, Bond UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2039882023-04-24T16:14:01Z2023-04-24T16:14:01ZThe dirty truth about your phone – and why you need to stop scrolling in the bathroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522188/original/file-20230420-1700-nz53nk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=14%2C26%2C1970%2C1461&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Using your phone when you're on the toilet is a horrid habit. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cropped-image-beautiful-young-woman-using-488716744">Canva/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>We carry them everywhere, take them to bed, to the bathroom and for many people they’re the first thing they see in the morning – more than 90% of the world owns or uses a <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11020523">mobile phone</a> and many of us couldn’t manage without one.</p>
<p>But while health concerns about phones use usually focus on the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-using-a-mobile-phone-while-driving-is-so-dangerous-even-when-youre-hands-free-71833">distraction they can cause</a> while driving, the possible effects of <a href="https://theconversation.com/theres-no-evidence-5g-is-going-to-harm-our-health-so-lets-stop-worrying-about-it-120501">radiofrequency exposure</a>, or just how <a href="https://theconversation.com/seven-tips-for-a-healthier-relationship-with-your-phone-202215">addictive they can be</a>. The microbial infection risk of your phone is much less appreciated – <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-021-93622-w">but it’s very real</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://yougov.co.uk/topics/society/articles-reports/2019/02/28/most-britons-use-their-phone-toilet">A 2019 survey</a> found that most people in the UK use their phones on the toilet. So it’s not surprising to discover studies have found our mobile phones to be <a href="https://cals.arizona.edu/news/why-your-cellphone-has-more-germs-toilet">dirtier that toilet seats</a>. </p>
<p>We give our phones to children to play with (who aren’t exactly well known for their hygiene). We also eat while using our phones and put them down on all sorts of (dirty) surfaces. All of which can transfer microbes onto your phone along with food deposits for those microbes to eat. </p>
<p>It’s been estimated that people touch their phone <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2276752/Mobile-users-leave-phone-minutes-check-150-times-day.html">hundreds</a> if not <a href="https://dscout.com/people-nerds/mobile-touches">thousands</a> of times a day. And while many of us wash our hands regularly after say, going to the bathroom, cooking, cleaning, or gardening, we are much less likely to consider washing our hands after <a href="https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/articles/us175371_tmt_connectivity-and-mobile-trends-interactive-landing-page/DI_Connectivity-mobile-trends-2022.pdf">touching our phones</a>. But given how disgusting and germ-infested phones can be, maybe it’s time to think more about <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19267892/">mobile phone hygiene</a>.</p>
<h2>Germs, bacteria, viruses</h2>
<p>Hands pick up bacteria and viruses all the time and are <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/when-how-handwashing.html">recognised as a route</a> for <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK144014/#parti_ch7.s3">acquiring infection</a>. So too are the phones we touch. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14118-9">A number</a> of <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7196688/">studies</a> conducted on the microbiological colonisation of mobile phones show that they can be contaminated with many different kinds of potentially pathogenic bacteria.</p>
<p>These include the diarrhoea-inducing <em>E. coli</em> (which, by the way, comes from human poo) and the skin-infecting <em>Staphylococcus</em>, as well as <em>Actinobacteria</em>, which can cause tuberculosis and diphtheria, <em>Citrobacter</em>, which can lead to painful urinary tract infections, and <em>Enterococcus</em>, which is known to cause meningitis. <em>Klebsiella</em>, <em>Micrococcus</em>, <em>Proteus</em>, <em>Pseudomonas</em> and <em>Streptococcus</em> have also been found on phones and all can have equally nasty effects on humans.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6130244/">Research</a> has found that many pathogens on phones are often antibiotic resistant, meaning they can’t be treated with conventional drugs. This is worrying as these bacteria can cause skin, gut and respiratory infections that can be life-threatening. </p>
<p>Research has also found that even if you clean your phone with antibacterial wipes or alcohol it can still be recolonised by microorganisms, indicating that <a href="https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/2/523">sanitisation</a> must be a <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-14118-9">regular process</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Woman wearing yellow jumper cleaning phone screen with a wipe." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/522184/original/file-20230420-23-ne9bdl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The importance of cleaning your phone and how to do it safely.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/coronavirus-global-epidemic-woman-disinfecting-phone-1677416521">Volurol/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Phones contain plastic which can harbour and <a href="https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(15)01034-4/fulltext">transmit viruses</a> some of which (the common cold virus) can live on hard plastic surfaces for up to a week. Other viruses such as COVID-19, rotavirus (a highly infectious stomach bug that typically affects babies and young children), influenza and norovirus – which can cause serious respiratory and gut infections – can persist in an infectable form for several days. </p>
<p>Indeed, since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has introduced <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/hygiene/cleaning/cleaning-your-home.html">guidelines for cleaning and disinfecting mobile phones</a> – which, along with door handles, cash machines and <a href="https://theconversation.com/from-the-bed-sheets-to-the-tv-remote-a-microbiologist-reveals-the-shocking-truth-about-dirt-and-germs-in-hotel-rooms-202195">lift buttons</a>, are considered <a href="https://www.clinicalmicrobiologyandinfection.com/article/S1198-743X(15)01034-4/fulltext">reservoirs of infection</a>. </p>
<p>In particular, concern has been raised about the role mobile phones can play in the spread of infectious microbes in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7196688/">hospital and healthcare settings</a>, as well as in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5466825/">schools</a>. </p>
<h2>Clean your phone</h2>
<p>So it’s clear that you need to start cleaning your phone regularly. The US Federal Communications Commission actually recommends <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/how-sanitize-your-phone-and-other-devices">daily sanitation</a> of your phone and other devices – not least because we are still within an active COVID-19 pandemic and the virus can survive for several days on hard plastic surfaces. </p>
<p>Use <a href="https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/how-sanitize-your-phone-and-other-devices">alcohol-based wipes or sprays</a>. They need to contain at least 70% alcohol to disinfect phone casings and touch screens, and it needs to be done every day if possible. </p>
<p>Do not spray sanitisers directly onto the phone and keep liquids away from connection points or other phone openings. Absolutely avoid using bleach or abrasive cleaners. And wash your hands thoroughly after you’ve finished cleaning.</p>
<p>Thinking about how you handle your phone will also help to avoid it becoming colonised with germs. When not at home, keep your phone in your pocket, or bag and use a disposable paper list of to-do items, rather than constantly consulting your phone. Touch your phone with clean hands – washed with soap and water or disinfected with alcohol-based hand sanitiser. </p>
<p>There are other things you can do to avoid your phone becoming a source of viruses. Do not share your phone with others if you have any infection, or have not first sanitised it. If children are allowed to play with your phone, sanitise it as soon as possible afterwards. </p>
<p>And get in the habit of putting your phone away when not in use, then sanitising or washing your hands. You might also want to occasionally sanitise your phone charger when you are cleaning your phone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/203988/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Primrose Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Your mobile phone is 10 times dirtier than a toilet seat. Here’s what to do about it.Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1957172022-12-08T10:18:22Z2022-12-08T10:18:22ZToilets spew invisible aerosol plumes with every flush – here’s the proof, captured by high-powered lasers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499634/original/file-20221207-11275-dvj7o.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3863%2C4784&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Aerosol plumes from commercial toilets can rise 5 feet above the bowl.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Crimaldi/Scientific Reports</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Every time you flush a toilet, it releases plumes of tiny water droplets into the air around you. These droplets, called <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0040310">aerosol plumes</a>, can spread pathogens from human waste and expose people in public restrooms to contagious diseases. </p>
<p>Scientific understanding of the spread of aerosol plumes – and public awareness of their existence – has been hampered by the fact that they are normally invisible. My colleagues <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=cGGI4QcAAAAJ&hl=en">Aaron True</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=uAS7KNUAAAAJ&hl=en">Karl Linden</a>, <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=BpJEifoAAAAJ&hl=en">Mark Hernandez</a>, Lars Larson and Anna Pauls and I were able to use <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-24686-5">high-power lasers to illuminate these plumes</a>, enabling us to image and measure the location and motion of spreading aerosol plumes from flushing commercial toilets in vivid detail.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oC_f0UAGwMU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video compares the visibility of an aerosol plume after a flush without and with lasers in a lab.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Going up instead of down</h2>
<p>Toilets are designed to efficiently empty the contents inside the bowl through a downward motion into the drain pipe. In the flush cycle, water comes into forceful contact with the contents inside the bowl and creates a fine spray of particles suspended in air. </p>
<p>We found that a typical commercial toilet generates a strong upward jet of air with velocities exceeding 6.6 feet per second (2 meters per second), rapidly carrying these particles up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) above the bowl within eight seconds of the start of the flush.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Diagram of jet-siphonic toilet" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=600&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/499624/original/file-20221207-11419-91m3jz.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=754&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Water streams forcefully into the toilet bowl during a flush cycle.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Diagram_of_a_jet-siphonic_WC_bowl.svg">SouthHamsian/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>To visualize these plumes, we set up a typical lidless commercial toilet with a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02786826.2013.814911">flushometer-style valve</a> found throughout North America in our lab. Flushometer valves use pressure instead of gravity to direct water into the bowl. We used special optics to create a thin vertical sheet of laser light that illuminated the region from the top of the bowl to the ceiling. After flushing the toilet with a remote electrical trigger, the aerosol particles scatter enough laser light to become visible, allowing us to use cameras to image the plume of particles. </p>
<p>Even though we expected to see these particles, we were still surprised by the strength of the jet ejecting the particles from the bowl.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0013318">related study</a> used a computational model of an idealized toilet to predict the formation of aerosol plumes, with an upward transport of particles at speeds above the bowl approaching 3.3 feet per second (1 meter per second), which is about half of what we observed with a real toilet.</p>
<h2>Why lasers?</h2>
<p>Scientists have known <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2021.101282">for decades</a> that flushing toilets can release aerosol particles into the air. However, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02938-0">experimental studies</a> have largely relied on devices that sampled the air at fixed locations to determine the number and size of particles toilets produce.</p>
<p>While these earlier approaches can confirm the presence of aerosols, they provide little information about the physics of the plumes: what they look like, how they spread and how fast they move. This information is critical to develop strategies to mitigate the formation of aerosol plumes and reduce their capacity to transmit disease.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ReSTeXwcfYw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">This video shows Aaron True monitoring the live image data of a flushing toilet plume on a computer screen.</span></figcaption>
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<p>As an <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=wn_f7y0AAAAJ&hl=en">engineering professor</a> whose research focuses on interactions between fluid physics and ecological or biological processes, <a href="https://www.colorado.edu/lab/ecological-fluids/">my laboratory</a> specializes in using lasers to determine how various things are <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/jfm.2015.113">transported by complex fluid flows</a>. In many cases, these things are invisible until we illuminate them with lasers.</p>
<p>An advantage of using laser light to measure fluid flows is that, unlike a physical probe, light does not alter or disrupt the very thing you are trying to measure. Furthermore, using lasers to make invisible things visible helps people, as <a href="https://doi.org/10.2147%2FEB.S64016">visual creatures</a>, better understand complexities in the fluid environment they live in.</p>
<h2>Aerosols and disease</h2>
<p>Aerosol particles containing pathogens are important <a href="https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000448">human disease vectors</a>. Smaller particles that remain suspended in air for a period of time can expose people to respiratory diseases like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abd9149">influenza and COVID-19</a> through inhalation. Larger particles that settle quickly on surfaces can spread intestinal diseases like <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-02938-0">norovirus</a> through contact with the hands and mouth.</p>
<p>Toilet bowl water contaminated by feces can have pathogen concentrations that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5890808/">persist after dozens</a> of flushes. But it is still <a href="https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2021.182">an open question</a> as to whether toilet aerosol plumes present a transmission risk.</p>
<p>While we were able visually and quantitatively to describe how aerosol plumes move and disperse, our work does not directly address how toilet plumes transmit disease, and this remains an ongoing aspect of research. </p>
<h2>Limiting toilet plume spread</h2>
<p>Our experimental methodology provides a foundation for future work to test a range of strategies to minimize the risk of exposure to diseases from flushing toilets. This could include assessing changes to aerosol plumes emanating from new toilet bowl designs or flush valves that change the duration or intensity of the flush cycle.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, there are ways to reduce human exposure to toilet plumes. An obvious strategy is to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142575">close the lid</a> prior to flushing. However, this does not completely eliminate aerosol plumes, and many toilets in public, commercial and health care settings do not have lids. Ventilation or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/ina.12752">UV disinfection</a> systems could also mitigate exposure to aerosol plumes in the bathroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/195717/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Crimaldi receives funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the US Army DEVCOM Chemical Biological Center. </span></em></p>Toilets eject aerosol droplets that may carry disease-causing pathogens. Learning about how these particles move could help reduce exposure in public restrooms.John Crimaldi, Professor of Civil, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado BoulderLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1786892022-05-24T14:20:49Z2022-05-24T14:20:49ZOil hazards aren’t the main worry of Nigeria’s coastal residents: toilets are<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464764/original/file-20220523-30932-jh0y53.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Adekunle Ajayi/Nur Photo via Getty Images. </span> </figcaption></figure><p>Nigeria’s coastal areas are known to present environmental hazards and risks. Oil exploration and exploitation is one <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/09542299.2008.11073770">source</a> of these hazards. Oil spillage, gas flaring, air and water pollution and agricultural land contamination are serious problems in the region, with <a href="https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/abs/10.1289/isee.2021.P-059">implications</a> for human and environmental health. </p>
<p>Flooding and erosion are additional sources of danger in the region. Damage from floods is <a href="http://www.ijsit.com/admin/ijsit_files/FLOODING%20AND%20ITS%20EFFECT-CASE%20STUDY%20OF%20PARTS%20OF%20DELTA%20STATE,%20SOUTH-SOUTH%20NIGERIA_IJSIT_4.6.14.pdf">extensive</a>. </p>
<p>Poor sanitation is a third hazard. Poor sanitation practices, poor location of facilities like toilets and kitchens, and the contamination of water sources in oil producing communities expose residents to <a href="https://www.afro.who.int/news/who-supports-delta-state-fight-against-cholera-outbreak">cholera</a>, typhoid, malaria and dysentery. </p>
<p>Residents’ perceptions of the environmental hazards have not been well explored. It’s important to understand perceptions because they drive behaviour. In looking for ways to avoid, prepare for and respond to hazards and disasters, it is useful to understand what motivates people’s actions.</p>
<p>Research has shown that people take action on threats <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7122361/">based</a> on their personal perception of the risk. Perception, in turn, depends on the level of information people have about the risk, personal experience of past events and socioeconomic attributes. It’s also influenced by the quantity of losses people think they can avoid, absorb and tolerate. The <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/03/SREX-Chap2_FINAL-1.pdf">type</a> of hazard makes a difference. So does people’s trust in the capability of authorities.</p>
<p>Therefore, in <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921000601?via%3Dihub">our study</a> we sought to understand what influences the perceptions of people in Delta State when it comes to environmental risks. Understanding what drives their actions could help in finding ways to avoid or cope with risks and disasters.</p>
<p>We found that residents were less concerned about oil induced hazards and risks, or floods and erosion, than they were about the lack of sanitation amenities like drains and toilets. They perceived oil and flood risks as normal parts of their lives, not as major risks. Some even contributed to those problems by, for example, stealing oil. </p>
<p>What they were most worried about was being vulnerable to things like snakebites, reptile invasion, storm water diversion into their homes, collapse of buildings, spread of diseases from open defecation, and personal safety related to bathrooms and kitchens being located away from homes.</p>
<p>Many of the residential areas in the region have evolved without planning regulations. Residents haven’t always followed safe practices when building amenities. The resulting danger is an unsanitary environment. We suggest that government agencies ensure house owners adhere to building codes.</p>
<h2>Study of coastal towns</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212420921000601?via%3Dihub">Our research</a> was carried out in the southern part of Nigeria over 18 months. We focused on three towns: Sapele, Oghara and Koko. The towns are involved in crude oil activities and are close to the ocean. They also face dangers from <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-nigeria-spill-idUSKBN16857D">toxic waste dumping</a>. </p>
<p>In these towns, infrastructure such as roads, drainage and public toilets is inadequate and in very poor condition.</p>
<p>We sampled residential buildings from each town and gave questionnaires to 218 residents of these buildings. The questionnaire aimed to capture the socio-economic attributes of the people and their awareness of environmental hazards such as oil and sanitation. It also asked about the severity attached to risk emanating from hazards and responses to them.</p>
<p>Previous research has found that people’s perceptions of environmental hazards and risks are <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23278120/">influenced</a> by socioeconomic characteristics and by environmental awareness. The presence of amenities such as well-lit and tarred roads, location of emergency management agencies, electricity transformers and fire stations has also been found to be related to perceptions. We examined the impact of these factors on the way our respondents viewed environmental hazards and risks.</p>
<h2>What influences perceptions</h2>
<p>We found that a direct relationship exists between residents’ perception of environmental threats and infrastructure availability. Such infrastructure includes roads, drainage, public toilets, health centres, schools and electricity transformers. </p>
<p>The availability and location of toilets and drains scored highest among residents’ concerns. Location of kitchens was another issue. In most cases, toilets, bathrooms and kitchens are constructed detached from the main buildings, making residents more vulnerable to health risks. Such kitchens are vulnerable to infestation by flies, ants, cockroaches and other disease vectors. </p>
<p>We also discovered that people’s views have no relationship with efforts by the government, international oil companies and nongovernmental organisations to address threats. Such threats include oil pollution, gas flaring, hazardous waste, odour and erosion. This implies that people do not trust the capacities of these stakeholders to manage environmental hazards. They therefore engage in environmentally destructive and defiant behaviours such as crude oil theft, illegal oil refining and pipeline vandalism. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-things-that-can-go-wrong-at-an-illegal-oil-refinery-in-nigeria-182459">Three things that can go wrong at an illegal oil refinery in Nigeria</a>
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<p>The socioeconomic attributes of residents correlated with their views on environmental threats. These are attributes such as gender, age, educational status, household size, income, occupation and length of stay in the area. </p>
<p>Higher income, higher level of education, and longer length of stay increased concerns about environmental threats. This shows that the more people’s income and education level are enhanced, the more concerned they are about managing environmental hazards in their area. </p>
<h2>The way forward</h2>
<p>We recommend ways to enhance people’s perception of environmental hazards – and thus enhance safety practices.</p>
<p>Governments at all levels should improve the provision and maintenance of environmental amenities. </p>
<p>Government should also work with representatives of the people to effectively monitor and manage threats emanating from oil production activities. The key involvement of the representatives will instil trust and create a sense of belonging in the efforts to manage the threats.</p>
<p>Government and NGOs should provide environmental education for residents of the coastal towns. Residents need to know about the inherent harmful impacts of unsanitary environments and poor amenities. Education could be done through the media and the school curriculum.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/178689/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Seun Olowoporoku does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Some Niger Delta residents are less concerned about oil-induced hazards and risks, or floods and erosion. They are more worried about a lack of sanitation amenities.Seun Olowoporoku, Gradute Research Fellow, Obafemi Awolowo UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1593402021-06-07T20:05:06Z2021-06-07T20:05:06ZI’ve always wondered: can I flush cat poo down the toilet?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404763/original/file-20210607-17-1qmc68d.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=47%2C0%2C3335%2C2000&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Wes Mountain/The Conversation</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is an article from <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/ive-always-wondered-43449">I’ve Always Wondered</a>, a series where readers send in questions they’d like an expert to answer. Send your question to alwayswondered@theconversation.edu.au</em></p>
