Health: How To Use The Toilet Properly?

Do you know the proper use of the small corner? While this may seem like a trivial or tasteless question, it's much more important than you think! We explain how to use the toilet properly to improve your transit and avoid several health problems.

1- Don't hold back on going to the bathroom

Although it is a natural need, many people hold back from going to the bathroom for various reasons:
- lack of time during the day
- disgust with public restrooms that are sometimes dirty
- by phobia of being overheard by others, a condition called paruresis that affects about 10% of the population.

It is certainly possible to hold back when you don't know where the nearest toilet is, but it should not become a habit.

Indeed, when you keep putting off going to the bathroom :
- You disrupt the urine evacuation mechanism (which is normally triggered as soon as the bladder contains between 200 and 300 ml of liquid)
- we promote pollakiuria or the need to pee every 5 minutes
- one increases the risk of emergency urinary incontinence.

Holding in stool is just as bad for bowel movements. It promotes chronic constipation and can even lead to a dry stool plug called fecal impaction.

2- It is useless to linger on the throne

Conversely, in the moments of the day when you are at home, it is not necessary nor recommended to sit on the throne for an indefinite period of time.

Contrary to what some people imagine, staying on the toilet for long periods of time does not promote bowel movements. On the contrary, this bad habit ends up distending the muscles of the anus and weakening what is called the 'need signal'.

To use the toilet well, remember that there is no need to insist. There is no point in waiting more than 3 or 4 minutes if nothing comes. It is also not advisable to push so as not to dilate the veins and cause hemorrhoids!

When urinating, you should not push either, in order not to damage your perineum (a precious and fragile muscle). You should also not empty your bladder every 5 minutes 'as a precaution' because too frequent pee breaks end up disrupting the natural mechanism of urine evacuation.

3- It is better to sit in public toilets

Contrary to popular belief, it's not unhealthy to sit in public restrooms. On the contrary, playing the balancing act may prevent you, ladies, from properly emptying your bladder, with an increased risk of developing a urinary tract infection as a result!

If you feel more comfortable, you can cover the seat with sheets of paper. But either way, make yourself comfortable with your feet flat on the floor and take all the time you need to empty your bladder completely.

Remember that a bladder that is not emptied or is not emptied properly during the day increases the risk of cystitis because germs stay in contact with your bladder and proliferate there.

4- Bleach is not the best cleaning product

Too many people still think that bleach is the best solution to really sanitize the toilet bowl.

But bleach is not a cleaning product. When used improperly, it can harm the environment by mixing with organic substances in water systems.

If you're looking for a more natural solution than this chlorine-based product, you should know that a mixture of baking soda and white vinegar descales the toilet bowl very well.

White vinegar is an interesting natural cleaner for sanitizing toilets because it is both antibacterial and anti-mold.

5- Don't take your smartphone to the bathroom

Going to the bathroom with your smartphone or tablet is really not a good idea, and not just for the device that may fall into the toilet!

Playing video games or reading emails in the toilet is not recommended as it only increases the time spent on the throne... Now, as we explained to you above, staying on the toilet for a long time increases the risk of muscle distension and vein dilation.

Also, if you touch your touchscreen after wiping yourself but before washing your hands, you will turn it into a veritable nest of germs conducive to gastroenteritis!

So, if you sometimes check your smartphone in the bathroom, always remember to clean it afterwards.