Some urban legends die hard. So much so that part of the population ends up believing them to be true. This is particularly the case of the one, however largely defeated by entire generations of professionals, who would like STIs to be transmitted via toilet bowls. Gold, “it’s false, but it’s true that it’s still very widespread!”, reacts Marie Jourdan.
A doubly absurd theory
As a reminder, sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are transmitted “from mucosa to mucosa (sexual organs, mouth, nostrils, etc.), generally during sexual intercourse, details the dermatologist. To catch one in the toilet, people would first have to stick their mucous membranes against the bowl, which already seems unlikely. The upper thighs do not transmit disease.”
But that’s not all : “Whatever happens, the germ is not going to jump on the bowl and resist the outside environment. It needs a host. So it’s doubly absurd!”
What are you really risking in the toilet?
If it is therefore impossible to catch chlamydia or genital herpes via the famous basin, the latter can nevertheless accommodate certain particularly resistant germs, “like those of fecal peril. Either the germs that can cause, for example, a gastroenteritis. But it is also possible to catch Staphylococcus aureus, which manifests as a boil on the buttocks or upper thighs. But in this specific case, you must have had a long enough contact and not have washed afterwards”, says the expert.
In short, to avoid STIs like other types of infections, do not hesitate to protect yourself during sexual intercourse and maintain a certain level of hygiene the rest of the time!
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