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<p><strong>Why can’t I flush cat poo down the toilet? Diane, Sydney</strong></p>
<p>When I was a teenager I owned a large dog, a German Shepherd. It was my responsibility to pick up his poo and put it in the bin. I would never have thought to flush it down the toilet. </p>
<p>So, after a quick <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2017/03/22/you-can-train-your-cat-to-use-the-toilet-just-dont-expect-it-to-flush/">internet search</a>, I was surprised to find many people do actually flush cat poo down the toilet. I soon discovered training your cat to use a toilet is a hot topic for cat owners, especially for urban cats that live in home units and lack a backyard. </p>
<p>But sharing a toilet with your cat can put your own health in danger. So what do the water authorities say? And is it OK to flush away kitty litter? </p>
<h2>It could be dangerous</h2>
<p>My first reaction when I read this question was “no”. I suggest you put it in the garbage, like most people do when they walk their dogs. Then, it would be buried in landfill, along with normal household rubbish. </p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/404749/original/file-20210607-27-1gwdhez.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Only flush the three Ps down the loo: pee, poo and paper. The only paper has to be toilet paper.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The main reason is that poo from our pets — and other animals — can be a risk to human health. Animals can spread diseases with other species including humans (called zoonotic diseases). </p>
<p>A common and dangerous zoonotic disease is toxoplasmosis. Cats can carry this disease (among others) and pass it to humans, particularly through human contact with their poo. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/cats-carry-diseases-that-can-be-deadly-to-humans-and-its-costing-australia-6-billion-every-year-147910">Cats carry diseases that can be deadly to humans, and it's costing Australia $6 billion every year</a>
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<p>Toxoplasmosis can cause serious health issues for people, particularly those with weak immune systems. And it is very serious for pregnant women as they can pass an infection to an unborn baby, with other potentially tragic consequences later in the child’s life. </p>
<p>In fact, <a href="https://theconversation.com/cats-carry-diseases-that-can-be-deadly-to-humans-and-its-costing-australia-6-billion-every-year-147910">a study published last year</a> estimated that toxoplasmosis, cat roundworm and cat scratch disease are linked to more than 8,500 hospitalisations and about 550 deaths in Australia each year.</p>
<p>So it’s best you avoid sharing a toilet with your cat — and always be very careful handling pet wastes. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/P25VoNs-m1Q?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Cats carry diseases that can be deadly to humans.</span></figcaption>
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<p>To get an industry answer to this question, I asked five Australian water authorities that manage the largest urban sewerage systems across the country, including Sydney Water, Melbourne Water and Icon Water (Canberra). </p>
<p>Their reaction was generally “no”. You should not flush any pet waste down the toilet. But it was not unanimous — at least one water authority told me they thought it was OK to flush away cat poo. </p>
<p>There was one big issue they all agreed on, however. And that’s to only flush the three Ps: pee, poo and paper down the loo, the only paper being toilet paper. </p>
<h2>What about kitty litter?</h2>
<p>Every single water authority stressed the message that no kitty litter should be flushed down the toilet. So why is kitty litter so dangerous?</p>
<p>Kitty litter, or other materials that aren’t any of the “three Ps”, can block sewer pipes. Kitty litter is made from all sorts of materials, such as recycled products like old newspapers. </p>
<p>But a common ingredient is a clay material called “bentonite”. It has a remarkable ability to <a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/green-friendly-cat-litter-options/">absorb up to 15 times</a> its original weight. </p>
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<span class="caption">Kitty litter can swell and block sewer pipes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>This is the big problem. If you flush kitty litter down your toilet, it can swell up and block sewer pipes, even in the pipes in your home — yuk! Don’t risk it!</p>
<p>Blocked sewer pipes are a horrible, messy and smelly problem. Sinks can block and toilets can stop flushing. They can also cause raw sewage to leak out. Sewage is dangerous for the environment and is very hazardous for people as it can spread infectious disease. </p>
<h2>Toilets are not bins</h2>
<p>Many of us need to be reminded that we should not use our toilets as flushing garbage bins. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-believe-the-label-flushable-wipes-clog-our-sewers-94982">Don't believe the label: 'flushable wipes' clog our sewers</a>
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<p>Take wet wipes, for example. Some products are incorrectly labelled “<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-believe-the-label-flushable-wipes-clog-our-sewers-94982">flushable wipes</a>”, and these are particularly dangerous as they don’t break down like toilet paper. </p>
<p>They can form a twisted mess in sewer pipes and block them. In fact, there’s now a <a href="https://www.wsaa.asn.au/media/australian-standard-development-wipes-and-other-products">new Australian Standard</a> being developed to make sure “wipes” have suitable warning labels.</p>
<p>Taking it to the extreme, consider the “<a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-41238272">monster fatberg</a>” in the UK in 2017. Thames Water removed a disgusting blockage in sewer pipes that was 250 metres long, and weighed almost as much as a blue whale. </p>
<p>It was a massive and expensive job to remove this. And it was caused by people putting stuff down the toilet and kitchen sink they should have put in the bin. </p>
<h2>The bottom line</h2>
<p>So while it must take impressive balance and gymnastic skills for a cat to sit on, and use a toilet (there are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Toilet-Train-Your-Plain-Simple/dp/1510707255">even books</a> on this topic!), my advice is put your cat’s poo (and poo from other pets) into the garbage bin. </p>
<p>And generally, make sure you don’t flush things down the toilet that really should go into the bin. </p>
<p>I am also yet to see evidence cats can flush the toilet themselves — I suspect this isn’t impossible, though.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/dont-let-them-out-15-ways-to-keep-your-indoor-cat-happy-138716">Don't let them out: 15 ways to keep your indoor cat happy</a>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159340/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>I was once employed as an environmental scientist in the water industry.</span></em></p>Don’t share your toilet with your pet, or treat your toilet like a flushable garbage bin. It could lead to dangerous diseases, and clog sewer pipes.Ian A. Wright, Senior Lecturer in Environmental Science, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1533702021-03-15T12:56:33Z2021-03-15T12:56:33ZHow do astronauts go to the bathroom in space?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/386501/original/file-20210225-23-146zub9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=71%2C170%2C5919%2C3817&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Toilets in space are a bit more complicated than those on Earth. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_toilet#/media/File:Space_Toilet_(8687080967).jpg">Don DeBold via Wikipedia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=293&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/281719/original/file-20190628-76743-26slbc.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/topics/curious-kids-us-74795">Curious Kids</a> is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>.</em></p>
<hr>
<blockquote>
<p><strong>How do astronauts go to the bathroom in space? – Henry D., age 7, Cambridge, Massachusetts</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>Whether you use a hole in the ground or a fancy gold-plated toilet, on Earth, gravity pulls your waste down and away from you. For astronauts, “doing their duty” is a bit more complicated. Without gravity, any loose drops or dribbles could float out of the toilet. That’s not good for astronauts’ health, nor for the sensitive equipment inside the space station. </p>
<p>I <a href="http://www.buffalo.edu/news/experts/tracy-gregg-faculty-expert-planetary-volcanology.html">study volcanoes on other planets</a>, and I’m interested in how people can work in extreme environments like space. </p>
<p>So how do you go to the bathroom in space or on the International Space Station? Carefully – and with suction.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The new NASA Universal Waste Management System has a steel lid, controls and many tubes surrounding the toilet bowl." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387394/original/file-20210303-23-o6iwpi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The new toilet is more comfortable, easier to use for both men and women, and lighter.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:ISS_Universal_Waste_Management_System_(3).jpg#/media/File:ISS_Universal_Waste_Management_System_(3).jpg">NASA/James Blair via Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<h2>A bathroom vacuum</h2>
<p>In 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. His trip was supposed to be short, so there was <a href="https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00175.2012">no plan for pee</a>. But the launch was delayed for over three hours after Shepard climbed into the rocket. Eventually, he asked if he could exit the rocket to pee. Instead of wasting more time, mission control concluded that Shepard could safely pee inside his spacesuit. The first American in space went up in <a href="https://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/06/the-science-and-history-of-space-urination.html">damp underwear</a>.</p>
<p>Fortunately, there’s a toilet on the space station these days. The original toilet was designed in 2000 for men and was difficult for women to use: You had to pee while standing up. To poop, astronauts used thigh straps to sit on the small toilet and to keep a tight seal between their bottoms and the toilet seat. It didn’t work very well and was hard to keep clean. </p>
<p>So in 2018, NASA spent US$23 million on a <a href="https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20130011635/downloads/20130011635.pdf">new and improved toilet</a> for astronauts on the International Space Station. To get around the problems of zero-gravity bathroom breaks, the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-65mBQ7s_Q">new toilet</a> is a specially designed <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/boldly-go-nasa-s-new-space-toilet-offers-more-comfort-improved-efficiency-for-deep-space">vacuum toilet</a>. There are two parts: a hose with a funnel at the end for peeing and a small raised toilet seat for pooping.</p>
<p>The bathroom is full of handholds and footholds so that astronauts don’t drift off in the middle of their business. To pee, they can sit or stand and then hold the funnel and hose tightly against their skin so that nothing leaks out. To poop, astronauts lift the toilet lid and sit on the seat – just like here on Earth. But this toilet starts suctioning as soon as the lid is lifted to prevent things from drifting away – and to control the stink. To make sure that there is a tight fit between the toilet seat and the astronauts’ behinds, the toilet seat is smaller than the one in your house. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="The Russian Progress spacecraft floating above Earth. It is cylindrical with two solar panels sticking out to the sides." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=429&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/387396/original/file-20210303-15-d8nb37.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=539&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Russian Progress spacecrafts bring supplies to the ISS and take on trash and waste, which is then burned up in the atmosphere with the spacecraft.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progress_(spacecraft)#/media/File:Progress_M-52.jpg">NASA/Wikimedia Commons</a></span>
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<h2>After the deed is done</h2>
<p>Pee is more than 90% water. Since water is heavy and takes up a lot of space, it is better to recycle pee rather than bring up clean water from Earth. All astronaut pee is collected and turned back into clean, drinkable water. Astronauts say that “Today’s coffee is <a href="https://www.facebook.com/jsceducation/posts/1823486837754155">tomorrow’s coffee!</a>”</p>
<p>Sometimes, astronaut poop is brought <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/how-scott-kellys-year-in-space-changed-his-poop">back to Earth</a> for scientists to study, but most of the time, bathroom waste – including poop – is burned. Poop is vacuumed into garbage bags which are put into airtight containers. Astronauts also put toilet paper, wipes and gloves – gloves help keep everything clean – in the containers too. The containers are then loaded into a cargo ship that brought supplies to the space station, and this ship is launched at Earth and <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/research/news/infographic_yearinspace">burns up</a> in Earth’s upper atmosphere. </p>
<p>If you’ve ever seen a shooting star, it might have been a meteorite burning up in Earth’s atmosphere – or it might have been flaming astronaut poo. And the next time you have to pee or poop, be thankful that you’re doing it with gravity’s help.</p>
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<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskidsus@theconversation.com">CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com</a>. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.</em></p>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Tracy K.P. Gregg does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Going to the bathroom is much more complicated in space without any gravity. To solve this problem of tricky orbital potty breaks, NASA builds special toilets that work without gravity.Tracy K.P. Gregg, Associate Professor of Geology, University at BuffaloLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1522332021-01-27T01:10:59Z2021-01-27T01:10:59ZDo men really take longer to poo?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/377953/original/file-20210111-15-ruzndd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C1000%2C667&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-man-toilet-using-phone-619346291">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There’s a common assumption men take longer than women to poo. People say so on <a href="https://twitter.com/trenduso/status/1100968885203931136">Twitter</a>, in <a href="https://www.sammichespsychmeds.com/men-bathroom-memes/">memes</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLcEU6ahlOI">elsewhere</a> <a href="https://www.livescience.com/why-men-take-longer-to-poop.html">online</a>. But is that right? What could explain it? And if some people are really taking longer, is that a problem?</p>
<p>As we sift through the evidence, it’s important to remember pooing may involve time spent sitting on the toilet and the defaecation process itself.</p>
<p>And there may be differences between men and women in these separate aspects of going to the toilet. But the evidence for these differences isn’t always as strong as we’d like.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/do-we-have-to-poo-every-day-we-asked-five-experts-98701">Do we have to poo every day? We asked five experts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Men may spend longer sitting on the toilet</h2>
<p>Men do appear to spend more time sitting on the toilet. An <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2641550/Britons-favourite-loo-terature-revealed-Sports-biographies-erotic-magazines-bathroom-reading-material-poll.html">online survey</a> by a bathroom retailer suggested men spend up to 14 minutes a day compared with women, who spend almost eight minutes a day. But this survey doesn’t have the rigour of a well-designed scientific study.</p>
<p>Would there be any physiological reason to explain why men spend longer on the toilet? Well, the evidence actually suggests the opposite.</p>
<p>We know it <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00365520310000410">takes longer</a> for food to travel through the intestines in women than in men. Women are also <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6175559/">more likely to suffer</a> from constipation related to irritable bowel syndrome than men. So, you’d expect women to take longer to defaecate, from the start of the bowel motion to expulsion.</p>
<p>But this is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12870773/">not the case</a> even if you take into account differences in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5986479/">fibre intake</a> between men and women.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-irritable-bowel-syndrome-and-what-can-i-do-about-it-102579">Explainer: what is irritable bowel syndrome and what can I do about it?</a>
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<p>Instead, how long it takes someone to poo (the defaecation time) is <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28470247/">heavily influenced</a> by the mucus lining the large bowel. This mucus makes the bowel slippery and easier for the stools to be expelled. But there’s no evidence this mucus lining is different in men and women. </p>
<p>One thing we do know, however, is mammals from elephants to mice have a similar defaecation time, <a href="https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2017/sm/c6sm02795d#!divAbstract">around 12 seconds</a>. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1100968885203931136"}"></div></p>
<p>For humans, it’s slightly longer, but still quick. In <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12870773/">one study</a> it took healthy adults an average two minutes when sitting, but only 51 seconds when squatting. Again, there were no differences in defaecation time between men and women, whether sitting or squatting. </p>
<p>If there’s no strong evidence one way or the other to explain any gender differences in how long it takes to poo, what’s going on? For that, we need to look at the total time spent on the toilet.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-the-best-way-to-go-to-the-toilet-squatting-or-sitting-63991">What's the best way to go to the toilet – squatting or sitting?</a>
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<h2>Why do people spend so long on the toilet?</h2>
<p>What I call the “toilet sitting time” is the time of defaecation itself and the time allocated to other activities sitting on the toilet. For most people, the time spent just sitting, aside from defaecating, accounts for most of their time there.</p>
<p>So what are people doing? Mainly reading. And it seems men are <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1230115.stm">more likely</a> to read on the toilet than women.</p>
<p>For instance, a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19019015/">study</a> of almost 500 adults in Israel found almost two-thirds (64%) of men regularly read on the toilet compared with 41% of women. The longer people spent on the toilet, the more likely they were to be reading. However, in the decade or more since this study was conducted, you’d expect adults would be more likely to be reading or playing games on their mobile phones rather than reading paper books.</p>
<p>People might also be sitting longer on the toilet for some temporary relief from the stresses of life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Meme about men avoiding parenting responsibilities by sitting on the toilet for longer" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=417&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/380091/original/file-20210121-19-q4weg1.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=524&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes, people just need time to themselves.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.sammichespsychmeds.com/men-bathroom-memes/">Ramblin Mama</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2641550/Britons-favourite-loo-terature-revealed-Sports-biographies-erotic-magazines-bathroom-reading-material-poll.html">poll</a> found 56% of people find sitting on the toilet relaxing, and 39% a good opportunity to have “some time alone”. Another <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/bathrooms-shower-washing-habits-poll-a8988626.html">online survey</a> revealed one in six people reported going to the toilet for “peace and quiet”. Although these are not scientific studies, they offer useful insights into a social phenomenon.</p>
<p>Then there can be medical reasons for a prolonged defaecation time, and consequently a lengthier time sitting on the toilet. </p>
<p>An anal fissure (a tear or crack in the lining of the anus) can make defaecation a painful and lengthy process. These fissures are <a href="http://eknygos.lsmuni.lt/springer/526/178-191.pdf">just as common</a> in men as in women. </p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4306148/">obstructive defaecation</a>, where people cannot empty the rectum properly, is a common cause of chronic constipation. This is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3030249/">more common</a> in middle-aged women. </p>
<h2>Are there any harms from spending too long on the loo?</h2>
<p>In a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7236649/">Turkish study</a>, spending more than five minutes on the toilet was associated with haemorrhoids and anal fissures. Another study from <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31996480/">Italy</a> noted the longer the time people spent on the toilet, the more severe their haemorrhoids.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.annalsgastro.gr/files/journals/1/earlyview/2019/ev-01-2019-19-AG4360-0355.pdf">One theory</a> behind this is prolonged sitting increases pressure inside the abdomen. This leads to less blood flow into the veins of the rectum when passing a bowel motion, and ultimately to blood pooling in the vascular cushions of the anus. This makes haemorrhoids more likely to develop. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-people-get-haemorrhoids-and-how-do-you-get-rid-of-them-94820">Explainer: why do people get haemorrhoids and how do you get rid of them?</a>
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</p>
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<h2>What can we do about this?</h2>
<p>In addition to the usual advice about increasing the amount of fibre in your diet and ensuring you drink enough water, it would be sensible to limit the amount of time spent on the toilet.</p>
<p>Different researchers recommend a <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28150480/">different</a> <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27723447/">upper limit</a>. But I <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30346317/">and others</a> recommend the SEN approach:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>S</strong>ix minute toilet sitting time maximum</p></li>
<li><p><strong>E</strong>nough fibre (eating more fruit and vegetables, and eating wholegrains)</p></li>
<li><p><strong>N</strong>o straining during defaecation. </p></li>
</ul>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/health-check-what-causes-constipation-114290">Health Check: what causes constipation?</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/152233/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Vincent Ho does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you believe the memes, men spend ages in the toilet. But they’re not always pooing. Here’s what they’re really doing.Vincent Ho, Senior Lecturer and clinical academic gastroenterologist, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1505512020-11-24T15:02:14Z2020-11-24T15:02:14ZRiver of bacteria: a South African study pinpoints what’s polluting the water<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371020/original/file-20201124-23-9049u7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Apies river downstream of the informal settlement and the village of Hammanskraal.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2010, the United Nations recognised access to clean water and sanitation as a fundamental human right. However, over <a href="https://www.worldtoiletday.info/">4.1 billion</a> people around the world, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, still do not have access to this human right.</p>
<p>Clean and safe water is necessary for basic life functions — for drinking, for cooking, for bathing, and more. When it is not available, people resort to alternative sources, which are often polluted with pathogenic bacteria arising from human waste. Using such water exposes people to waterborne diseases such as diarrhoea.</p>
