# Why are women supposed to wash their hands after urination? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 7, 2001, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694 "2001-05-07T22:44:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![98467](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/9/9de053/32.png) [@98467](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/98467)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/21 "2003-05-26T02:43:24Z")
I think women can get lice from toilet seats, so it is good to put toilet paper on the seat when you go in restrooms that aren’t particulary clean. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/22 "2003-05-26T03:37:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by j.c. \* > \*\ ***Hamartia** Paper can’t block germs. \*\* Can you backthat up? **98467** said > [@](#): > > I think women can get lice from toilet seats, so it is good to put toilet paper on the seat when you go in restrooms that aren’t particulary clean. Can you back up your surmise? ---
**Author:** ![Billdo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/billdo/32/315_2.png) [@Billdo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Billdo)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/23 "2003-05-26T16:11:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by AHunter3 \* > How many of the people who worry about catching “germs” as a side-effect of bathrooms and toilet functions cheerfully engage in oral sex activities without dousing everything in Clorox first? **AHunter** , check the linked column. Cecil addresses this in a follow-up question. ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/24 "2003-05-26T22:04:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by samclem \* > \*\*Can you backthat up? > \*\* Here’s a test… would you feel confident giving first aid to someone with HIV/AIDS and/or hepatitis and/or any other infectious disease with only tp as a barrier? I’m not sure about the pore size of your typical toilet paper, but I am sure that your typical germ is smaller than the pores and would pass through very easily to your hands. An E. coli bacterium (and a few other bacteria) measure about 2 micrometers wide/long (depending on your perspective). Viruses run in the nanometers, rhinovirus for example is 20 nm in diameter. Most filter paper I’ve used in the lab filters out particles between 1 and 100 micrometers in size, and I know for a fact that filter paper is denser than toilet paper. Therefore, I am confident that the toilet paper isn’t blocking most germs, if any. ---
**Author:** ![bullets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@bullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bullets)\ **Post date:** [May 27, 2003, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/25 "2003-05-27T03:51:46Z")
minnesota has solved some of the problems by putting funnel type contraptions in the johns at state parks. this allows the woman to stand upi, stare at the ceiling and make hr feel more like one of the boys! they could carry this a step furthur and have an automated cleanser spray and maybe an automated brush… it would be sort of like a car wash. oh…i forgot the hot air for drying!!! ---
**Author:** ![calliarcale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/48db29/32.png) [@calliarcale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calliarcale)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2003, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/26 "2003-05-29T20:44:23Z")
Hey, I gotta find one of those restrooms. I’m in Minnesota, and I’ve yet to see one. Sounds like an interesting experience. 😉 Women: ALWAYS wipe after you pee. And do it front-to-back. Yes, I do know this means the pee ends up getting pushed towards your special place, but that’s better than pulling things forward from the other sewer outlet, which is MUCH dirtier than your urethral opening. Adopting this simple step will greatly reduce the chance of bladder infection. And for goodness sake, wash your hands afterwards! If nothing else, it’s a good chance to wash up. Make sure you work up a good lather; the quick soap and rinse that most folks do is not really sufficient to have any real effect. If the faucet handle worries you, do as doctors do when they do a surgical scrub – turn it on and off with your elbow. ---
**Author:** ![kunoichi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4da419/32.png) [@kunoichi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kunoichi)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/27 "2003-05-30T02:25:40Z")
Seriously, people need to wash their hands more often as is. Maybe then we wouldn’t have SARS epidemics… I’m sure for a lot of people the ONLY time all day they wash their hands is after going to the bathroom, so think of what it would be like if you eliminate those hand-washings. I remember making cultures on agar of all the nasty germs from your hands in a high school bio class… trust me, it isn’t pretty, but handwashing helps a lot. ---
**Author:** ![bullets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@bullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bullets)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/28 "2003-05-30T04:03:53Z")
the funnel contraption in the women’s john is at a state beach on a small lake about 8 miles south of detroit lakes on hy 59. i grew up in the area , but can’t recall the name of this small lake. in case you get up there and like to fish it’s good for northerns, but there are no resorts on it so you need you own boat…it’s also a good beach for swimming. not many lakes left with no resorts! ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/29 "2003-05-30T13:43:38Z")
Women pee? I feel like Strephon in Swift’s The Lady’s Dressing Room. [http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/s97ld/](http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/s/s97ld/) Thus finishing his grand survey, Disgusted Strephon stole away Repeating in his amorous fits, Oh! Celia, Celia, Celia shits! But vengeance, Goddess never sleeping, Soon punished Strephon for his peeping: His foul Imagination links Each dame he see with all her stinks; And, if unsavory odors fly, Conceives a lady standing by. ---
**Author:** ![bullets](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c2a13f/32.png) [@bullets](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bullets)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/30 "2003-05-30T15:03:31Z")
the name of the lake in minnesota came to me in a dream last night…it’s sauer. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/31 "2003-05-30T15:53:29Z")
