Do you hover over the toilet?
That is gross!
Hovering, it is a thing. Not everyone sits down on public toilets. I get it, the thought of getting someone else’s pee or poop on your bum, ya that sounds gross..
However, what if I told you that there is less bacteria on a public toilet seat than a kitchen sponge? Well, it is true. A toilet seat has only 50 bacteria per square inch, whereas a kitchen sponge has 10 million bacteria per square inch. 50 versus 10 million, ya that is A LOT less.
It is extremely unlikely that someone could catch something from sitting on a public toilet. Almost all disease causing bacteria in pee cannot live outside the body or on hard surfaces like a toilet seat. This means that you cannot catch a disease from your skin touching the toilet seat.
I get that there is still an “ick factor” to sitting on something that someone else sat on and did their business. However, when you hover over a toilet seat, you are asking your pelvic floor muscles to contract when they are suppose to be fully relaxed.
Your pelvic floor muscles need to fully relax to allow your bladder to fully empty so you can have a complete pee. When you hover over the toilet seat, your muscles have to contract to support your body. This causes your brain to get mixed message.
Mechanics of peeing
Your bladder is muscle. It can contract and relax. It is relaxed when it is filling with liquid (aka pee). When it stretches to fill up, it sends a signal to your brain telling it that you need to pee. Then when you pee, your bladder contracts to get all the urine out. Once all the urine is out, it sends a signal to your brain saying that it is empty.
Your muscles, do the opposite. As your bladder fills up and sends a signal to your brain that it is filling and you might need to pee, your brain sends a signal to your pelvic floor muscles. It tells them that they need to contract so you don’t pee your pants. When you are ready to pee, your brain tells your muscles to relax so your bladder can fully empty.
What happens when you hover?
When you are ready to pee in the toilet, your bladder contracts and your pelvic floor muscles are suppose to relax. However, if you are hovering, the same pelvic floor muscles that relax to allow you to pee, contract to hold up your legs. Your voluntary contraction of holding up your legs (choosing to hover) overrides your brain telling your muscles to fully relax. The bladder is strong enough at first that pee will still come out, however the end amount of pee will not be able to leave the bladder.
This does 3 things. First, it confuses your brain because your brain thought it emptied your bladder, but in fact it didn’t. This can lead to needing to urinate shortly after you just went to the bathroom or peeing often (more than every 2 hours).
Second, it keeps urine in your bladder so your bladder never gets a full break. Always having that amount of pee in your bladder can lead to bladder irritation. Many people who claim they have a “small bladder” might just need to fully empty their bladder so it can then fully expand again.
Third, it confuses the muscles. The muscles think they should be fully relaxed when you are peeing, but if they need to contract to hold up your legs when you are hovering, they get confused. Over time, this confusion can cause them to want to contract even when you are sitting on the toilet. This can lead to constipation, pain, and incomplete emptying causing you to need to go to the bathroom more often.
So what should you do?
If you are still grossed out to sit on a public toilet, put toilet paper on the seat or a seat cover down. SIT on the toilet so your pelvic floor muscles and your bladder can get a break.
NO MORE HOVERING!! Tell all your friends so you can have healthy pelvic floors together!