<p>In cities, most households have access to treated water and good sanitation services. However, over <a href="https://www.unicef.org/esa/sanitation-and-hygiene">340 million</a> people in sub-Saharan Africa, mostly in rural communities and informal settlements, do not. They may rely on rivers, lakes, and streams for their. In addition, over <a href="https://www.unicef.org/esa/sanitation-and-hygiene">270 million</a> practise open defecation or have poorly constructed toilets. Most have no choice but to defecate outdoors, often disposing of their faeces directly into rivers — the same ones they use as sources of water.</p>
<p>We, a group of researchers in South Africa, wanted to know more about how different human activities around rivers in the country affected the microbial quality of the water. We wanted to understand the extent to which <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5664689/">informal settlements</a>, where access to basic sanitation and hygiene is limited or absent, affected the presence of waterborne bacteria.</p>
<p>We set out to explore how different human activities, such as sewage treatment plants, informal settlements and agriculture, affected the microbial quality of river water. We also used a mathematical model to show whether people could get sick from drinking untreated water from the river. We looked at <em>E. coli</em> as the indicator organism and <em>Vibrio</em>, <em>Salmonella</em> and <em>Shigella</em> as pathogenic organisms. Indicator organisms indicate the possible presence of pathogens, which are microorganisms that can cause disease. </p>
<p>Our <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26318680/#:%7E:text=Seasonal%20variations%20had%20an%20impact,coli%20concentrations">research</a> found that in <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26318680/#:%7E:text=Seasonal%20variations%20had%20an%20impact,coli%20concentrations.">informal settlements</a> where sanitation and waste management facilities were absent, a high number of bacteria were often present in the water of the river we studied. Some of these bacteria were pathogenic forms of <em>E. coli</em>, which, when consumed, could make people sick. We also observed that the people living there frequently used the river water, without any treatment, for personal hygiene such as bathing and brushing their teeth. The river was also often used for rituals, which involved immersing oneself several times into the water as a form of spiritual cleansing.</p>
<h2>Samples from before and after activities</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.sahistory.org.za/place/apiesrivier-river-which-flows-through-pretoria">Apies river</a> takes its source from the south of the city of Pretoria (one of South Africa’s three capital cities) and flows towards the north of the city, before joining the Pienaars River. Samples were collected at ten different sites along the river. These sites were situated upstream and downstream from the different human activities we looked at. We tested the water in the laboratory for the presence of microorganisms.</p>
<p>There are numerous sewage treatment facilities that <a href="https://rekordeast.co.za/315344/north-residents-protest-sewage-spill-into-apies-river/">discharge wastewater directly into the river</a>. At times the discharged water is <a href="https://ewn.co.za/2011/10/12/Untreated-sewage-flows-into-Apies-River_">not treated</a> due to system failure, or poorly treated when overloaded. The river also receives waste from informal settlements situated along the riverbanks, either directly through dumping or indirectly from surface runoff during heavy rainfall. These <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2001/urban_rural/urbanrural.pdf">informal settlements</a> are unplanned and the houses are sometimes built on illegally owned land, usually not built according to regulations. So they do not have waste management services.</p>
<p>This river is also used for irrigation. Villagers in <a href="http://www.statssa.gov.za/census/census_2001/urban_rural/urbanrural.pdf">the rural communities</a> – areas that are subdivided into “tribal” areas and commercial farms and usually have few houses – use the river water for their cattle too. The informal and rural settlements use the river directly to dump their waste – including faeces – and for personal and household hygiene.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Cattle and water" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/371022/original/file-20201124-13-1rbwiyu.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cows using the water from the rural community of Potwane in the North.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Author supplied</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We isolated all the tested organisms in the water and sediment samples collected from this river. We found that the number of bacteria isolated before the water passed through informal settlements was lower compared to the number when the river had passed through the settlement. This was because of the lack of toilets in the settlement, forcing the communities to use the river as a toilet. We also found higher numbers of bacteria when the river received wastewater from the sewage treatment facilities. This shows that the treatment plant was discharging poorly treated water containing faeces in the river.</p>
<h2>Getting sick is almost guaranteed</h2>
<p>The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that there should be <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/dwq/2edvol3a.pdf">zero</a> <em>E. coli</em> in water meant for drinking. But we found up to 1 million <em>E. coli</em> cells in 100ml of water collected downstream for the informal settlement and sewage treatment facility sites. According to the mathematical model, someone who ingested as little as 1ml of untreated water had almost a 100% chance of getting sick during the rainy season – leading to school absences and missed days of work. </p>
<p>People living in informal settlements and rural areas need to be made aware of the negative impact of open defecation, especially directly into rivers. Where there is no alternative water source, they should be advised to treat the water, for example by boiling it before use.</p>
<p>Governments need to ensure that people living in rural communities and informal settlements have access to toilets and clean water. This can be done by building community toilets or providing them with <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/disaster-medicine-and-public-health-preparedness/article/waterless-portable-private-toilet-an-innovative-sanitation-solution-in-disaster-zones/365904320A86CB239EDB3DEDA44D89C6">mobile toilets</a>, where construction may not be possible. Governments also need to ensure that sewage treatment facilities, where available, are functioning correctly to avoid the discharge of poorly treated water containing harmful bacteria and faeces into rivers.</p>
<p>The Department of Water and Sanitation of South Africa must also ensure that wastewater treatment plants adhere strictly to Section 39 of the National Water Act, 1998, <a href="https://www.wqms.co.za/infopages/236">which provides guidance</a> for quality and management of wastewater.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150551/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Akebe Luther King Abia is affiliated to the Aspen Institute through the Aspen New Voices Fellowship. He is also a member of the Antimicrobial Research Unit, University of KwaZulu-Natal. This work was funded by the Water Research Commission of South Africa, and was part of a larger project on the dynamics and health implications of microbial pathogens in South African water resource sediments under changing climates</span></em></p>Water at informal settlements, where sanitation and waste management facilities were absent, had high bacteria levels.Akebe Luther King Abia, Research Scientist, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1505402020-11-24T05:36:57Z2020-11-24T05:36:57ZWe should talk more about toilets<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/370951/original/file-20201124-17-j4xabd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">We need a toilet design solution that suits local people's needs.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/gender-88808/">Hafidz Alifuddin/Pexels.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The United Nations (UN) designated 19 November as <a href="https://www.un.org/en/observances/toilet-day">World Toilet Day</a> to raise awareness that <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/jmp-report-2019/en/">4.2 billion</a> people live without access to safe sanitation, including in Indonesia.</p>
<p>In Indonesia, around <a href="https://www.unicef.org/indonesia/water-sanitation-and-hygiene">25 million people</a> do not use the toilet when defecating. <a href="https://www.usaid.gov/actingonthecall/stories/indonesia-wash">One in three people</a> does not have access to flush toilets, latrines, or septic systems. Instead, they defecate in fields, bushes, forests, ditches, roads, canals, or other open spaces.</p>
<p>Research shows that poor sanitation <a href="https://www.ajtmh.org/content/journals/10.4269/ajtmh.18-0063">threatens children’s health, causing diarrhoea in Bandung, Indonesia</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpara.2016.07.005">infection with giardiasis</a> (digestive disorders due to parasitic infections in the small intestine) in Timor Leste.</p>
<p>Also, previous research in <a href="https://magdalene.co/story/poor-sanitary-and-hygiene-condition-at-schools-affect-female-students">Jakarta, East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara</a> shows that <a href="https://www.smeru.or.id/en/content/menstrual-hygiene-management-mhm-case-study-primary-and-junior-high-school-students">inadequate toilet facilities</a> and school infrastructure cause female students to change sanitary pads during menstruation rarely. Consequently, they are at risk of experiencing reproductive health problems. Some do not continue their studies.</p>
<h2>Health communication for toilet campaign</h2>
<p>Clean water and sanitation for all, which includes access to sanitary toilets, are part of the <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/water-and-sanitation/">Sustainable Development Goals</a>.</p>
<p>Communication plays a vital role in changing the views and behaviour of individuals and communities who do not have or use toilets. But, campaigns on the importance of healthy toilets are lacking in Indonesia. </p>
<p>UNICEF provides a communication program campaign guide on sanitation using <a href="https://www.unicef.org/wash/%20files%20/%20com_e.pdf">the (ACADA: Assessment, Communication Analysis, Design, and Action)</a> model. Governments and non-governmental organisations can combine this model with the principle of health and risk communication involving <a href="https://www.who.int/risk-communication/training/Module-B5.pdf">community engagement</a>.</p>
<p>Governments and non-governmental organisations that hope to succeed in implementing sanitation programs need to understand the role of customs, beliefs, and community participation in constructing toilet facilities.</p>
<p>There is a myth developed in some areas, for example, <a href="https://ejournal.undip.ac.id/index.php/presapor/article/view/20782/14083">there should be no holes in the village</a>, so there are no toilets or WC in the village.</p>
<p>Therefore, program managers need to involve the community in creating a communication strategy before carrying out a campaign. Toilet health and sanitation promotion programs must avoid <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/dech.12075">shaming</a> local culture.</p>
<p>Communication between program managers and local communities can provide good opportunities in the toilet prototyping process from the beginning of the design process. Involving the local community in visualising toilet design has been successful in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/095624780301500202">public toilets in Pune and Mumbai, India</a>.</p>
<p>About 600 million people in India do not use toilets. To solve this problem, <a href="https://www.sparkarchitects.com/world-toilet-day-spark-is-working-with-an-indian-university-to-deliver-an-easily-transportable-3d-printed-toilet/">India</a> built <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2018/11/21/big-arse-toilet-spark-architects-3d-printed-generates-electricity/">3D printed toilets</a> for local people.</p>
<p>For Indonesia, we need a toilet design solution that suits local people’s needs.</p>
<h2>Overcome obstacles</h2>
<p>To involve communities to create communication channels sensitive to local cultures and languages, program managers can use the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9112096/">Health Belief Model</a> (HBM) theory.</p>
<p>Based on HBM, two main things influence whether a person will adopt certain behaviours to protect his/her health.</p>
<p>First, they must personally feel vulnerable to the disease, so they should perceive that they are at risk. Second, the person must believe that the recommended measures will be effective in reducing the risks and the benefits outweigh the <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9112096/">costs of contracting the disease</a>.</p>
<p>This model also identifies psychological, structural, or financial barriers that influence health behaviour. For example, HBM will help program managers identify <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/108107398127157">what attitudes, lack of access or resources</a> that stop a family from building a toilet at home.</p>
<p>In <a href="https://www.unicef.org/wash/files/Soap_Stories_and_Toilet_Tales.pdf">Slaeng, Cambodia</a>, a village leader used these strategies and tactics to change the community’s behaviours using toilets. </p>
<h2>Toilet can protect our health</h2>
<p>Every day <a href="https://www.cnnindonesia.com/gaya-hidup/20181119120953-255-347634/krisis-toilet-yang-mengganggu-kehidup-manusia">14 thousand tons</a> of faeces pollute water bodies in Indonesia.</p>
<p>This is caused by overflows and leaks from pipes and septic systems, improper disposal and handling cause untreated human waste to contaminate the environment as well as inadequate toilets and the behaviour of people who practice open defecation.</p>
<p>Increasing access to sanitation facilities and toilets can reduce infection and death rates, especially in <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0106738">maternal and child health</a>.</p>
<p>Also, hygienic bathrooms and toilets with clean running water, sinks, and soap can help women and <a href="https://www.hindawi.com/journals/jeph/2018/1730964/">girls through menstruation</a> safely and healthily.</p>
<h2>Toilet and sustainable sanitation</h2>
<p>The effects of climate change also threaten water infrastructure, sanitation, and hygiene. When floodwater <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/11/what-do-toilets-have-to-do-with-climate-%20change%20/">contaminate wells used for drinking water or damage toilets</a>, human waste can spread to the community and food plants.</p>
<p>We need <a href="https://orsociety.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1057/s41275-017-0062-x">sustainable sanitation</a> that’s resistant to external shocks such as flooding, water shortages, and sea-level rise.</p>
<p>Approximately <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378377413002163?via%3Dihub">80% of the community’s waste-water</a> flows back into the ecosystem without being treated or reused. Sustainable sanitation systems capture, transport, treat, dispose, and safely reuse human waste.</p>
<p>Managing human waste through safe and environmentally friendly toilets is the key to reducing the impact of untreated waste-water.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/150540/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Juhri Selamet tidak bekerja, menjadi konsultan, memiliki saham, atau menerima dana dari perusahaan atau organisasi mana pun yang akan mengambil untung dari artikel ini, dan telah mengungkapkan bahwa ia tidak memiliki afiliasi selain yang telah disebut di atas.</span></em></p>Communication between programmers and local communities can provide good opportunities in the toilet prototyping process from the beginning of the design process.Juhri Selamet, Lecturer, Universitas Multimedia NusantaraLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1488772020-11-06T14:30:47Z2020-11-06T14:30:47ZWe found a way to turn urine into solid fertiliser – it could make farming more sustainable<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367925/original/file-20201106-23-1uqu5iu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C3865%2C2575&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/gardener-blending-organic-fertiliser-humic-granules-1364887628">Zlikovec/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s likely that most of the food you’ll eat today was not farmed sustainably. </p>
<p>The global system of food production is the largest human influence on the planet’s <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/347/6223/1259855.abstract">natural cycles</a> of nitrogen and phosphorus. How much crops can grow is limited by the amount of these two elements in the soil, so they’re applied as fertilisers. </p>
<p>But the majority of fertilisers are either made by converting nitrogen in the air to ammonia, which alone consumes <a href="http://www.iipinetwork.org/wp-content/Ietd/content/ammonia.html#key-data">2% of the world’s energy</a> and relies heavily on fossil fuels, or by mining finite resources, like <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S095937800800099X">phosphate rock</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://doi.org/10.2166/9781780401072">A solution</a> to this problem could be much closer than people realise. Most of the nutrients we consume in food are passed in our urine, because our bodies already have enough. But instead of being recaptured, these nutrients are flushed, diluted, and sent to wastewater treatment plants where they’re scrubbed out, leaving effluents that can be safely released into the environment. </p>
<p>The most nutrient-rich part of wastewater is <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960852409002806">human urine</a>, which makes up less than 1% of the total volume but contains 80% of the nitrogen and 50% of the phosphorus. We discovered how to recycle this urine into valuable – and sustainable – farmland fertiliser.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A pair of gloved hands hold a pot containing a urine sample." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367922/original/file-20201106-13-8ngh5x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urine is surprisingly rich in the nutrients needed for growing food.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/preparation-urine-samples-laboratory-hospital-study-1257550750">Tati9/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>How to recycle urine</h2>
<p>You can capture urine with <a href="https://www.treehugger.com/urine-separating-toilets-are-not-quite-wonderful-we-keep-saying-they-are-4858530">special toilets</a> that separate it from faeces after you flush. But because urine is mostly water, farmers would have to spread 15,000kg of it just to fertilise a hectare of land. If there was a way to remove the water and extract just the nutrients, farmers would only need to apply 400kg of it for the same effect.</p>
<p>Evaporating the water from urine is surprisingly difficult, as urine is a complex chemical solution. Almost all of the valuable nitrogen in urine is in the form of urea, a chemical that is used as the world’s <a href="http://nmsp.cals.cornell.edu/publications/factsheets/factsheet80.pdf">most commonly applied</a> nitrogen fertiliser. </p>
<p>But a fast-acting enzyme called urease is invariably present inside wastewater pipes and <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135418304457">converts urea to ammonia</a>. When exposed to air, the ammonia quickly evaporates, taking the nitrogen from the urine with it and giving off a very pungent odour – think the stale urine smell of public toilets. </p>
<p>Fortunately, we’ve discovered that <a href="https://iwaponline.com/wst/article-abstract/74/6/1436/19385">increasing the pH of urine</a> to make it alkaline ensures the urea doesn’t break down or end up smelling really bad. Using this technique, we’ve developed a process that can reduce the volume of urine and transform it into a solid fertiliser. We call this process <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978044464309400009X">alkaline urine dehydration</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A petri dish full of a dry, soil-like powder." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=326&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366976/original/file-20201102-23-17rt15y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=410&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Some of the fertiliser produced by drying human urine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Prithvi Simha</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The idea behind it is rather simple. Fresh urine is collected from urinals or <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352710219308460">specially designed toilets</a> and channelled into a dryer, where an alkalising agent, such as <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720328308">calcium or magnesium hydroxide</a>, raises its pH. Any water in the now alkaline urine is evaporated and only the nutrients are left behind. We can even <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2020.570637/full">condense the evaporated water</a> and reuse it for flushing toilets or washing hands. </p>
<h2>A circular pee-conomy</h2>
<p>Doing this is quite easy: you just fill a urine dryer with an alkalising agent, connect it to your toilet, pee as usual and the urine is converted into dried fertiliser. A smart design could even make the dryer fit below the toilet so it doesn’t take up a lot of bathroom space. While electricity would be needed for evaporating the water, the dryer could be <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969717302796">coupled with solar energy</a> to take its energy use off the grid.</p>
<p>We estimate that it would cost just US$5 (£4.20) to supply an average family of four with a year’s supply of alkalising agent. The output from the dryer is a solid fertiliser containing 10% nitrogen, 1% phosphorus and 4% potassium – a similar combination to <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139313">blended mineral fertilisers</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Left: a scientist spreads fertiliser on soil. Right: the same area with short, green crops growing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=226&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/367238/original/file-20201103-15-qoz66f.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=283&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Field trials on farmland outside Paris revealed that dried urine works as well as synthetic crop fertilisers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tristan Martin</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.baus.org.uk/museum/164/a_brief_history_of_the_flush_toilet">The first flush toilet</a>, invented by Alexander Cummings in 1775, revolutionised sanitation. Drying urine could kickstart a second revolution in how we manage wastewater. If implemented worldwide, recycled urine could replace nearly a quarter of all the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used in agriculture. </p>
<p>But that would require <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B978044464309400009X">a service chain</a> capable of supplying homes with alkalising agent, collecting the dried urine and processing it into fertiliser for farmers to use. A similar service chain already exists for the recycling of plastics, metals, paper and glass – dried urine could simply be another component. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A world map highlighted to show where urine could replace more synthetic fertiliser use." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=296&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/366972/original/file-20201102-19-nvrah4.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=372&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Countries with large populations and low rates of fertiliser use are most suitable for replacing synthetic fertilisers with urine.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Prithvi Simha/Datawrapper and FAOSTAT</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896971730044X">Research</a> suggests that people are <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0043135418305384">open to the idea</a> of recycling urine. A survey of nearly 3,800 people across 16 countries even revealed that people would buy and eat <a href="https://data.mendeley.com/datasets/kccc8m9pn9/1">food grown using human urine</a>. With technology like this, ordinary people would have a safe and convenient way to make modern life more sustainable every time they go to the bathroom.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/148877/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Prithvi Simha owns shares in Sanitation360, a company which aims to commercialise urine dehydration technology.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Björn Vinnerås owns shares in Sanitation360 AB. He receives funding from the Swedish Research Council Vetenskapsrådet, Formas, VINNOVA (the Swedish Innovation agency), and the EU H2020 projects Run4Life and REWAISE. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span> Jenna Senecal is CEO of Sanitation360, a company which aims to commercialise urine dehydration technology.</span></em></p>If rolled out worldwide, our method could replace a quarter of all the synthetic nitrogen fertiliser used in agriculture.Prithvi Simha, PhD Candidate in Environmental Engineering, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesBjörn Vinnerås, Professor of Environmental Engineering, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesJenna Senecal, Postdoctoral Researcher in Environmental Engineering, Swedish University of Agricultural SciencesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1396372020-06-05T12:07:47Z2020-06-05T12:07:47ZWhat goes into the toilet doesn’t always stay there, and other coronavirus risks in public bathrooms<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/340074/original/file-20200605-176575-1vkew9v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=11%2C27%2C2570%2C1687&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Public restrooms aren't known for cleanliness to begin with.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/ladies-public-bathroom-victorian-style-royalty-free-image/995263736">Jax10289/istock via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most public restrooms are grungy in the best of times. Now, we have the coronavirus risk to contend with, too. There are lots of risks – dirty sinks and door handles, airborne particles and other people in small, enclosed spaces who may or may not be breathing out the coronavirus.</p>
