I cannot use public toilets, it creeps me out. I really, really hate germs too. I'd rather get belly ache than use a public toilet even if there 'clean.' Even at home, i have to wipe the seat even though i know whose been on it?!
There is a gradation between anxiety, fear and phobia. It is quite possible to train yourself into a full phobia by reinforcing the perceptions driving an anxiety - especially if you start young, when you are laying down the mental wiring for your future behaviours. One reason for the increasing level of asthma in cities is the degree to which parents now protect their children from exposure to germs in the environment, and I'd guess this stems from the level of advertising from competing brands of antiseptic sprays and cleansers - the repeated images of cartoon germs and the implied mega-hazard of an unsprayed seat or a toilet that has not had gallons of chlorine poured down it are enough to scare anyone half to death... such products rely on fear-marketing. For the rest of the world, where the bleach and antiseptic manufacturers are less dominant or completely absent, handwashing is perfectly adequate to protect you from such germs as you might inadvertently transmit to food after visiting a toilet. You can't absorb germs through healthy skin and neither toilet germs nor STD germs can fly! So should you aim to live your life in a hamster-globe? No. In reality, we are being exposed to airborne and foodborne germs all the time, and our immune systems devise defences to each new one in turn. The part of the immune system (thymus) which lays down the majority of the immune system's memory loses most of its function by age 20 as you'll have been exposed to most routine stuff by then. Phobias: For those who go on to develop a full phobia about toilet germs, the last time I read about the psychotherapy, it included sessions of placing your hands on the inside of the bowl (and handwashing after) until you realised it was having no negative effect. Think about how many times a day the population of your country uses a toilet and how low the incidence of toilet-using illness is. If it was a public health problem, there would already have been enough law suits to oblige the closure of all public toilets! Notice too how the adverts for toilet cleaner focus on the fear of germs and do not cite how many cases of [insert disease here] are prevented by the use of their products.... Remember that all of your skin surface is covered in germs - good ones that are adapted to living on you personally, they protect your skin from attack by other germs because they are so well adapted to living on you, so they routinely outcompete invaders. Your gut - which is just an extension of skin surface - contains many more germs; a big % of the dry weight of faeces is dead bacteria - these are also a unique mix to each person and help with digestion and the production of certain vitamins. They also help to defend you against invaders. There was once a (profit) drive by manufacturers to get seat covers and sprays used everywhere - it didn't last long and in most places they are now more relics than a public health necessity. Sure, a few places still use them to project an image of 'caring for the customer', but it's only an image - it offers no more benefit than handwashing. Oh, and ladies in particular should be wary of holding urine too long - the release of urine flushes the urethra and helps to prevent skin germs from ascending into the bladder and causing cystitis. If you need to go, go! If you're paranoid about public toilets, carry a little bottle of alcohol gel in case there's no soap for handwashing.
Actually toilet seats get covered in germs every single time you flush, so there really ARE harmful germs on the toilet seat, its actually a safe practice to wipe a seat with a disinfectant wipe before use and step away from the toilet immediately after flushing because it sprays germs into the air. I'm no germ-a-fob but, i could care less what people think, it's science you might as well protect your self using simple practices like this then get a disease and die young.
It could be called a phobia, but not a bad one. I'm a little that way sometimes when it comes to door nobs in public restrooms. I will use a paper towel to open the door then fling it behind me as I go out especially in a restaurant when I'm about to sit down for dinner. I might suggest that you carry clorox disinfectant wipes with you. Might make you feel better in a have too situation.
I wont sit on a public toilet unless its at like a museum where entering the bathroom is like entering a pearl sarcophygous upon where the toilets say. "how are you sir?" Usually ill just be a man and stand, but germs i hate, especially people coughing around my food or burping around me. So if its a phobia, its a shared phobia.
I'm the same way, I can't Stand public bathrooms! Considering there's always a "clean" sign when we all know their clearly not clean -.-' even at home I can't stand sitting on the toilet.. But this isn't a phobia, it's just being concerned about your health.. at least thats what I tell myself.
I'm the same way i never ever use use public bathrooms i will just hold it till i get home no matter what. Then even at home i wipe the bathroom toilet down with bleach hot water,then wipe it down with bleach cloth towels. People think i'm weird just me better safe than sorry i say.
it's okaay .. to avoid all of this , I just control myself and drinking water to not to go to the bathroom so much .. or I just bring my cleaning stuff wherever I go =D
its not a phobia you just cant stand germs i use a public toilet only if theres the little paper stuff to put of the toilet or if theirs the disenfect spray
I have the same kind of thing, i can't use the toilet if people are in the cubicle next to me and if i think someone can hear me i can't either
i dont use public bathrooms either, i think they are never clean, its not a phobia. some people are like that.
