Obviously public toliet seats can be nasty. But just how dangerous is it to use one that looks clean at say a road side rest? Can you actually get an STD (like warts or herpes) from one? What can you do if you are at one and there are no cover sheets or disinfectent in the place and really have to go?
I expect a few good smart alex responses, but this is actually a serious question. :eek:
Unless you have open sores on your buttocks or legs that would come into contact with the toilet seat, the chances of this type of infection penetrating the skin are extremely small.
I, for one, never use the little paper protection sheets, even when they are available, and I have lived to the ripe old age of 58.
Cecil did a column on it, can anyone hunt it up? No search capabilities at work for me. 
But FBG as usual is right, there’s very little you can get unless you rub your face all over it. That’s what skin is for, it’s a lovely protective envelope.
I hate to disappoint expectations! 
“It’s no use standing on the seat
the crabs in here can jump 10 feet.
If you think that’s pretty high
go next door, the bastards fly.”
The Mythbusters did a show where they were testing the “5 second rule” for edibility of food that falls on the floor, and as part of it, they swabbed various surfaces around their workshop, including the toilet seat. They found that the toilet seat was actually a lot cleaner than the floors. Hardly any bacteria cultures grew from that swab. It wasn’t exactly a public toilet, but presumably quite a few people used it.
Here you go: What diseases can you catch from toilet seats? (actually it’s a Mailbag article)
Also tangentially relevant?: Why are public toilet seats always “U” shaped?, and Can rats swim up through the (urk) toilet?
It’s not as obvious as you might think. The thing about toilet seats - even “nasty” ones - is that they tend to get cleaned. You deal with all kinds of surfaces on a daily basis that are probably more germ-ridden than a toilet seat. Your keyboard, for instance. And, here’s the thing - WE ALL MANAGE TO LIVE.
Thanks, Thudlow! It did me good to read those again.
Herpes can be spread by direct non-sexual contact, certainly. Thus, I guess it is theoretically possible for someone with a open herpes sore on an area that has contact with a toilet seat to get up, and if you sat back down within seconds, I guess it is possible. So far, I can’t find any cases of it happening.
This article sez that Herpes can survive on surfaces:
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1046/j.1365-2672.2001.01364.x
“Infectious HSV has also been recovered from environmental surfaces such as doorknobs and toilet seats, although it is not clear what role formites play in the spread of herpes viruses.”
From reading the article, it seems like the seat would have to still be wet and warm, and it’s still doubtful.
But if I did not have herpes, *and * I had a rash on my sitting area, *and * someone I knew had an active herpes infection used the toilet: it wouldn’t be silly to wipe it down or even a spray of some disenfectant 1st. Certainly I’d wait until it was cool and dry.
At one time there was a theory that some women were getting Herpes as they got on the stationary bike just as another woman was getting off the seat, so that the seat was exposed to the open air for mere seconds. :dubious: I have doubts, but there would be another area where a small wait or a wipe-down might be a good idea.
It never ceases to amaze me how “germophobic” some people on this board are. I’m not sure if it’s an SDMB thing or if it’s truly representative of modern society, but it’s quite scary. Germs are everywhere. We’ve been living with them for millennia. You sit on a toilet seat with your backside, for Pete’s sake. Unless your planning on wiping your lunch across your buttocks before eating it, how exactly are the nasty bugs supposed to attack you?
Aha!
That explains why my food always tastes like shit. :smack:
I think it’s everywhere. In the office building where I work, I regularly see paper towels on the floor by the bathroom doors. This is because the germophobes wash their hands then use another paper towel to open the door to the bathroom and then surreptitiously drop the paper town on the floor on the way out (push to enter/pull to exit the bathroom/lavatory area).
What cracks me up is they probably get more germs on the door entering the building!
As I’ve said before; I wash my hands after going to the bathroom. Not because I’m dirtier for going to the bathroom, but because it’s a convenient time to wash my hands.
I worry less about STDs and more about the chances of encountering residual butt warmth from the previous squatter.
Gahhhh! I just had this awful, squijjy creepy feeling up my spine just thinking that, i HATE that!!!
Here’s my MO for using a public toilet that’s seen some action, and with no seat-sheets available:
After overcoming my gag reflex, I use toilet paper to wipe off the seat the best I can. Discard that into the toilet. You may want to flush at this point, just to be sure you’re starting Tabula Rosa.
Break off 2 long strips (around 5-6 squares long) of Toilet Paper.
Neatly lay these strips down on the seat where your legs rest.
No - that’s just cos you’re in England 
STD’s Warts & Herpes are all acquired, almost exclusively by contact sports.
Me too. I started another thread about a 910 square mile Wi-Fi network proposal but people would rather check out the toliet thread! :smack:
Well sure. You can’t get an STD or butt-warmth residue from a Wi-Fi network. Sheesh. :rolleyes:
Dude…it even squicks me out when I follow my husband. It is a guaranteed shudder for me every time.