<p>So, how do you stay safe when you’re away from home and you’ve really got to go?</p>
<p>As a medical doctor and epidemiologist, I study infectious diseases involving the gastrointestinal tract. Here are four things to pay attention to when it comes to any public restroom.</p>
<h2>What goes into the toilet doesn’t always stay there</h2>
<p>Have you ever thought about what happens when you flush a toilet?</p>
<p>Scientists who worry about disease transmission in hospitals have, and their findings are worth remembering when you’re in a public restroom.</p>
<p>All that bubbling, swirling and splashing <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02786826.2013.814911">can aerosolize fecal waste</a>, sending tiny particles airborne. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s13756-018-0301-9">study on hospital bathrooms</a> found that the amount of those particles spiked after a toilet was flushed, and the concentration in the air remained high 30 minutes later. It didn’t matter if the test was done right next to the toilet or 3 feet away. Second and third flushes continued to spread particles. Another study, published June 16, simulated toilet plumes from flushing and also found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0013318">a large number of particles rose above the toilet seat</a> and lingered in the air. The scientists’ advice: close the lid before flushing.</p>
<p>Researchers have found that the new coronavirus, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30083-2">SARS-CoV-2, can be shed in feces for up to a month</a> after the illness. That’s longer than in respiratory samples, though how much of that time the virus could be causing infections and whether the virus has infected humans through fecal waste <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/faq.html">isn’t yet known</a>.</p>
<h2>Surfaces can harbor the virus, so wash up</h2>
<p>The aerosols generated when <a href="https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2006874117">someone infected with coronavirus coughs or even talks</a> can be inhaled, of course, but they also settle out on surrounding surfaces, such as bathroom counter tops.</p>
<p>To stay safe, be extra careful and touch as little as possible in public restrooms, including door handles. Whatever you do, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/02/well/live/coronavirus-spread-transmission-face-touching-hands.html">don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth</a> after touching these surfaces – your mucous membranes are the coronavirus’s entryway into your body.</p>
<p>When you’re done, <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-hand-washing-really-is-as-important-as-doctors-say-132840">thoroughly wash your hands with soap and water</a>, and maybe <a href="http://doi.org/10.1111/jam.13014">skip the hot-air hand dryer</a>, which can also create aerosols and blow them toward you.</p>
<p>Carrying face masks, hand sanitizer and disinfectant wipes with you can help you be prepared, particularly if the facilities lack soap or running water.</p>
<h2>Enclosed spaces are a problem</h2>
<p>The air in an enclosed space like a public restroom can have <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30245-9">coronavirus particles in it for several hours</a> after someone infectious with COVID-19 was there.</p>
<p>Scientists still don’t know how <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-we-do-and-do-not-know-about-covid-19s-infectious-dose-and-viral-load-135991">much of the virus you have to take in</a> to become infected, but it’s better to be safe than sorry. Limiting the amount of time spent in any enclosed indoor space – restrooms and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-to-lower-your-coronavirus-risk-while-eating-out-restaurant-advice-from-an-infectious-disease-expert-138925">restaurants</a> included – can reduce the potential for getting sick from the coronavirus.</p>
<h2>Wear a mask, and walk out if others aren’t</h2>
<p>One of the more insidious characteristics of the new coronavirus is that someone infected with the virus can be spreading it <a href="https://www.nap.edu/read/25774/chapter/1#3">two to three days before they show any symptoms</a>. Some people don’t show symptoms at all, but they can still be infectious for days.</p>
<p>Based on surveillance during the Princess cruise ship outbreak in Yokohama, Japan, <a href="http://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.10.2000180">15 to 20% of the people tested positive</a> for the coronavirus had no symptoms. <a href="http://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.10182">Data from Wuhan, China</a>, put the number of asymptomatic cases at closer to 40%.</p>
<p>Keeping <a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/infdis/jiaa189">at least 6 feet away from others</a> and wearing a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-020-0843-2">mask can help you avoid spreading the coronavirus</a> if you’re asymptomatic and don’t realize it. They can also help protect you, though social distancing in small public restrooms isn’t always possible.</p>
<p>If someone else is in the restroom without a mask on, the best advice is to walk out. It isn’t worth the risk. </p>
<p><em>This article was updated June 16 with new research on toilet plumes.</em></p>
<p>[<em>Get facts about coronavirus and the latest research.</em> <a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=upper-coronavirus-facts">Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter.</a>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139637/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>William Petri receives funding from the NIH and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.</span></em></p>Public restrooms can be scary when it comes to coronavirus, and they get scarier when you look at how the virus spreads. A doctor explains how to stay safe when you’re traveling and really gotta go.William Petri, Professor of Medicine, University of VirginiaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1358452020-04-08T09:58:32Z2020-04-08T09:58:32ZCoronavirus: people in tall buildings may be more at risk – here’s how to stay safe<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326091/original/file-20200407-182957-8slbff.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/_8bM_EqmFgM">Patrick Robert Doyle</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged health systems and public health authorities worldwide. When you have a rapidly spreading virus with a high transmission rate, you have to investigate all possible infection risks. </p>
<p>One area of risk that is yet to receive any attention is big buildings such as tower blocks or hospitals. While direct person-to-person transmission is still the most common means of acquiring the illness, our research suggests that occupants in tall buildings could become infected if defects occur in the plumbing system. It’s important for people to be aware of this and take steps to keep themselves safe. </p>
<p>Our work at the Institute for Sustainable Building Design at Heriot-Watt University stems from <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70863/WHO_CDS_CSR_GAR_2003.11_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">an outbreak</a> of the SARS virus in 2003 at an apartment block in Hong Kong, known as Amoy Gardens. In a building complex ranging from 33 to 41 storeys with some 19,000 residents, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21680682">there were</a> more than 300 confirmed cases and 42 deaths – <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC539564/">around one-sixth</a> of all SARS infections and fatalities on the island as a whole. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/70863/WHO_CDS_CSR_GAR_2003.11_eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y">World Health Organization (WHO) report</a> into the SARS pandemic suggested that defects in the wastewater plumbing at Amoy Gardens were the main cause of the outbreak. Where normally U-bends in sinks and toilets contain water that blocks airborne diseases from rising up from the sewer system, a large number of the U-bends in bathrooms at Amoy Gardens had been dry. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326093/original/file-20200407-182957-16m9ew4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Amoy Gardens, Hong Kong.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amoy_Gardens#/media/File:Amoy_gardens_2017.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The WHO report suggested that when people infected with SARS had diarrhoea in the toilets in the building, airborne “virus-laden droplets” could move via the sewer and plumbing network from one apartment to another. This airborne transmission route was aided by bathroom extraction fans which drew contaminated air into rooms. </p>
<h2>Our work</h2>
<p>On the back of this tragedy, our group has been investigating the cross-transmission of infections within buildings for nearly 20 years. Together with my co-researchers, David Kelly and Thomas Aspray, we <a href="https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0171556">published results</a> in 2017 from an experiment on a full-scale two-storey wastewater plumbing test rig. We used a model organism to represent pathogens flushed into the system, while putting in place the same sort of defective conditions as the Hong Kong block. </p>
<p>Sure enough, this showed that such organisms can be transmitted between rooms on different floors of a building through the airflow system that helps water to move around the plumbing. Not only were the organisms in the air in rooms, the droplets contaminated surfaces in these rooms and inside the system itself.</p>
<p>One significant factor that we identified in our paper, which was published in the PLoS One journal, was that all parts of big buildings are connected to the same wastewater plumbing system. When U-bends are dry, contaminated air can move freely in and out of the living space in question. Such buildings are also more prone to large pressure surges from overuse when lots of people are at home, which can force water out of U-bends and break their “seal”. This was partly the reason for the dry U-bends in Amoy Gardens. </p>
<p>In view of COVID-19, the implications are far-reaching. The virus can certainly spread through the air in tiny droplets. Diarrhoea may not be one of the headline symptoms, but <a href="https://www.health.com/condition/infectious-diseases/coronavirus/is-diarrhea-a-symptom-of-covid-19">it is</a> common <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/some-wuhan-coronavirus-patients-have-nausea-vomiting-diarrhea-2020-2?r=US&IR=T">enough</a>. </p>
<p>During lockdown, the U-bends in the plumbing in large buildings are particularly vulnerable to water seals being blown out from the added pressure of more people using these systems at the same time than usual – or, in the case of hospitals, from wards being at overcapacity. The same risks, incidentally, can come from the water in U-bends evaporating because of plumbing being underused – even in a lockdown there will be old sinks or bathroom floor drains in flats that don’t get used.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=395&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/326098/original/file-20200407-38112-1nybn7m.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=497&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Keeping U safe.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/close-on-black-abs-plastic-u-1183754734">VDB Photos</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As happened in Amoy Gardens, a high concentration of infected people with diarrhoea can contribute to a higher viral load in the system, which can further raise the risks of the disease spreading around the building. And the interconnectedness of such plumbing can even facilitate exposure between buildings that are close together – a particular concern in places with lots of infected people, such as hospitals and other healthcare-related buildings. </p>
<h2>Staying safe</h2>
<p>So what can be done about this? We recently <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(20)30112-1/fulltext">published an article</a> in Lancet Global Health that includes six suggestions for facilities managers and homeowners – particularly those in tall buildings – to ensure their systems are safe during lockdown:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Do not ignore unexplained foul smells in bathrooms, kitchens or washing areas.</p></li>
<li><p>Make sure all sinks and toilets have a functioning U-bend.</p></li>
<li><p>Pour water into all sinks and toilets for at least five seconds in the morning and evening, paying special attention to floor drains in bathrooms and wet rooms.</p></li>
<li><p>If the wastewater pipework from a toilet, sink or other household appliance appears to be disconnected or open, seal it immediately. Use a rubber glove to cover the end, or a plastic bag and some tape will suffice.</p></li>
<li><p>If there appears to be any crack or leak in pipework, seal it with strong tape. </p></li>
<li><p>Facilities managers should continually monitor the whole system performance of their buildings, looking out for things such as drainage problems or bad smells. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In the longer term, there is a real need for proper procedures to ensure that wastewater plumbing systems are designed with infection control in mind. For example, there are no specific codes for designing drainage systems for buildings of more than 50 levels. Many of the design approaches date back to mid-20th century and some have their origin in the Victorian era, when buildings were not as tall as today. These things need to be overhauled as a matter of high priority once the pandemic has passed.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/135845/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Gormley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Buildings with lots of occupants such as tower blocks and hospitals could be a hidden risk in the battle against COVID-19.Michael Gormley, Director, Water Academy, Heriot-Watt UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1329752020-03-04T19:12:13Z2020-03-04T19:12:13ZWhy are people stockpiling toilet paper? We asked four experts<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/318545/original/file-20200304-66069-jpjzp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C55%2C5307%2C3063&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>As coronavirus continues to spread <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/03/coronavirus-latest-at-a-glance-death-toll">around the world</a>, anxiety is rising in Australia. Shoppers fearful of quarantine measures have been stocking up on supplies to last out a week or two of isolation.</p>
<p>Recent days have seen reports of shortages of <a href="https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/health-problems/supermarket-shelves-stripped-of-hand-sanitiser-as-coronavirus-panic-sets-in/news-story/5c281d75c72afff8370996c77a95f7e0">hand sanitiser</a> and warnings that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/22/from-batteries-to-shutters-australian-firms-eye-potential-coronavirus-shortages">batteries and other electronic items</a> could be next. However, the surge in demand for one particular commodity has seen supermarket shelves stripped bare: toilet paper. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1235022693608513539"}"></div></p>
<p>It’s not just Australians. Shops in <a href="https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2020/02/29/national/toilet-paper-tissue-coronavirus/">Japan</a>, the <a href="https://mynorthwest.com/1741807/shoppers-hand-sanitizer-toilet-paper-coronavirus/">US</a> and <a href="https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/410658/crowds-rush-to-some-supermarkets-as-covid-19-enters-nz">New Zealand</a> have also run low on the precious sanitary rolls. In Hong Kong, ambitious thieves <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/53e2de26-5146-11ea-90ad-25e377c0ee1f">held up a supermarket</a> to steal a delivery. </p>
<p>But why toilet paper? The question has <a href="https://twitter.com/RabeeTourky/status/1226042219213180928">been in the air</a> for at least the past month, but it’s now become hard to avoid. We asked four experts for their thoughts.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/stocking-up-to-prepare-for-a-crisis-isnt-panic-buying-its-actually-a-pretty-rational-choice-132437">Stocking up to prepare for a crisis isn't 'panic buying'. It's actually a pretty rational choice</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p><strong>Niki Edwards, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>Toilet paper symbolises control. We use it to “tidy up” and “clean up”. It deals with a bodily function that is somewhat taboo. </p>
<p>When people hear about the coronavirus, they are afraid of losing control. And toilet paper feels like a way to maintain control over hygiene and cleanliness.</p>
<p>People don’t seem interested in substitutes. Supermarket shelves are still full of other paper towels and tissues. </p>
<p>The media has a lot to answer for in regards to messages around this virus and messages to the public. While honesty about threats is critical, building hysteria and promoting inappropriate behaviours is far from ideal.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><strong>Brian Cook, Community Engagement for Disaster Risk Reduction project, University of Melbourne:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>It’s an interesting question. My suspicion is that it is to do with how people react to stress: they want an element of comfort and security. For many Westerners there is a “yuck factor” associated with non-toilet paper cleaning. </p>
<p>I expect there is also a pragmatic element. Toilet paper is a product that takes a lot of space, and is therefore not something people have a lot of under normal circumstances. </p>
<p>A lot of people likely also use toilet paper as a tissue, and therefore imagine themselves needing a lot if they have the flu or a flu-like illness. </p>
<p>Stocking up on toilet paper is also a relatively cheap action, and people like to think that they are “doing something” when they feel at risk.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/high-tech-shortages-loom-as-coronavirus-shutdowns-hit-manufacturers-131646">High-tech shortages loom as coronavirus shutdowns hit manufacturers</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<hr>
<p><strong>David Savage, Newcastle Business School, University of Newcastle:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think it is the perfect product. It is completely non-perishable and one of the few products that you can stock up on that you are guaranteed to use eventually. </p>
<p>I don’t know for certain but I suspect that most people only buy toilet paper when they just about run out, which could be a problem if you need to stay isolated for two weeks. </p>
<p>So I think this is just a preparation process, because we have seen that toilet paper has become a shortage item elsewhere.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p><strong>Alex Russell, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University:</strong></p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are a few factors at play here. People aren’t only stockpiling toilet paper. All sorts of items are sold out, like face masks and hand sanitiser. Things like canned goods and other non-perishable foods are also selling well. </p>
<p>People are scared, and they’re bunkering down. They’re buying what they need and one of the items is toilet paper. </p>
<p>I think we’re noticing the toilet paper more than the other things because toilet paper packs are big items that take up a lot of shelf space. Seeing a small product sold out at the supermarket (such as hand sanitiser) is not that unusual, and it’s only a small hole in the shelf that is often temporarily filled with nearby products. </p>
<p>But if the toilet paper is gone, that’s a massive amount of shelf space that can’t readily be replaced with other things nearby.</p>
<p>A second reason we might be noticing it more is because there aren’t easy substitutions. If the supermarket is out of a particular ingredient for dinner, you can just get something else, or an entirely different dinner. </p>
<p>But if there’s not a roll of toilet paper, then that’s pretty frustrating for everyone. Sure, tissues or paper towels, but it’s not quite the same, is it?</p>
</blockquote><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/132975/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Why toilet paper? Concerns about control and hygiene are the likely reason, according to expertsMichael Lucy, Science EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1274842020-01-30T13:19:04Z2020-01-30T13:19:04ZToilet graffiti: secrets, support and solidarity in the women’s restroom<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/312911/original/file-20200130-41495-f92wwe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C6000%2C4500&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The graffiti in the men's toilets tends to be more competitive while in the women's it is more supportive</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-illustration/toilet-doors-male-female-genders-187919645">Kostsov/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Communicating has never been so easy; we can to send messages and texts to friends and strangers in an instant from a variety of platforms. You would think this would affect the world of bathroom scrawling, but people are still driven to those grubby walls to document their exploits, spill their secrets and carry on covert conversations. The art of toilet graffiti or <a href="https://digitalassets.lib.berkeley.edu/anthpubs/ucb/text/kas034-010.pdf">latrinalia</a> is certainly not dead. </p>
<p>While using the toilet is a private activity, writing in stalls is a social act. It’s a unique form of silent conversation intended for <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148068580922605">same-sex audiences</a>. As such, the words and pictures on bathroom walls can provide a unique window into the differences in communication patterns between the sexes. And, as I found out through my <a href="https://www.napier.ac.uk/research-and-innovation/research-search/outputs/english-its-role-as-the-language-of-comity-in-an-employment-programme-for-canadian">ongoing exploratory study</a>, graffiti can tell us just how important toilet walls can be as supportive spaces for women.</p>
<p>Given the sex-segregated nature of restrooms, most studies highlight the differences in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcthree/article/0694ce0c-2b2e-46c7-a09d-53e238662e03">latrinalia</a> in men’s and ladies’ rooms. It is suggested that men’s bathroom have more graffiti portraying <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF00302846">sexual acts</a> and sexual organs, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0261927X03255380">homosexuality</a>, politics, and insults. Not only are they allegedly more aggressive, competitive, and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00224545.1982.9713445">negative</a>, they tended to be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2014.991705">less tolerant</a> of opposing views. </p>
<p>On the other hand, women’s restroom graffiti is said to contain fewer writings on sex or sexual acts, with more themes of personal relationship, religion and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0261927X03255380">philosophy</a>. They are more <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0261927X03255380">positive</a>, more supportive, cooperative and open towards opposing points of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2014.991705">view</a>. They are also more <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1537-4726.2004.00118.x">conversational</a>, with thoughtful replies to posts and requests for <a href="https://www.academia.edu/29898528/Gender_differences_in_graffiti_A_semiotic_perspective">advice</a>. </p>
<p>That women use the restroom walls to create a space for solidarity and <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2014.991705">community</a> has been noted by researchers. This makes sense when we consider that women “<a href="https://archive.macleans.ca/issue/19960219#!&pid=12">socialise</a>” in toilets even just to ask each other’s opinion about hair or makeup.</p>
<h2>Safe secrets in the ladies’</h2>
<p>I collected photos of toilet stall graffiti over seven months from a men’s and a women’s restroom at a Scottish university. The toilets are located in the students’ computing centre. What I found was partly confirmed in previous studies. The women outwrote the men; their graffiti was generally relationship-oriented and supportive. </p>
