How many times do you use the toilet in a day? After every flush, there might be instances when you can unknowingly spread the Coronavirus (or other viruses) into the air in your home. Current studies have claimed that whenever you leave the toilet lid open when you flush, the chances of spreading the virus increase over time.
Study: Leaving the toilet lid open can spread viruses even more!
The Coronavirus has already spread to pandemic levels. It being a virus in the form of SARS-CoV-2, it easily spreads from human to human through droplets that may linger on contaminated surfaces or secretions from the nose or mouth.
The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) already supported the first claim of their Chinese counterpart that says SARS-CoV-2 can be spread through human feces by fecal-oral transmission. But these have happened in isolated cases only.
"While viable, infectious SARS-CoV has been isolated from respiratory, blood, urine, and stool specimens, viable, infectious MERS-CoV has only been isolated from respiratory tract specimens," says US CDC.
On April 3, the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology, released a study explaining why you should be aware whenever you use the bathroom. In their study, it was found that there are so-called "aerosolized feces." These feces are released in the air whenever a person flushes the toilet. An estimated total of 80% of the particles in your toilet escape into the air whenever you flush.
If you happen to be a positive Coronavirus patient and you left the toilet lid open while flushing after defecating, there is a large chance that the virus could circulating in the air. To prevent this from happening, Dr. Qingyan Chen of Purdue University simply advises to "close the lid and then flush."
Washing your hands is still the best protection against the virus
A study from the City University of Hong Kong led by Alvin Lai also supported this claim. He said that "A toilet flush can release up to 80,000 polluted droplets and leave them suspended a meter in the air for hours if the lid is left up."
However, he clarified that this act must not be the only priority measurement against the virus. Proper washing of hands and regular sanitation must still be the first thing to do to prevent the disease from spreading even more.
How to prevent the fecal-oral transmission of the virus?
As reported in Forbes, fecal-oral transmission is more prone to happen with symptomatic patients. This means that if you share the same bathroom with symptomatic positive Coronavirus patients, the possibility increases.
Thererfore, when you have to use a public bathroom, make sure to wash your hands after doing your task. Use a tissue to press or pull the button or lever to flush the toilet while it's closed. Meanwhile, if you're waiting for someone to finish using it, wait for at least two minutes outside after he or she finishes to let the particle dissipate. Using these simple tricks, we can prevent the spread of any virus in our homes and public spaces.
