Do you use toilet seat covers at public stalls? (waxing, cancer, surgeons)
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Yes, unless you have open sores on your buttocks, or are putting your hand straight from your rear end to your mouth , the danger is going to remain theoretical.
Staph, E. coli, etc., do not burrow through intact skin.
Staph can absolutely result in an infection from intact skin. Simply Google "staph infection transmitted" and the first hit is a mayo clinic site explaining how simply touching a contaminated surface can result in staph.
An entire peer reviewed study showed how hospital bathrooms showed positive for MRSA and that protocol was implemented to reduce that risk. The toilets that weren't being wiped down/cleaned properly showed positive for staph. The entire purpose of the study was because of concern that public would be exposed to/have an increased risk of staph infection due to multiple people using bathrooms at the hospital.
I wasn't cherry picking. I know the article said exactly what many others said- that skin is normally an effective germ barrier and that hand washing is your best defense (common sense). My point was to reiterate that these germs can and DO live on toilet seats and although the risk is low there is still a risk.
And yes that's one type of contact dermatitis. From chemicals used to clean seats. All the more reason to use toilet seat covers! Not to mention, if you've ever seen how most cleaning personnel/janitorial staff clean a bathroom you would cringe. I've never once seen a cleaner change their gloves after using toilet brush/lifting dirty toilet seat. I've seen them use the dirty toilet water to clean the seat! the same dirty gloves they use to touch toilets are then used to touch doorknobs, wipe down sinks, etc. Overall hotel, workplace, and public restrooms in general are disgusting. Using a toilet seat cover is like washing your hands- common sense.
There is risk getting out of bed in the morning. *Theoretically*, I could slip, hit my head on the nightstand and die. I do not avoid hard furniture because there is a small risk associated with it. It is simply not how I choose to live.
There is risk getting out of bed in the morning. *Theoretically*, I could slip, hit my head on the nightstand and die. I do not avoid hard furniture because there is a small risk associated with it. It is simply not how I choose to live.
I take precautions based on the circumstance.
Ok that's nice but this is a thread about why people choose whether or not they use toilet seat covers. Many people explain why they do, or why they hover, due to the chance of contracting something. Whether the risk is small or not, it's there and it justifies why people want to use toilet seat covers
The ones who give me a chuckle are those who walk into a store, grab the disinfectant wipes, and scrub the shopping cart handle thoroughly. Then they walk through the store, putting the food they will eat into the basket. They have no idea how clean that basket is, but that never occurs to them.
Then they put that food on a belt that people have sneezed on, slobbered on, and put their filthy hands on. The checker picks the food up with hands that have touched who-knows-what, scans it across a scanner of unknown cleanliness, and puts it in bags.
Then the customer takes it outside and tosses it into the trunk of his/her car, gets in, and grabs the filthy steering wheel that probably hasn't been cleaned since the car was new, after fastening the seat belt which also hasn't been cleaned.
BUT, he/she is SAFE, because they wiped that shopping cart handle!
No, I do not bother with seat covers. I don't wipe the shopping cart handle, either!
But, I do wash the steering wheel a couple times a year.
"Don't sit, Hover" was how I was coached by my high school friend.
I found hovering to be uncomfortable and a little messy. The paper seat covers are messy too. I don't have to explain why but sometimes it causes more problems for the next party-goer...
I gave up on other systems a long time ago and decided to take my chances. I don't think it is a big deal, all things considered. If I was that concerned then I would throw some disinfectant wipes in my purse rather then hover or use those paper things.
Everybody is right. A bottom is not as much of a threat as everything we touch. People are so unsanitary. I have noticed the people who come out of the bathroom dry handed. I don't check every hand for moisture but there have been times that I have caught people dry handed. I took an informal survey about that before.
Hands are the grossest. I do de-germ my grocery cart handle. If everyone did before they came in the store, the products and everything else wouldn't be so germy.
Yes, unless you have open sores on your buttocks, or are putting your hand straight from your rear end to your mouth , the danger is going to remain theoretical.
Staph, E. coli, etc., do not burrow through intact skin.
LOL and so true. I still don't believe that "most people hover over the toilet seat." No one knows for sure unless you have installed a spycam into a bathroom stall and review the footage regularly, and if that is YOUR habit, you have bigger issues than judging the behaviors of women in the bathroom It's politically correct for a person to claim he/she hovers, but I theorize that most people don't. I sure don't. I don't because it's silly due to our immune system defense and it's hard for me to do, even though I work out. I can squat 50 times in a row if it's not a static squat, but a still squat is very difficult. I will check to see if the seat is wet or nasty before sitting down. If it is, I go on to the next stall.
As an aside, I used to see those paper toilet seat covers in public restrooms everywhere. Now I rarely see them. I tried to use them on several occasions and had little success. When I did, I found they did not work well, both because they were hard to aim properly on the seat, thus I ended up touching the seat anyway, and they didn't want to flush down the toilet. So I believe that's why the dispensers were removed from many bathrooms.
Ok that's nice but this is a thread about why people choose whether or not they use toilet seat covers. Many people explain why they do, or why they hover, due to the chance of contracting something. Whether the risk is small or not, it's there and it justifies why people want to use toilet seat covers
Well....it's also about why people *don't * .
And the reasons most have given is that the risk is so minute that words like "theoretically" are used. And that too is a valid response.
The ones who give me a chuckle are those who walk into a store, grab the disinfectant wipes, and scrub the shopping cart handle thoroughly. Then they walk through the store, putting the food they will eat into the basket. They have no idea how clean that basket is, but that never occurs to them.
Then they put that food on a belt that people have sneezed on, slobbered on, and put their filthy hands on. The checker picks the food up with hands that have touched who-knows-what, scans it across a scanner of unknown cleanliness, and puts it in bags.
Then the customer takes it outside and tosses it into the trunk of his/her car, gets in, and grabs the filthy steering wheel that probably hasn't been cleaned since the car was new, after fastening the seat belt which also hasn't been cleaned.
BUT, he/she is SAFE, because they wiped that shopping cart handle!
No, I do not bother with seat covers. I don't wipe the shopping cart handle, either!
But, I do wash the steering wheel a couple times a year.
The food is packaged. Big differnce. So that means germs arent getting on the food bought
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, the danger is going to remain theoretical. 
It's politically correct for a person to claim he/she hovers, but I theorize that most people don't. I sure don't. I don't because it's silly due to our immune system defense and it's hard for me to do, even though I work out. I can squat 50 times in a row if it's not a static squat, but a still squat is very difficult. I will check to see if the seat is wet or nasty before sitting down. If it is, I go on to the next stall. 