<p>There was a dearth of graffiti in the men’s toilet except for a few taggings. I counted more than 120 inscriptions in the ladies’ toilet and less than five in the men’s. In the men’s they were declarative sentences or directives, which did not invite conversation. One stall did contain an interactive piece that asked visitors to “rate your shit”. It was responded to with a myriad of insults, expletives and a sense of competitiveness about their faeces. This is why I decided to focus on the women’s restroom. </p>
<p>Of the five stalls in the women’s toilet, graffiti was initially concentrated in the one closest to the door. The two most popular conversations were about “coming out” and depression/stress:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304513/original/file-20191130-156077-1rzdfkl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">/</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304514/original/file-20191130-156108-15a32pc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>There were other replies to the “coming out” post:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Is there somehow we could meet and talk to you. I’ve the same problem</p>
<p>♡ I’m out to like 3 people in my fam. I’m here for this group</p>
<p>Same … don’t know how “to do it”</p>
<p>The perfect time wouldn’t come on its own. You have to make the moment perfect.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The second most common theme was that of advice giving or asking about depression and stress:</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304516/original/file-20191130-156090-1x2a2wk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Other posts in the women’s stall concern weight loss, favourite songs, feelings about the university, politics and instructions on bodily functions.</p>
<h2>Sacred space in the stalls</h2>
<p>An unexpected finding that has not been discussed in previous studies is just how <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15427587.2018.1446141">sacred these spaces</a> can be for women. When the graffiti wall was painted over at the start of the term, there was a backlash from the women. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304517/original/file-20191130-156086-eh9mbz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After several defiant posts about “losing” their wall, the women quickly “reconstructed” it with a barrage of posts such as “viva la wall” and “can’t wait for this to be filled up again”. Weeks later, when they ran out of writing space, a “wall of support volume 2” was erected in another stall in the same toilet, this time the one farthest from the entrance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/304518/original/file-20191130-156116-2kpzf6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wall of support.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Quickly, this “wall of support vol 2” filled up with encouraging and motivational inscriptions such as “wishing everyone love and support throughout uni”, “hang in there”, and “I’m honoured to say I’ve shared a toilet with you lovely ladies”. </p>
<p>While other studies have suggested that women use toilet graffiti to build <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0966369X.2014.991705">solidarity</a>, this exploratory study provides evidence of how this social space is constructed.</p>
<p>This <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/358665?seq=1">safe space</a> does not seem to easily reveal itself but unfolds over time as people engage with it. Indeed, if universities are to be more responsive to the unexpressed needs of their students that might be <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15427587.2018.1446141">socially unpopular</a> they might want to check the loo for secrets. Then again, this might threaten the safety and sacredness the space offers.</p>
<p>Toilet graffiti merits academic study as a form of hybrid communication – intimate, solitary and yet social; defiant in its vandalism and yet sacred to those who engage in it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127484/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mabel Victoria does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>From crude drawing to advice and support, the scrawlings on toilet walls reveal differing communication patterns between the sexesMabel Victoria, Lecturer, Tourism and Languages, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1302752020-01-27T10:56:16Z2020-01-27T10:56:16ZCompanies target toilet breaks to improve productivity – it’s wrong and it won’t work<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311652/original/file-20200123-162190-1tpur7l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Don't take too long.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/toilet-sign-direction-on-wood-wall-97036877">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Productivity growth in the UK has <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-49971853">stalled since 2008</a>. The puzzle has become so tricky that toilet makers are getting in on the act of suggesting solutions. The company StandardToilet has designed a tilted toilet, whose seat slopes downward at a 13 degree angle. Its goal is to stop users lingering too long on the lav. After about five minutes, sitting on a tilted toilet will put a strain on users’ legs, said to be similar to a “low level squat thrust”. </p>
<p>The idea is it would <a href="https://www.wired.co.uk/article/battle-toilet-workplace">save employers money</a> because, according to <a href="http://www.btaloos.co.uk/?p=2134">the company’s press release</a>, “extended employee breaks cost industry and commerce an estimated £4 billion per annum” in the UK.</p>
<p>An uncharitable commentator might question where the company pulled this (unsubstantiated) figure from. But a steady stream of news articles suggests that employers around the world are indeed clamping down on toilet breaks in a bid to improve productivity. A <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2014/07/15/smallbusiness/bathroom-time-penalty/index.html">Chicago-based firm hit the news</a> when a union filed a complaint against it for “bathroom harassment”. The firm, which had introduced swipe cards to monitor toilet use, advised that employees should spend no more than six minutes on the loo per day and even gave gift cards to workers who didn’t use the toilet at all during work time. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, in Scotland, <a href="https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/peed-call-centre-workers-slam-13851914">call centre staff were asked to sign a new contract</a> limiting toilet breaks to 1% of their shift – just two minutes for those working a four-hour part-time day. In Norway one company required female employees to <a href="https://ic.steadyhealth.com/red-bracelet-for-menstruating-employees">wear red bracelets while menstruating</a>, to show they were allowed to visit the toilet more often.</p>
<h2>Toilet talk</h2>
<p>Time away from the desk or production line may not be an employer’s only concern when it comes to toilet use. As studies on workplaces as diverse as <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1468-2338.1996.tb00763.x">Japanese-owned car firms in the UK</a> and <a href="https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/5464980">textile factories in Kenya</a> have found, toilets are also places where workers express anti-company sentiment, share advice and even covertly organise.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0023656X.2019.1624699">study of Italian factories in the post-war period</a> – an era of union suppression – found that toilets became a focal point for resistance. As one of the few places in a factory that wasn’t monitored, toilets were used as a meeting point as well as a place where anti-company feelings could be more freely expressed and union literature shared. </p>
<p>In one case, a female worker found graffiti accusing the factory boss of being an “idiot and a buffoon” inscribed on a toilet door. Perhaps scared that she would be accused of writing it, she reported the infraction to management. The door was removed and, to root out the culprit, all workers were forced to write out the phrase in front of a handwriting expert. The guilty party was found and relieved of their position – but, as researcher Ilaria Favretto points out, at least they got to see every worker in the factory repeat the insult.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/311815/original/file-20200124-81357-1oiojj7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Toilets are one of the few places people aren’t monitored at work.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/cctv-system-security-warehouse-factory-chemical-310270736">By jtairat/Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One thing stands out in all these examples: it’s lower paid, more precarious workers who are more likely to have their workplace activities – and toilet breaks – more tightly controlled and monitored. Writing about workplace surveillance technologies, economist Joelle Gamble points out that as employers collect more data on their workers, <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/worker-surveillance-big-data/">they increase their power over them</a>. In some cases, workers’ wages are directly affected. Companies using <a href="http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/8/just-in-time-schedulingshiftswalmartlowwage.html">just-in-time scheduling technologies</a> have been cancelling workers’ shifts at short notice when sales are down.</p>
<h2>Critically panned</h2>
<p>But is this drive for ever more rigid control of workers’ (bowel) movements actually good for productivity? A <a href="https://www.thersa.org/globalassets/reports/2020/can-good-work-solve-the-productivity-puzzle.pdf">new collection of essays published by Carnegie Trust and the RSA think tank</a> suggests not. Instead, it makes a strong case that good quality work is the key to improving productivity, especially at the bottom end of the labour market, where job quality is poorest. Instead of trying to optimise every minute of their workforce’s time, employers might be better off improving working life.</p>
<p>Rather than punitive measures, several of the essays argue that giving workers voice and agency is crucial in increasing productivity. New workplace technologies are more likely to be successful when workers feel involved in decision making. A report by the Living Wage Foundation makes similar points. Focusing on the retail sector, it argues that <a href="https://www.livingwage.org.uk/sites/default/files/Living%20Wage%20Foundation%20-%20Good%20Jobs%20ToolKit_1_0.pdf">standardising tasks while empowering staff to use their discretion</a> is important in improving productivity and profits. This helps improve staff retention and motivation, among other benefits. </p>
<p>As colleagues’ and my own work at Nesta argues, in a knowledge-driven economy, <a href="https://www.nesta.org.uk/report/imagination-unleashed/">the most successful firms are constantly innovating</a>. We need to spread the practices that these firms use – collaboration, decentralisation, autonomous teams – if we want a step-change in productivity.</p>
<p>So the next time someone tries to sell you a productivity-enhancing toilet, don’t just take it sitting down.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/130275/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Madeleine Gabriel does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Tilting toilets are the latest suggestion to limit time spent on the loo at work.Madeleine Gabriel, Head of Inclusive Innovation, NestaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1271402019-11-19T13:49:11Z2019-11-19T13:49:11ZA global ‘toilet revolution’ is underway – but it’s polluting water and ignoring the urban poor<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302380/original/file-20191119-111663-14w10mc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=439%2C0%2C3938%2C2034&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Shanghai from above (left) and on the ground (right) – a public toilet in a market hall.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deljana Iossifova</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Don’t take toilets for granted. Their connection to a managed sewage disposal system <a href="https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/washandnutrition-5-key-facts.pdf?ua=1">protects</a> you from diseases and infections that can stunt your growth, harm your nutrition and even kill you. </p>
<p>For some <a href="https://www.unwater.org/world-toilet-day-2019-leaving-no-one-behind/">670 million people</a>, this basic service is not provided. In rapidly growing cities in low and middle income countries, expensive serviced residential areas <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02723638.2014.961365">stand alongside</a> makeshift settlements, whose poorer residents lack access to sanitation and suffer from preventable diseases and infections. In India, for instance, <a href="https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/254999/9789241512190-eng.pdf">more than seven children per 10,000 residents die from diarrhoea</a> resulting from lack of sanitation.</p>
<p>To address this, some governments have announced national drives to clean up their cities. But many cities are resorting to quick fixes that are polluting water sources and leaving countless urban communities by the wayside.</p>
<p>Take India. In 2014, its government announced a highly publicised <a href="http://swachhbharatmission.gov.in/sbmcms/index.htm">mission to “Clean India”</a>. Under this mission, the government surveys and ranks cities according to their cleanliness, and hands <a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/swachh-survekshan-awards-2019-indore-judged-cleanest-city-india-third-time-row/story/325143.html">prestigious awards to those ranking highest</a>. The mission’s main aim was to rid the country of open defecation, makeshift toilets and open sewers by October 2019.</p>
<p>This was music to the ears of residents of Siddharth Nagar, an informal settlement in Mumbai. Its 650 migrant families live in self-built shelters without access to functioning toilets.</p>
<p>For many years, they had to resort to <a href="https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/how-open-defecation-affect-human-health-environment-and-solutions.php">open defecation</a> – that is, going to the “toilet” outside in the open environment rather than using dedicated and safely managed facilities. Open defecation is not considered safe because it exposes people to contact with faeces and, in the case of more vulnerable populations, <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/open-defecation-india_b_7898834?">potential attackers</a>. </p>
<p>Eventually, residents were able to pool their resources and construct six makeshift toilets for the community. The waste from the toilets was directed straight into an adjacent stream, which took it to the sea. In many cases, water from streams and rivers is used for washing, cooking and drinking, so flushing untreated sludge – potentially containing dangerous viruses, bacteria and parasite cysts – can cause serious problems downstream.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=434&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302382/original/file-20191119-111655-12yt4zz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=545&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Self-constructed toilets in Siddharth Nagar, Mumbai.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Purva Dewoolkar</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In May 2016, Siddharth Nagar residents requested proper toilets for their community. Two years later, following a long bureaucratic battle and committed campaigning, the municipality approved the construction of a managed community toilet block in the settlement.</p>
<p>However, what they actually got was a “moving” toilet – a trailer carrying several toilets and a bio-digester. Shortly after the trailer’s arrival, officials visited the area to assess its sanitary status. Following the visit, the moving toilet disappeared. The municipal government had achieved its aim of being declared open defecation free but the community was no better off.</p>
<p>In an attempt to pacify angry residents, the municipality eventually delivered four portable toilets later in 2018. But these were positioned out of reach of desludging vehicles, which were vital to the toilets’ proper functioning.</p>
<p>Consequently, sludge was not collected in septic tanks as intended but directed straight into the stream-sewer, polluting water and ecosystems that depended on it. Today, three out of the four portable toilets are defunct. Residents are once again resorting to open defecation and their self-built toilets.</p>
<p>Similar stories from <a href="https://www.orfonline.org/expert-speak/odf-status-claims-vs-reality-swachh-bharat-mission/">all over India</a> abound. Temporary fixes and cosmetic solutions offered by municipal governments are leaving countless communities empty handed in the long term. The particularly high risk of disease outbreak from <a href="http://ywater.org/2018/03/17/what-are-you-really-drinking-the-impact-of-open-defecation-on-water/">water contamination</a> in densely populated urban environments not only threatens lives but also reduces the time people can work, making it harder to escape poverty.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302388/original/file-20191119-111690-1oa7q0q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Moving toilets brought to Siddarth Nagar.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Purva Dewoolkar</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>China’s ‘Toilet Revolution’</h2>
<p>Further east, Chinese president Xi Jinping announced the country’s <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-economy-tourism-idUSKBN14G0BN">“Toilet Revolution”</a> in 2015, targeting primarily the countryside and promising access to hygienic toilets for all. But this bold rhetoric is deepening existing stigma surrounding traditional sanitation practices, widening the rift between the urban rich and poor.</p>
<p>Prior to Xi’s announcement, sanitation infrastructure had not been considered a priority for several decades. Despite the country’s rapid economic development, the proportion of people relying on <a href="http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2010/9789241563956_eng_full_text.pdf">open defecation in cities</a> had actually doubled between 1990 and 2008.</p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BPEU_apfoLo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Although the Toilet Revolution has helped to greatly expand public sewer systems in recent years, in <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956247815581748">fragmented cities such as Shanghai</a>, not everyone has access to proper sanitation. While entire swaths of land have been swiftly redeveloped, pockets of older neighbourhoods remain untouched.</p>
<p>Many of these dilapidated neighbourhoods are inhabited by China’s <a href="https://ourworld.unu.edu/en/of-poo-and-people-sanitation-and-differentiation-in-urban-china">growing proportion of ageing citizens</a>, who rely on traditional night pots and communal waste collection stations. Younger generations feel disdain and disgust for this way of life. For them, this is reason enough to stay away, <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956247815581748">leaving the old and frail isolated</a>.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2018/03/15/chinas-peasants-left-for-the-cities-to-seek-their-fortune-and-it-made-them-miserable/">China’s 225 million rural-to-urban migrants</a> are another marginalised group. Unable to afford the <a href="https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/publications/negotiating-livelihoods-in-a-city-of-difference-narratives-of-gentrification-in-shanghai(82a4ffaa-2d44-4b40-9ebd-77c9baceb234).html">skyrocketing prices of newer accommodation</a>, most are forced to live in sub-standard conditions without access to sanitation facilities. Already looked down upon by more affluent urban residents, they are often accused of dirtying the urban environment.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/302389/original/file-20191119-111655-1h1qop4.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Self-installed flush toilets like this one in Shanghai often just empty into rainwater drains.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Deljana Iossifova</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The desire to adopt modern conveniences – or live up to others’ expectations – has led countless urban migrant households to install flush toilets themselves. In most cases, these are not connected to municipal sewers. Rather, human waste is flushed directly into the street.</p>
<p>The municipal government is now slowly taking steps to <a href="https://www.paulsoninstitute.org/archives/5-things-to-knowabout-chinas-new-urbanization-guidelines/">modernise its remaining older neighbourhoods</a>. But even where toilets are formally connected to the sewer – including in newly built residential compounds – not all waste ends up at a treatment plant. As in India, much of it eventually pollutes surrounding bodies of water and linked ecosystems.</p>
<p>It’s great that countries are backing the <a href="https://www.unwater.org/world-toilet-day-2019-leaving-no-one-behind/">global drive for universal access to sanitation</a>. But at the heart of these aims must be a desire to protect the environment and improve the health and wellbeing of the people – not recognition and awards. Otherwise, those most in need get left behind.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=140&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/263883/original/file-20190314-28475-1mzxjur.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=176&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<p><em><a href="https://theconversation.com/imagine-newsletter-researchers-think-of-a-world-with-climate-action-113443?utm_source=TCUK&utm_medium=linkback&utm_campaign=TCUKengagement&utm_content=Imagineheader1127140">Click here to subscribe to our climate action newsletter. Climate change is inevitable. Our response to it isn’t.</a></em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/127140/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deljana Iossifova receives funding from UKRI and the Royal Society. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Purva Dewoolkar and Youcao Ren do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the rush to become ‘open defecation free’, cities are taking quick fixes that are making matters worse.Deljana Iossifova, Senior Lecturer in Urban Studies, University of ManchesterPurva Dewoolkar, PhD Scholar, University of ManchesterYoucao Ren, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Sustainable Sanitation, University of ManchesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1253302019-10-15T15:20:17Z2019-10-15T15:20:17ZMost people don’t wash their hands properly – here’s how it should be done<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297177/original/file-20191015-98653-iqr2x7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=26%2C13%2C4426%2C2951&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-washing-his-hand-545014/">Pexels</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It’s something most people do everyday, often without really thinking about it, but how you wash your hands can make a real difference to your health and the well-being of those around you.</p>
<p>Washing your hands is the one most <a href="https://www.ijidonline.com/article/S1201-9712(04)00172-9/fulltext">effective method</a> to prevent cross-contamination which can cause the spread of illness and infections. And many research studies have shown how improvements in hand hygiene have resulted in reductions in illness. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.cochranelibrary.com/cdsr/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD004265.pub3/information">A look at research from around the world</a> on the promotion of washing hands with soap, found that such interventions resulted in a <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.1365-3156.2006.01568.x">30% reduction</a> in diarrhoea episodes and respiratory illnesses such as colds. <a href="https://www.ajicjournal.org/article/S0196-6553(17)30041-X/fulltext">Hand hygiene interventions</a> at elementary schools in the US similarly helped to reduce sick days associated with acute gastrointestinal illness by 31%.</p>
<p>The impact of good hand hygiene is even greater among people that have an increased risk of infection. A <a href="https://www.microbiologyresearch.org/content/journal/jmm/10.1099/jmm.0.46867-0#tab2">study</a> from 2007, for example, found that patients with AIDS who washed their hands more frequently got ill less often.</p>
<p>But as <a href="https://jfoodprotection.org/doi/abs/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-17-378">our recent research shows</a>, despite awareness of the importance of washing your hands, people often fail to do it properly. In our study, we observed how adults over the age of 60 prepared food in a domestic kitchen set up with CCTV cameras, and found that only 30% of people properly washed and dried their hands before preparing food. </p>
<p>We found that 90% of people failed to wash and dry their hands properly immediately after handling raw chicken. And that 62% failed to rub hands, palms and between fingers when washing hands. We also discovered that 47% of people in our study failed to use soap during one or more hand washing attempt.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=374&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/297144/original/file-20191015-98661-1p6wgp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=470&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The model domestic kitchen.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We also swabbed the kitchen and found that those who adequately washed their hands, had significantly lower levels of microbiological contamination levels in the kitchen following food preparation sessions.
<a href="https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/00070700510606873/full/html">Other studies</a> have also determined that failing to wash hands adequately after handling raw poultry can transfer bacteria to domestic kitchen surfaces – such as the handles of taps and refrigerators. All of which highlights the importance of properly washing your hands.</p>
<h2>How to wash your hands</h2>
<p>The World Health Organisation <a href="https://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/consumer/manual_keys.pdf">recommends</a> that to wash your hands effectively, it needs to be done with clean water and soap. Hands should be rubbed together for at least 20 seconds, followed by rinsing. Hands must also be dried using either disposable kitchen paper or a clean hand towel.</p>
<p>The use of soap is particularly important for hand washing to be effective. Indeed, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3037063/">research</a> has shown that washing with soap significantly reduced the presence of bacteria on hands. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1XVhNEoxtN8?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The soap doesn’t have to be antibacterial to be effective – though antibacterial soap works on reducing the number of bacteria not just removing them. And research has <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/full/10.2105/AJPH.2007.124610">shown</a> that the use of non-antibacterial soap is successful for preventing both gastrointestinal and respiratory illnesses.</p>
<p>You should spend 20 seconds washing and drying your hands. Here’s how to do it properly: wet your hands with clean water, use soap, rub palm to palm, rub back of hands, rub between fingers, rub fingernails, rinse your hands. Then dry them using a clean towel or kitchen paper.</p>
<h2>Dry them properly too</h2>
<p>Hand drying is also very important to prevent contamination from hands to food, surfaces and equipment as the transmission of bacteria is <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2809004/">more likely</a> to occur from wet skin than from dry skin. So the proper drying of hands after washing should be an <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3538484/">integral part</a> of hand hygiene. </p>
<p>Drying your hands properly also removes a significant number of bacteria following hand washing – drying with a towel removes pathogens by means of friction, on top of the removal of moisture. Though this means that a hand towel can become a site for cross-contamination. Indeed, in <a href="https://jfoodprotection.org/doi/abs/10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-17-378">our study</a> we found that 37% of people used the same towel for drying hands and equipment.</p>
<p>It is essential to wash hands on occasions when they may be contaminated such as before, during, and after preparing food – particularly after handing raw meat and poultry – after using the toilet, after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing and after touching an animal.</p>
<p>This is important, because washing our hands properly can mean the difference between sickness and health. And for people with compromised immune systems it can even mean the difference between life and death – so make sure you do it properly. If in doubt follow the tips above and sing “<a href="https://tools.cdc.gov/medialibrary/index.aspx#/media/id/302345">Happy Birthday</a>” twice to allow enough time to remove and rinse away any germs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/125330/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ellen W. Evans received funding for research referred to in this article from the Cardiff Metropolitan University Vice Chancellor's Doctoral Award and Tenovus Cancer Care. She is affiliated with the International Association for Food Protection. This article refers to research co-authored with Dr Elizabeth C. Redmond.</span></em></p>Despite awareness of the importance of hand washing, most people often fail to do it properly.Ellen W. Evans, Junior Research Fellow, Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1209212019-07-24T14:13:52Z2019-07-24T14:13:52ZPasha 28: What it will take to build the toilets of the future<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/285540/original/file-20190724-110158-1ye2qcm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><p>Around 4.5 billion people don’t have adequate access to sanitation. And to deal with the problem, there are a number of new technologies that try to deal with human waste in a safe and useful way. Some toilets can save water and some can produce limited amounts of electricity. But for these toilets to be useful to people who don’t have access to proper sanitation, they need to be created in a way that is inclusive of those without access.</p>
<p>In today’s episode of Pasha Rebecca Sindall, an operations manager in engineering field testing at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, discusses the importance of involving communities in these types of initiatives.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/toilets-of-the-future-must-be-designed-with-people-in-mind-not-technology-106610">Toilets of the future must be designed with people in mind, not technology</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Photo:</strong>
By Marius Dobilas
Public toilet. Watamu, Kenya. - Image. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/public-toilet-watamu-kenya-571671022?src=Lr6bVkEpxZeGUKXn_2e1ng-1-10&studio=1">Shutterstock</a></p>
<p><strong>Music</strong>
“Happy African Village” by John Bartmann found on <a href="http://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/happy-african-village">FreeMusicArchive.org</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">CC0 1</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Sounds</strong>
A recording of a toilet being flushed by Giddster found on <a href="https://freesound.org/people/giddster/sounds/437346/">Freesound</a> licensed under <a href="https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/">Creative Commons</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/120921/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
Technology is only part of the solution to giving people access to sanitation.Ozayr Patel, Digital EditorLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1191152019-06-20T10:45:10Z2019-06-20T10:45:10ZWhy people in a flooded British town were told to stop flushing the toilet<p>The British town of Wainfleet in Lincolnshire is underwater. After two months rain in two days, the River Steeping burst its banks, and <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-48692651">580 homes</a> were evacuated. Curiously, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lincolnshire-48651254">the advice</a> to the town’s remaining residents is to avoid flushing the toilet or using the washing machine whenever possible – advice that is more usually associated with drought rather than flood.</p>
<p>The request suggests that Wainfleet’s sewer system is dangerously close to capacity. Using the loo and washing machine not only puts a demand on the water supply system, but it also adds to the flows in the local sewer, which is likely to be very full.</p>
<p>Like most towns in Europe, Wainfleet’s town centre was constructed before the 1950s, and will be served by a “combined sewer” that takes both the waste water from toilets and showers, and the rainwater from roofs and roads. This resulting dilute waste water then needs to be treated before it is discharged into the environment. If the volume of water is too much for the treatment plant to handle then a “combined sewage overflow” will release dilute sewage into rivers and oceans. It is because of combined sewage overflows that it’s <a href="https://www.thesun.co.uk/travel/9277317/british-beach-warning-sewage-pollution/">not a good idea</a> to bathe in rivers or beaches after there has been rainfall. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=272&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280422/original/file-20190620-149806-2eu4h2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=342&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">During dry weather (and small storms), all flows are handled by the publicly owned treatment works (POTW). During large storms, the relief structure allows some of the combined storm water and sewage to be discharged untreated into an adjacent water body.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:CSO_diagram_US_EPA.jpg">EPA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>An additional problem in Wainfleet (and many low-lying areas like London, much of the Netherlands or New Orleans in the US) is that the sewer system is lower than the level of the river or sea. This means that the wastewater/rainwater combination does not just need treatment, but it also needs pumping. If there is too much water for the treatment works or pumps to process at any one moment, then water from streets or homes will be unable to enter the sewer system, and dirty water, including dilute sewage, can overflow into rivers, streets and homes.</p>
<p>A dramatic example of this happened in <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-humber-40380693">Hull in 2007</a>. Just like in Wainfleet, heavy summer rainstorms put pressure on treatment systems and pumps. <a href="https://www.jesip.org.uk/uploads/media/incident_reports_and_inquiries/Hull%20Floods%20June%202007%20Report.pdf">More than 8,000</a> homes were flooded, and some people were out of their homes for over a year. Such flooding causes huge physical disruption and challenges people’s mental health. Imagine unexpectedly losing most of your possessions, simultaneously needing to find a new place to live for an unpredictable length of time, having to manage the family routines from a different location, and meanwhile having to negotiate with insurers and builders about the renewal of your home.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280212/original/file-20190619-171188-17gwgsh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Careful …</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://theconversation.com/drafts/117213/edit">New Africa/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>As climate change threatens to bring <a href="https://www.ukcip.org.uk/wizard/future-climate-vulnerability/">more sudden rainstorms</a>, many places are becoming more vulnerable to problems like those in Wainfleet and Hull. One way to address these problems is to slow down the flow of rainwater. The hard surfaces of roads, pavements and pipes, for example, speed up the flow of water. Some agricultural drainage practices may also encourage water to flow rather than waterlog the land. What this all means is that all the water from the rainstorm arrives at the treatment and pumping facilities at the same time.</p>
<p>We can address these problems – in Wainfleet as elsewhere – but it will take many small changes to the way people manage their water.</p>
<h2>Wetlands and rain gardens</h2>
<p>All over the world, local authorities are exploring how they can <a href="https://northsearegion.eu/begin">repurpose parks</a> and other open spaces to help to store the water from heavy rainfall. In <a href="https://www.thames21.org.uk/firs-farm-wetlands/">Firs Farm Park</a> in the London borough of Enfield, for example, playing fields have been raised and others transformed into wetland to hold back the water and prevent flooding downstream. This work has helped to stimulate the involvement of local people in maintaining the park, while the wetlands provide a nature resource for schoolchildren. </p>
<p>Similar projects are being explore as far apart as <a href="https://northsearegion.eu/begin/bgi-pilot-projects/bergen/">Bergen</a>, Norway, and <a href="http://www.switchurbanwater.eu/outputs/pdfs/SWITCH_in_the_City.pdf">Belo Horizonte</a>, Brazil.</p>
<p>On a smaller scale, water can be held back in street <a href="https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=1009">rain gardens</a>. These small patches of planting combined with dropped kerbs offer opportunities for infiltrating water and greening the streets. Residents may have to sacrifice some local parking spaces, but such investments can make a neighbourhood more pleasant for everyone, as well as reducing the flows downstream.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=337&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280214/original/file-20190619-171222-1cuabjh.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=423&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Asphalt-covered cities are hardly drainage-friendly.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/car-parking-viewed-above-aerial-view-476995468?src=tlc6MgGcvbhE1ivZn9Xn4g-1-18&studio=1">Lals stock/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The request to minimise household inputs to the sewer system is one small immediate way to mobilise local residents to help address the threat of flooding. But residents with a garden can help in other ways too. Most UK houses have gutters that discharge directly to the sewer. Depending on the local geology, garden <a href="https://www.susdrain.org/delivering-suds/using-suds/suds-components/infiltration/soakaways.html">soakaways</a> (stone-filled ditches which can soak up water if it rains), retain the water so it drains more slowly to the ground or the sewer.</p>
<p>Another way to accomplish this task is with a raintank. Most people think of raintanks (or water butts) as a way to protect against droughts. But as long as a tank has some space in it, it also has the potential to provide added protection for a neighbourhood from flooding. My research team is <a href="http://gotw.nerc.ac.uk/list_full.asp?pcode=NE%2FS016589%2F1&cookieConsent=A">currently exploring</a> whether we can make “leaky raintanks”. The idea here is that as well as storing water for use in the garden, the tank will also have a space which is able to fill up in a storm and then drain slowly into the sewer. If every household in a neighbourhood had a “leaky raintank”, it could make a significant difference to the amount of water storage during a storm.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=442&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280218/original/file-20190619-171245-1c3fokb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=555&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A garden raintank (barrel) – good for floods and droughts.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/garden-rain-barrel-1170832546?src=Bgxs3GQZDPODViaEHx-e-w-1-0&studio=1">Richard Pratt/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Whether helping to replan the local park, participating in discussing which parts of the street can form a rain garden, or through managing a soakaway or raintank on your private land, water management is increasingly seen as something which is too big and too important to leave just to technical experts. We are all part of the water system, and those that manage water are recognising that people are able and willing to undertake actions to improve the water system. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, technical experts more widely need to recognise that water is part of lived in and natural landscapes – and this must be reflected in sewers and streets. In a time in which water-related threats are worsening, society needs to look beyond isolated problems of floods or droughts, and to consider how wise water management can deliver local benefits as well as a more resilient landscape for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/119115/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Liz Sharp receives funding from the Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EP/N010124/1), the EU's Intereg funding for the North Sea Region (<a href="https://northsearegion.eu/begin/">https://northsearegion.eu/begin/</a>) and the UK Research's Climate Resilience fund (NE/S016589/1). Her work on climate resilience in Hull is also supported by in kind contritions from the Living With Water Partnership, incorporating Yorkshire Water Services, Hull City Council, East Riding Council and the Environment Agency.
</span></em></p>As climate change threatens to bring more sudden rainstorms, we need to rethink the way we manage water.Liz Sharp, Senior Lecturer, University of SheffieldLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1065422018-11-20T13:19:54Z2018-11-20T13:19:54ZWhy, even with more access to toilets, women in a Kenyan slum avoid them<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/246168/original/file-20181119-76134-1ovaugb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">New toilet blocks in Mathare Valley informal settlement in Nairobi.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Samantha Winter</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>About <a href="https://washdata.org/sites/default/files/documents/reports/2018-01/JMP-2017-report-final.pdf">2.3 billion</a> people around the world lack access to basic toilets. This leads to poor sanitation and about <a href="http://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sanitation">280,000 people</a> per year die as a result. But the global sanitation crisis isn’t equally distributed. Women in developing countries are <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0956247814564528">disproportionately burdened</a> by the <a href="http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/25927/2/geelongtoiletmar2.pdf">persistent</a> lack of access to sanitation in their homes, communities, schools and public spaces. </p>
<p>Women and girls who rely on shared toilets, at schools or in densely populated urban settlements, <a href="https://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/10.2105/AJPH.2014.302525">lack</a> privacy, safety and hygiene to comfortably manage their daily toilet and menstruation needs. </p>
<p>This threatens their health. <a href="http://eprints.uwe.ac.uk/25927/2/geelongtoiletmar2.pdf">Exposure</a> to harmful bacteria in unsanitary environments puts women at risk of urinary tract infections, toxic shock syndrome and vaginal infections. Holding in their urine and faeces also puts them at <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17441692.2015.1062905?journalCode=rgph20">risk of</a> dehydration and haemorrhoids. </p>
<p>We carried out <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17441692.2018.1534256?journalCode=rgph20">a study</a> in Mathare Valley informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya to better understand women’s daily sanitation practices and what influences their decision to use facilities in the settlement. </p>
<p><a href="https://mappingnobigdeal.wordpress.com/2011/04/29/second-phase-of-water-and-sanitation-mapping-%E2%80%93-intermediary-analysis/">Seven</a> years ago there were about 144 public toilet facilities in Mathare. <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/31/2/258/1749406">Anywhere from</a> 17 to 232 people relied on a single toilet and over 70% of residents had to walk more that 50 meters to reach a toilet. </p>
<p>Since then, there’ve been concerted efforts by non-governmental organisations and the government to increase the number of toilets in Mathare. For instance Sanergy, a social venture, <a href="http://www.saner.gy/archives/5907">has launched</a> more than 140 toilets in Mathare. But many of the existing toilets still require payment to use, between KES 3 and KES 10 per use (USD$0.03 - USD$0.10). </p>
<p>Despite the growing availability, many women still don’t always use them. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2018.1497778">our study</a> we found that about one-third of women relied on a bucket, plastic bags or open defecation at least once during the day and over two-thirds rely on those methods at night. </p>
<p>This means that its not just access that’s the issue. Many women aren’t using the new facilities because of concerns over their safety, privacy, health and ability to pay to use them.</p>
<p>Future interventions must address these problems – and not just supply toilets – if sustainable gains in this important public health area are to be achieved. </p>
<h2>Informal settlements</h2>
<p><a href="http://projects.worldbank.org/P113542/kenya-informal-settlements-improvement-project-kisip?lang=en">About</a> 6.5 million of Kenya’s 45.5 million people live in urban informal settlements. The population living in these settlements increased <a href="https://unhabitat.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02-old/Slum%20Almanac%202015-2016_EN.pdf">by more</a> than three times, from 1.5 million to more than 6.4 million between 1990 and 2014 and is still expected to keep growing. This will exacerbate the challenges women face when it comes to sanitation. </p>
<p>We collected data in two phases between 2015 and 2017. During the first phase we partnered with representatives from the University of Nairobi and female residents from Mathare to conduct in-depth case studies with 55 women living in Mathare. In the second phase we worked with female residents in Mathare to carry out 550 household-level surveys with women.</p>
<p>We found that, about 40% of women relied on public toilets for some of their sanitation needs during the day, but are unable to rely solely on these toilets. Within 24 hours, 75% of women relied on plastic bags or buckets at least once for their ablutions. They then dispose of these in open drains or rivers near their homes. </p>
<p>This is surprising. Over the last few years there have been efforts to increase access to toilets in Mathare. Notable among them are Sanergy’s <a href="http://www.saner.gy/">fresh life toilets</a>, Grand Challenge Canada’s funded <a href="https://www.grandchallenges.ca/grantee-stars/0298-01/">Banza toilets</a> and a government effort under the National Youth Service’s <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0956247816689218">slum improvement project</a>. Each of these projects focused on some aspect of increasing access to sanitation, from provision of innovative toilets to household rubbish collection, drainage cleanup, and toilet construction and management. </p>
<p>A number of factors prevent women from regularly using the facilities. </p>
<p>Women fear victimisation – like sexual assault, rape, or theft – poor cleanliness and a lack of privacy. On average, toilets in Mathare <a href="https://academic.oup.com/heapro/article/31/2/258/1749406">are shared</a> by 70 people, with many being used by hundreds of people. This makes it very difficult to maintain them.</p>
<p>We found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09603123.2018.1497778">one or more</a> of the stalls at public toilets have missing doors or locks, are flooded or blocked, or aren’t cleaned well. Several of the public toilets, which have separate sections for men and women, aren’t always open or have closed one of the gender sections. Having to share facilities is a factor that makes women feel insecure, particularly at night. </p>
<p>The women didn’t see the toilets as safe spaces. They also don’t feel safe in the settlement. Participants said they felt unsafe leaving their homes at night, even if the toilets were located within a short walking distance.</p>
<p>Another reason women wouldn’t use the facilities is because most charge them, and they can’t afford to pay. Most toilets in Mathare charge a pay-per-use fee between KES 3 and KES 10 per use (USD$0.03 - USD$0.10). If they can afford the “family fee” (a bulk payment), then they can pay KES 100 to KES 150 per month (US$1 - US$1.50). The average household income in Mathare is about KES 8500 (USD$85), and estimated monthly expenditures <a href="http://healthycities.berkeley.edu/uploads/1/2/6/1/12619988/matharevalley_report_ucb_2_25_2012_final.pdf">often exceed</a> this amount. This leaves little or no money for spending on sanitation. </p>
<p>On top of this, we found that some women don’t have the decision making power or control over household spending to allocate additional funds to sanitation. </p>
<p>Interestingly, many of the community toilets in Mathare have separate urinals for men that are free to use but there’s no setup like this for women. </p>
<h2>Solutions</h2>
<p>When we asked the participants what would work for them, some <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09614524.2018.1519013">suggested</a> they needed more access to free urinals – one or two stalls in a public toilet facility – that they could use for urination and to change menstrual pads.</p>
<p>We also suggest that policymakers need to start accounting for other challenges to sanitation access, like strategies that increase women’s safety and privacy, especially at night. For example, <a href="https://challenges.openideo.com/challenge/womens-safety/shortlist/prakasa-lighting-tomorrow-with-today">better lighting</a> in and around public toilets or community or technological innovations to help women <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/12/india-sexual-assault-women-safety-apps">feel safer</a> when accessing public toilets.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106542/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Winter received funding for this project from the National Security Education Program in the United States as a Boren Fellow, PEO International, and the Rutgers Global Health Institute. </span></em></p>Women in developing countries are burdened by the lack of access to proper toilets in their homes, communities, schools and public spaces.Samantha Winter, Postdoctoral fellow, Rutgers UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1067562018-11-18T08:52:33Z2018-11-18T08:52:33ZSome smart ideas to make toilets fit for purpose in Africa’s cities<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245922/original/file-20181116-194513-1ya5wj5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Every flush by a typical toilet sends about 6 to 16 litres of fresh water to wastewater treatment centres. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">lchumpitaz/Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>About 23% of people living in Sub-Saharan Africa <a href="https://data.unicef.org/topic/water-and-sanitation/drinking-water/">don’t have access to toilets</a> while 31% with toilets use one’s that aren’t connected to a formal sanitation system. This means that more than half the people in sub-Saharan Africa live without proper sanitation – that’s about 570 million people. </p>
<p>One of the problems is that existing toilets aren’t a good fit for parts of sub-Saharan Africa because many areas lack water and there are often no proper plumbing or facilities to treat wastewater. </p>
<p>But there are solutions – toilets that are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288827548_Innovative_Toilet_Technologies_for_Smart_and_Green_Cities">designed differently</a>. We have come up <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/288827548_Innovative_Toilet_Technologies_for_Smart_and_Green_Cities">with some innovative designs</a> overcome the two biggest challenges – excessive use of water, and the fact that urine and faeces aren’t considered as resources.</p>
<p>The designs we suggest have a number of key features. Primarily, they use no water and store and treat urine and faeces separately. They include innovative technologies that reduce water and energy consumption – both vital steps if we’re going to start building smarter, greener cities. </p>
<h2>Problems with current designs</h2>
<p>Every flush by a typical toilet sends about six to 16 litres of fresh water to wastewater treatment centres. That’s a lot of water. The average <a href="https://water-for-africa.org/en/water-consumption.html">total water consumption</a> per person in Africa is about 20 litres a day. </p>
<p>On top of this, the treatment of waste uses up a huge amount of energy – about three to 15 kWh/m3. This energy is being used to provide fresh water from different sources – like dams – for the flushing process and <a href="https://www.iwapublishing.com/news/physico-chemical-water-treatment-processes">to treat</a> the produced wastewater. It’s a huge amount of energy given the fact that we need only about 2kWh <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2013/09/07/how-much-energy-does-your-iphone-and-other-devices-use-and-what-to-do-about-it/#66c9ee722f70">to charge</a> a smart phone over a whole year. </p>
<p>The process of treating wastewater, so that it can be recycled and reused, is expensive because urine and faeces are mixed at the source. This makes treatment lengthy, expensive and power intensive. It’s also bad because there are valuable elements in human waste – like nitrogen and phosphorous – that aren’t being extracted and reused. </p>
<p>The cost of a more innovative toilet system can be higher than others – like pit latrines – but it really depends on the raw construction materials like concrete and wood. Tanks and other parts can also be made through locally available materials – like jerrycans. But once it’s built, the operation and maintenance process is easy and can be done by local labours. </p>
<h2>New ideas</h2>
<p><strong>Separate waste:</strong> Our main idea, when it comes to improving toilets, is to view urine and faeces as a resource instead of waste. Nutrients from human waste – which can be used as a <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959652614000948">fertiliser</a> to grow crops – can be removed during the treatment process through better management and technology.</p>
<p>To take advantage of this, the urine must be separated from the faeces. There are many toilets <a href="https://doi.org/10.2166/9781780404851">around the world</a> that already do this. In some Asian countries, like Korea, Japan and Vietnam, it’s a traditional mechanism. </p>
<p>These toilets look similar to normal ones but there are two different inlets that store the waste in different tanks. Here they can be treated to remove smell and increase their fertility.</p>
<p>It’s a highly efficient process which doesn’t need complicated infrastructure and reduces the time needed for the treatment of waste. The system saves a huge amount of water and energy, which is beneficial to many local governments that are already <a href="https://water-for-africa.org/en/water-consumption.html">under pressure</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Waterless</strong>: For most existing toilets, water is essential for flushing and draining. But it’s possible to have a waterless toilet. Again, the toilet must collect the urine separately from the faeces. Instead of flushing, the faeces and urine are separated from the source using <a href="http://www.wecf.eu/download/2009/08-09-25WECF_ConstructionUDDT.pdf">urine-diverting dry toilets</a>. These toilets are available in both sitting or squatting models and take advantage of the anatomy of the human body, which excretes urine and faeces separately. The urine is kept separate and drained via a basin with a small hole near the front of the toilet bowl or squatting pan, while faeces fall through a larger drop-hole at the rear.</p>
<p><strong>Enhance waste</strong>: When waste is separated and collected into tanks, microbes can be added to them which ‘nitrify’ the waste – making it a better fertiliser – and control any bad smells from the toilet. </p>
<p><strong>Community support:</strong> If these toilets are used communally they can bring huge social and economic benefits for communities. While common toilet systems are expensive to maintain, and pit latrines can be public health hazards, these systems are safe and can provide an <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.09.009">excellent source</a> of fertiliser for groups that grow their own food, or produce food for markets. </p>
<p>As African cities grow and develop, and pressure on natural resources and infrastructure – like sewerage – increase, these systems offer a sustainable and more hygienic way forward.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mooyoung Han receives funding from Korea Research Foundation. He is affiliated with Water and Sanitation Appropriate Technology(WASAT) center at Seoul National University.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shervin Hashemi is affiliated with Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Seoul National University. </span></em></p>Existing toilets aren’t a good fit for parts of sub-Saharan Africa because many areas lack water and there’s often no proper plumbing.Mooyoung Han, Professor , Seoul National UniversityShervin Hashemi, Research fellow, Seoul National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1066102018-11-15T02:04:23Z2018-11-15T02:04:23ZToilets of the future must be designed with people in mind, not technology<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245216/original/file-20181113-194491-mch5z0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Environmentally friendly toilets on display at the Reinvented Toilet Expo in Beijing on November 8.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/beijing-china-november-8-2018-environmentfriendly-1224545587?src=YdoydPnr7I2GN9A6Gzt82A-1-9">Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Most of you reading this article probably have a comfortable toilet that you use on a daily basis. As Steve Sugden <a href="https://www.developmentbookshelf.com/doi/abs/10.3362/1756-3488.2014.023">wrote</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>In more developed areas of the world we have forgotten the horrors of using a disgusting toilet and we now take for granted that toilets are comfortable, well lit, smell-free, private, pleasant places to defecate. They are places where we can “go in peace”.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There are two “golden rules” of our (overwhelmingly waterborne) sanitation systems that make them useful for improving human health:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>they immediately separate us from our waste</p></li>
<li><p>they transport that waste away for treatment, stopping it from polluting the environment or making people sick.</p></li>
</ol>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-queues-for-womens-toilets-are-longer-than-mens-99763">Why queues for women's toilets are longer than men's</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The flush toilet and waterborne sewerage system were developed to allow users to “flush and forget”. But <a href="https://washdata.org/data">around four and a half billion people</a> don’t have access to a sanitation system that follows the golden rules. That’s because waterborne sewerage systems aren’t suitable everywhere.</p>
<p>These require large volumes of water for flushing, kilometres of underground pipes and treatment infrastructure, and the personnel to operate and maintain the system. Scientists and engineers around the world are developing alternative sanitation systems to address these challenges.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/XQbSPOrCT7Y?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">A promotional video for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Water, Sanitation and Hygiene project.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>New toilet tech</h2>
<p>There are some amazing new toilet technologies that aren’t waterborne systems, but still follow the golden rules. Many of these new designs not only treat waste to make it safe, but also transform it into useful products like <a href="http://www.nanomembranetoilet.org/">clean water</a>, <a href="http://www.83degreesmedia.com/features/generator102915.aspx">fertilisers</a>, <a href="http://info.uwe.ac.uk/news/uwenews/news.aspx?id=3684">electricity</a> and <a href="http://thebiocycle.com/">animal feed</a>. </p>
<p>Many of them don’t require sewerage systems at all, and instead process the waste on-site (in the household or toilet block). This increases the resilience of the sanitation system. If floods (or other disasters) prevent the system from processing waste, the problem is likely to be contained within the household, rather than affecting an entire city. </p>
<p>Some systems transport waste via pipes to <a href="https://www.borda.org/solutions/decentralised-sanitation-systems-2/">nearby community scale treatment plants</a>, which allow people to reuse the nutrients and water in their waste. </p>
<p>Others involve the collection of waste from <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/kenya-startup-turns-poop-into-fuel-2016-6">households</a> or <a href="http://www.saner.gy/">toilet blocks</a> to be treated at a larger, off-site plant, which offers economies of scale. </p>
<p>Several of these “non-sewered sanitation” technologies were showcased at the <a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2018/11/Bill-Gates-Launches-Reinvented-Toilet-Expo-Showcasing-New-Pathogen-Killing-Sanitation-Products">Reinvented Toilet Expo</a> in Beijing earlier this month.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/can-you-catch-germs-from-a-public-toilet-seat-98096">Can you catch germs from a public toilet seat?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Different locations have different needs</h2>
<p>There is no single technology that will work in every community. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=900&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/245234/original/file-20181113-194519-16yjd5f.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1131&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Open sewerage runs along the back of housing in some parts of South East Asia.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In water-scarce areas, people are aware of the wastefulness of flushing clean water down a toilet. In those locations, reusing water for flushing will be an important benefit. </p>
<p>In areas without reliable mains electricity, small-scale production of electricity from a sanitation system can be valuable for lighting, charging mobile phones or simply for running the treatment process. </p>
<p>Using nutrients from waste as fertiliser or animal feed will be unacceptable in some cultures, no matter how safe it is proved to be. </p>
<p>In every case, the time and expertise required to operate and maintain these systems must be considered. That means looking beyond the treatment process to the wider system, including government policies and businesses, as well as the availability of spare parts and local skilled personnel.</p>
<h2>Local experts are essential</h2>
<p>Clearly, technology is only part of the solution. But there is also a <a href="http://www.waterwomenworld.com/why-im-not-the-right-person-to-solve-your-problems-an-engineer-in-sanitation/">social science to sanitation engineering</a>. </p>
<p>Many new sanitation technologies are being <a href="http://prg.ukzn.ac.za/projects/funded-by-bill-melinda-gates-foundation/capacity-building-support-for-ongoing-prototype-testing-platform">tested in the communities that are expected to be future customers</a>. Researchers <a href="http://washfutures.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/F2_Kristin-Ravndal.pdf">have been working with these potential users</a> to identify what works, and more importantly, what doesn’t work with these technologies. The perspectives of both the toilet user and the operator of the sanitation system are taken into account.</p>
<p>Community members play a vital role and contribute to the design process. Nobody is going to use a toilet that they don’t like – as many festival-goers and campers will attest.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-your-tourist-toilet-habits-are-bad-for-locals-and-the-environment-91724">Why your tourist toilet habits are bad for locals – and the environment</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Sanitation technology developers give themselves the best possible chance of success when they work with communities to understand their needs and to test early prototypes. Community members are experts in their local context. Sadly this knowledge often goes unrecognised, but it’s critical to designing systems that work sustainably. </p>
<p>There are too many examples of “<a href="https://www.engineeringforchange.org/news/blunders-bloopers-foul-ups-sharing-failures-water-sanitation-hygiene-programs/">failed aid</a>” projects, where sanitation systems have been installed without consulting local people, and then abandoned by the community after the project team has departed.</p>
<p>Although there are many exciting treatment processes being proposed for collecting and treating human waste, it is important to recognise that technology is only part of the equation. When proposing sanitation systems, technology developers must remember that they are designing for real people, considering <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Participatory_design">community members as co-designers</a> with important contributions to make.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/106610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Dani J Barrington was previously employed to work on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "Reinvent The Toilet Challenge" at Cranfield University. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rebecca Sindall is employed as Operations Manager for the Engineering Field Testing Platform which tests sanitation prototypes developed under the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation "Reinvent the Toilet Challenge". Her role is funded by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.</span></em></p>There are numerous examples of failed aid projects, where sanitation systems have been installed without consulting local people, then abandoned by the community after the project team has departed.Dani Barrington, Lecturer in Water, Sanitation and Health, University of LeedsRebecca Sindall, Operations Manager, Engineering Field Testing, University of KwaZulu-NatalLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/997632018-08-23T20:02:16Z2018-08-23T20:02:16ZWhy queues for women’s toilets are longer than men’s<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/232999/original/file-20180822-149493-rr3kjy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Women spend more time in a cubicle than men, mostly for biological reasons.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you’re a woman, then you’ve definitely experienced the frustration of standing in a long, slow-moving queue for the toilets while watching men quickly go in and out of theirs. And you’ve likely had the same conversation with others in that queue - “Jeez, why does it always take so long!” </p>
<p>Women are <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/30-per-cent-of-men-fail-to-wash-hands-after-using-toilet-study-20091015-gy6u.html">more likely than men</a> to wash their hands and to use the hand dryer. So that’s a reason for more women in the general toilet area. But what about the cubicles? <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/07/170714142749.htm">Studies</a> show men take an average of 60 seconds in a toilet and women take 90 seconds – that’s 50% longer. If there are the same number of toilets for males and females, this will result in a bottleneck, backing up the flow in and out of the facilities. </p>
<p>Here are some of the reasons women need longer in a cubicle than men.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/loosen-up-its-time-to-talk-about-toilets-10349">Loosen up, it's time to talk about toilets</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Biological reasons</h2>
<p>Some reasons women need more time in the toilet are biological. About <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3235.02016?OpenDocument">half of the female population</a> is of menstruating age <a href="https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/menstruation">(between 12 and 52)</a> and of those, at least 20% will be menstruating at any one time. </p>
<p>Menstruation means women have to deal with other bodily functions in addition to the usual reasons for using a toilet (number ones and twos). Getting pads or tampons out of a bag (or using the vending machine if one is available), unwrapping them, placing them and disposing of the used materials, add to the length of time a woman needs to occupy a cubicle. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233033/original/file-20180822-149484-nn2ieo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=501&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Unwrapping sanitary products, and placing them, takes up time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Women are more likely to have certain health conditions that force them to empty their bladders. These include <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/cystitis">cystitis</a>, a type of urinary tract infection caused by bacteria. These are more common in women because the bacteria responsible have less distance to travel from outside the body to the bladder.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/urinary-incontinence-can-be-a-problem-for-women-of-all-ages-but-there-is-a-cure-49365">Urinary incontinence can be a problem for women of all ages, but there is a cure</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Such conditions may also require use of incontinence aids with the same time-consuming unwrapping and disposal requirements as menstrual supplies. Pregnancy at all stages also means <a href="https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/urinary-frequency-thirst">more frequent trips</a> to the toilet. </p>
<h2>Clothes and design</h2>
<p>Women’s clothing often takes longer to unfasten, remove and replace, in order to use the toilet in the standard Western seated position. The idea of <a href="https://www.whowhatwear.co.uk/layering-clothes">more than two layers</a> of clothing (under and outer) may be completely mystifying to many men, but women often wear three or more, for practical or fashion purposes (or both). </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233032/original/file-20180822-149487-10b2zb9.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Urinals need less space than cubicles, so more men can use the toilet at the same time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Then there are the design considerations of public toilets. The spatial area of the men’s and the ladies’ toilets may be the same. But a urinal, or several, require less space than a cubicle. So there is less area for women to empty their bladder in the women’s toilets, which means fewer women can use them at any one time. </p>
<p>Also, the urinals in men’s toilets means more individuals can get in and out without having to open, close and lock doors and then open again, or wipe a toilet seat. Although the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-43069633">manbag</a> has caught on among some, most men don’t carry much with them that needs to be safely hung behind a toilet door. So, they already have their hands free and don’t need to look for (and juggle) where to put things. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-far-have-we-come-since-the-80s-vision-of-the-non-sexist-city-99602">How far have we come since the ’80s vision of the 'non-sexist city'?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Men can go anywhere, really</h2>
<p>Women are more likely than men to be looking after small children and taking them to the toilet can be an expedition in itself. Similarly, 81% of <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/3235.02016?OpenDocument">paid personal carers and assistants</a> (and 60% of unpaid carers) for people who need assistance with toileting are women. They can be forced to use the cubicles (with extremely limited space for two people) when appropriate facilities are not available.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/233022/original/file-20180822-149469-p5ck2b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">At outdoor events, men often find places to go without needing to queue for the toilets.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">from shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>If with friends or family, and depending on the location and time of day, women will often visit public toilets in pairs or groups rather than alone. This pattern can be due to safety concerns, and it can also be a kind of social or companionable event. Once women have completed their toileting and washed their hands, they may then spend some time checking and adjusting their clothing and appearance in the mirror.</p>
<p>At some outdoor events under the cover of darkness or vegetation, a few men take matters into their own hands and don’t use the public toilet facilities at all. This obviously reduces men’s demand for the toilets (with the benefit of making the men’s toilets available for desperate women, although cleanliness concerns in these situations can also deter them).</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/to-design-safer-parks-for-women-city-planners-must-listen-to-their-stories-98317">To design safer parks for women, city planners must listen to their stories</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>All these things add up to more time and more individuals in a limited space, with queues as the result. In Hong Kong, <a href="https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/1887471/loo-queues-reduced-womens-toilets-outnumber-mens">building regulations now specify</a> there must be 1.6 female toilets for every one male toilet in public places. Such moves in other countries would be welcome. Designers and providers should use a more equitable rather than an equal allocation of space and facilities, so women can take the time they need in a toilet without having to pay for it by waiting longer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99763/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lisel O'Dwyer has received funding from the Local Government Association of South Australia for research into public toilet provision. </span></em></p>Men spend, on average, around 60 seconds in a toilet, while women spend 90. This is for many reasons, including biology. This leads to a bottleneck that keeps women waiting around to use the loo.Lisel O'Dwyer, Adjunct Senior Lecturer, School of Social and Policy Studies, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/994172018-07-20T13:23:28Z2018-07-20T13:23:28ZI got a hoax academic paper about how UK politicians wipe their bums published<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/227986/original/file-20180717-44073-16cmhfn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Surely a socialist.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/hand-businessman-reaching-toilet-paper-760564720?src=SVHAsG5uq5cGmUEDBmyNcg-1-0">Kapustin Igor/Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>I had what seemed like rather a good idea a few weeks back. Building on some prominent findings in social psychology, I hypothesised that politicians on the right would wipe their bum with their left hand; and that politicians on the left would wipe with their right hand.</p>
<p>Ludicrous? Yes – absolutely. But for once my goal wasn’t to run a bona fide scientific study. Instead, I wanted to see if any “journal” would publish my ass-wiping “findings”.</p>
<p>For those who haven’t yet come across the term, “<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-you-should-care-about-the-rise-of-fake-journals-and-the-bad-science-they-publish-72130">predatory journals</a>” are becoming a bit of a nuisance in science. They actively masquerade as legitimate mainstream journals, often with similar layouts and names – although they very likely have essentially zero threshold for publication, despite typically claiming to operate with rigorous peer review processes. Most academics will know the irritation of receiving multiple spam emails per day soliciting manuscripts or inviting one to join editorial boards of unfamiliar journals. Much more importantly, though, these predatory journals are undermining the credibility of scientific publishing because the research they publish appears to be largely unvetted. </p>
<p>So partly out of frustration with this situation, but also out of curiosity, I wanted to see just how low the bar for publication might be. This is the story of my “study”.</p>
<h2>Which hand do you use?</h2>
<p>There is a well-known theory in social psychology – so-called unconscious social priming. The basic idea is that words or concepts can prime our behaviours. The best-known <a href="http://psycnet.apa.org/fulltext/1996-06400-003.html">finding</a> in this field is the report that presenting participants with words to do with old age (“bingo”, “knits”) made them walk more slowly afterwards compared to a control condition (although also see this <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0029081">paper</a> for a more rounded perspective as several findings in this field of research have been controversial in their own right). </p>
<p>So it seemed to me that there was an obvious prediction for political science – specifically, that politicians from the right should wipe their ass with their right hand (and vice versa). </p>
<p>But there was a snag to my theory. We know that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body, and vice versa. And in a stunning feat of logic, I realised that the theory had things the wrong way around. Politicians from the right would surely wipe with their left hand, and those from the political left with their right hand. And as we shall see, this careful reasoning paid off handsomely.</p>
<p>My (fictional) research assistant camped outside the Houses of Parliament and essentially stalked “MPs”. She used a large folder of pictures to identify these politicians’ left vs right leaning tendencies. And when a potential participant was seen on the street, the research assistant walked up alongside the politician, indicated that she was a psychological scientist doing a study, provided a brief consent form, and then asked which hand they wiped their bottom with.</p>
<p>This yielded nine (fictional) participants in total, including “Boris Johnski” and “Teresa Maybe”, although one data point had to be discarded – that of “Nigel F. ‘Arage”. He, rather meanly, told my research assistant to “bog off” when asked the hand-wiping question. And so his data was necessarily excluded from the analysis. </p>
<p>But that didn’t matter – because the data from our sample of eight fully confirmed the theory. Politicians do indeed wipe their asses with the contralateral hand. I could scarcely believe my eyes – but of course the statistics never lie.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=381&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/228176/original/file-20180718-142426-oa6yf5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=479&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Fertile ground for faecal research.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-ben-houses-parliament-london-dusk-604697972?src=UEyf85dqTlcNXkTFLzXAFQ-1-0">ExFlow/Shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Time to publish</h2>
<p>So I had everything I needed to write a manuscript. And I decided to submit my ass wiping findings to the first possibly predatory journal that emailed me. Hardly any time had passed and a publisher came over the horizon – <a href="http://crimsonpublishers.com/index.php">Crimson Publishers</a>. Soon after that, the manuscript was completed and submitted – I even added in an “anonymous” peer reviewer of my own, “Dr I.P. Daly”, who was none other than my dear and extremely witty colleague and friend, Professor Ryan McKay – and then things started to get really interesting.</p>
<p>Having submitted the bogus manuscript, I soon got an email informing me that the manuscript was safely received and under review. Just a few days later, I was informed that it was accepted for publication. With a request for US$581.</p>
<p>I told the journal I couldn’t afford any publication fees. So they dropped it to US$99 (for “web hosting charges”). I was tempted – but I’ve learned that you should never accept the first counter offer. So I went for broke. And it turns out that the paper was so groundbreaking that they agreed to publish it for free: “We do understand from you [sic] end. As per your previous conversation, I had a session with financial manager and have decided to provide complete waiver.” It must have been a truly magnificent session with the financial manager. On contacting the journal for comment in relation to this story, my editor was told: “Coming to publication fee the authors who are insufficient with funds, we do provide waivers according to their request [sic].”</p>
<p>And so the article, “<a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56c77251f8baf3ae17ce0a75/t/5b51a047352f5399d14e2088/1532076108626/Gerry+Jay+Louis+hoax+paper.pdf">Testing inter-hemispheric social priming theory in a sample of professional politicians – a brief report</a>”, by one Gerry Jay Louis from the “Institute of Interdisciplinary Political and Fecal Science”, was published. (Note: the paper is no longer available on Crimson’s website. They swiftly removed it when The Conversation got in touch with them for comment on this story, saying: “As per our Editorial Board Member’s suggestion we have retracted the article which you have mentioned from our journal, as you can glance our website for your convenience [sic].”)</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it seems by initially publishing my study, this publisher didn’t live up to its own peer review policies. On their website, <a href="http://crimsonpublishers.com/peer-review-process.php">they say</a>: “The Peer Review Policy is the most essential tool in assessing the quality of publication process that analyzes, validates, and integrates new research findings [sic].” I received not a single peer review comment from the journal, far less a request to revise my manuscript. (The journal told The Conversation: “We do strictly follow double blinded peer review process for all the articles that we receive.”)</p>
<p>Some people have asked why they agreed to publish it for free given their business model is presumably built on extracting publication fees. I don’t have a strong answer to that question, but my hunch is that the waiver is just a cheap way to bulk out the journal in order to make it more attractive to other prospective authors.</p>
<h2>Cleaning up the mess</h2>
<p>Why is this sort of thing a problem? In a nutshell, predatory journals are contaminating the scientific literature by providing ostensibly rigorous reports of studies that in reality are often far from acceptable. Work published in such journals is occasionally used in serious public debates, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/planet-oz/2018/jan/24/murky-world-of-science-journals-a-new-frontier-for-climate-deniers">such as on climate change</a>. They present a serious credibility problem for science.</p>
<p>Of additional concern, it turns out that many academics actually struggle to identify the rogue journals from the bona fide. A <a href="https://www.nature.com/news/illegitimate-journals-scam-even-senior-scientists-1.22556">recent piece</a> in Nature makes this point only too clearly – many senior scientists have published their work in these outlets, and paid thousands of dollars for publishing fees. Indeed, the journal in which I published my hoax paper has authors based at well-regarded institutions like Rutgers, Princeton, and Florida State University. (I am not implying that their papers are necessarily bogus in any way: in fact, they often seem to be regular articles that might well have been accepted in more mainstream outlets.)</p>
<p>I am not the first to publish such a hoax paper. There are <a href="http://deevybee.blogspot.com/2017/07/breaking-ice-with-buxom-grapefruits.html">several</a> <a href="http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/neuroskeptic/2017/07/22/predatory-journals-star-wars-sting/#.WcKT8YxSyUk">lovely</a> <a href="https://www.vox.com/2014/11/21/7259207/scientific-paper-scam">examples</a> already out there. My contribution may only be the unusual blending of political science and faecal hygiene (which is probably the main reason that this story ended up <a href="https://www.facebook.com/1452615238293602/posts/2214659138755871/">going viral on social media</a>). </p>
<p>But it’s clearly a message that can’t hurt to be heard <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0147913">by more academics</a>, who might otherwise prop up these scamsters with their meagre research funds. And everyone else take heed, too: sometimes you don’t need a PhD (or even any expertise at all) to get yourself a first-author “publication”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99417/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gary Lewis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Politicians on the right surely wipe with their left hand; and vice versa?Gary Lewis, Senior Lecturer in Psychology, Royal Holloway University of LondonLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/980962018-06-22T10:33:18Z2018-06-22T10:33:18ZCan you catch germs from a public toilet seat?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223824/original/file-20180619-126540-vzksa6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>We’ve all been there, you’re desperate for the loo, and frantically hunting for a toilet, only to find when you get there, that the seat is covered with “droplets” from the previous user. So what should you do – carry on regardless, or try and squat while you do your business?</p>
<p>The world is in many ways a microbial planet and, as its inhabitants, we carry within us our own microscopic rain forests – which we exchange with the environment and each other all the time. Microbes are abundant throughout the human body, including the skin, mouth, eyes, urinary and genital organs and gastrointestinal tracts. Most people carry up to a kilogram of microorganisms. These are largely <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4991899/">within the gut and comprise</a> bacteria, fungi, yeast, viruses and sometimes parasites.</p>
<p>Research has shown that microbes from your <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26246784">gut make up 25-54% of faecal matter</a>. Human faeces can carry a wide range of <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/aqa_pre_2011/human/defendingagainstinfectionrev1.shtml">transmissible pathogens</a>: Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus and Yersinia bacteria – as well as viruses such as norovirus, rotavirus and hepatitis A and E, just to name a few.</p>
<p>So of course, there is always going to be an infection risk in encountering faecal matter, but is there a serious risk of catching an infection from a public toilet? </p>
<h2>Peeing in public</h2>
<p>Developing an infection from your bottom sitting on a toilet seat is very unlikely, as most intestinal diseases involve hand-to-mouth transfer of bacteria as a result of faecal contamination of hands, food and surfaces. Human skin is also covered by a layer of bacteria and yeast which functions as a highly effective protective shield. Underlying this is your <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0072548/">immune system which is ferociously good</a> at protecting you from “dirty” pathogens. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223825/original/file-20180619-126559-unumbn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">An average person visits the toilet 2500 times a year.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So there is no need to squat over the toilet bowel. In fact, squatting may actually cause injury or increase the risk of infection. As women’s health physical therapist <a href="https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/life/741075/toilet-seat-public-germs-hover-squat-sit">Brianne Grogan explains</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The problem with “hovering” over the toilet when urinating is that the muscles of your pelvic floor and pelvic girdle – your hip rotators, gluten, back and abs – are extremely tense. This pelvic girdle tension makes it difficult for urine to flow easily, often requiring you to push or “bear down” slightly to make the urine come out quickly. Frequent pushing or bearing down to urinate can contribute to pelvic organ prolapse. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Grogan added that this might lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder which could ultimately cause increased frequency and urgency of urination, or in extreme cases even contribute to the increased likelihood of a bladder infection. </p>
<h2>The dirty door handle</h2>
<p>A person’s microbial and immune defences provide strong protection against the infection challenges of visiting a public toilet. And also, because of the recognition of the infection risk of faecal matter, in most developed countries public toilets are regularly cleaned. </p>
<p>But for reassurance you could carry a small pack of antiseptic wipes and clean the toilet seat before you use it to protect your lower parts from contamination. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/223821/original/file-20180619-126534-10iu6p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Only one in 20 people wash their hands properly after going to the toilet.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But dirty toilet seats might not be your biggest concern, given that
a <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028132">2011 study</a> found that when the toilet is flushed, microbes in descending water droplets quickly settle over quite a wide area – including the toilet lid, door, floor and the toilet paper holder. To avoid being misted by the toilet contents – which includes your germs and those of previous toilet users – it might be advisable to leave the cubicle immediately after you press the flush button. </p>
<p>And, of course, not everyone washes their hands after a toilet visit. So it’s highly likely that the main exit door handle will be contaminated. To avoid recontaminating your clean hands when you leave a public toilet, use your elbow, coat sleeve or a tissue to open the door.</p>
<h2>Now wash your hands</h2>
<p>The key to complete protection from toilet associated germs is <a href="https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/">correct hand washing</a>. Washing your hands thoroughly removes dirt, bacteria and viruses which prevents potentially infectious microbes spreading to other people and objects. It is recommended that hand washing should involve rubbing soapy water over the hands and fingers for 20 to 30 seconds, including under the fingernails. The friction from the rubbing the hands together loosens debris containing microbes. </p>
<p>But be aware that the public toilet sinks, tap handles, and paper towel dispensers or buttons on hand driers <a href="http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0028132">all have a major microbial presence</a>. This is because hands that have just wiped bottoms will press the soap dispenser and turn on a tap. So it is advisable when hand washing is complete, to leave the tap on while you dry your hands – and then to use a clean paper towel to turn off the water. Or if you are using a hand drier use your elbow to press the activate button.</p>
<p>It also absolutely goes without saying that you do not eat, smoke or drink within a toilet stall. The same goes for using your mobile phone. Research shows up to <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-4229044/Why-shouldn-t-use-phone-toilet.html">75% of people use their phones</a> on the toilet. But given that a US study found mobile phones are up to <a href="https://cals.arizona.edu/news/why-your-cellphone-has-more-germs-toilet">ten times dirtier than toilet seats</a> – maybe its time to stop worrying about the cleanliness of public loos, and time to start worrying about the cleanliness of your phone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/98096/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Primrose Freestone does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sit v squat – the big public toilet stand-off.Primrose Freestone, Senior Lecturer in Clinical Microbiology, University of LeicesterLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.