Are you people kidding? I washed my hands after reading this thread! ---
**Author:** ![CorvusMellori](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/848f3c/32.png) [@CorvusMellori](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CorvusMellori)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2003, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/32 "2003-05-30T17:53:00Z")
Well at the risk of seeming non-scientific, it’s just plain gross for someone to NOT wash hands after using a bathroom, male OR female. I turn on the faucet, wash my hands with soap and water, then grab a paper towel to dry off, then I use said paper towel to turn the faucet off. Simple as that. If it’s convenient (meaning, if the trash can is near the door), I also use the paper towel to open the door, and then I throw the towel into the trash. ---
**Author:** ![juji\_mojo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/7ea924/32.png) [@juji\_mojo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/juji_mojo)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/33 "2003-05-31T21:35:50Z")
Just another fun fact I recieved in a wound care seminar I attended yesterday… “Bacteria have been documented to get through 64 layers of gauze.” I dont have an actual cite for that, but this wound care clinician probably has it. So the “toliet paper will save me from…xyz” is obviously not a “thick enough” argument. Wash your hands. Sure I turn off taps, open doors etc with dry paper towel…(not the one I dried my hands with, thats like throwing a brick through your living room window in January and expecting no heat loss) but I dont thin layers of paper to save me from much. Water. soap and friction. Thats the way to combat the spread of microorganisms. ---
**Author:** ![bikertrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/85e7bf/32.png) [@bikertrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bikertrash)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/34 "2003-05-31T23:38:52Z")
i’m a man and i dont feel i should have to wash after i pee because i was tought to keep my privates clean and i’m long enough that i dont pee on my hands ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2003, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/35 "2003-06-01T23:05:42Z")
If we’re talking about peeing sitting down, I don’t see why a guy would have to touch anything. ---
**Author:** ![Zombie\_Hunter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/fbc32d/32.png) [@Zombie\_Hunter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zombie_Hunter)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2003, 2:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/36 "2003-06-04T02:51:34Z")
I’m with her on this one…as I guy who takes a crap…I also merely also touch the waistband, and then after…wipe with toilet paper. As you can easily see…no contact…it is then that I go into the kitchen and make your meals at the restaurant where I work. ---
**Author:** ![i\_like\_bacon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@i\_like\_bacon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/i_like_bacon)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/37 "2003-06-08T02:16:39Z")
ok i didn’t realize that the “foot flushing” maneuver was considered odd. i do it in public restrooms just because, well, ewww, somebody just wiped then touched that. i do wash my hands before i leave though. i certainly don’t foot flush at home. i am in minnesota too, and i haven’t seen this funnel, guess i need to plan a trip to sauer lake just to check that out! ---
**Author:** ![blahedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@blahedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blahedo)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/38 "2003-06-08T05:15:22Z")
Look, this isn’t hard, folks. When you go to the bathroom, no matter how careful you are, you get invisible bacteria on your hands. It is almost unavoidable that you will get other people’s invisible bacteria on your hands too. Making a nest of toilet paper does not help; it just uses up about fifteen times as much TP as you really need, and opens the possibility of it slipping onto the floor. Kicking the toilet flush handle does not help; it just opens the possibility of getting floor crud all over the handle and annoys all the people who use it after you. Hovering over the seat _definitely_ does not help; it just makes you piss all over the seat. Thanks a lot. An optimal plan for using the bathroom: Go in, open and close the stall door if necessary, rearrange your pants or skirts as necessary without any funny contortions. Sit on the toilet, or stand at the urinal, and do your thing. Wipe up thoroughly. Fix your clothes and press the flush handle with your hand. Exit the stall. At this point, you have germs on your hands. This was unavoidable. So you go over to the sink and turn it on, relatively hot, and soap up your hands, and wash them. Turn off the water with the back of your hand or your wrist or whatever—your hands are still clean. Grab a towel and dry your hands. Use the towel to pull the door open. If there aren’t any towels, hit the hand dryer with your elbow or something, then use your sleeve to pull the door open. (If _everybody_ washed their hands you _wouldn’t need to worry about the door handle_. HINT HINT HINT) This shouldn’t be difficult. Why do you make it so difficult? ---
**Author:** ![calm\_kiwi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9fc348/32.png) [@calm\_kiwi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/calm_kiwi)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/39 "2003-06-08T13:12:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Tatjana \* > [B (I use my foot to flush in public restrooms) \*\* EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW! YUCK! You are making the simple act of peeing in a public loo less clean for the rest of us! Please use your hand, god knows where your foot has been! ---
**Author:** ![finette6](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@finette6](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/finette6)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694/40 "2003-06-08T16:01:56Z")
You people may not want to know this, but I used to work in a bakery in the “finishing” department. This means that we were decorating cakes, frosting cookies and the like, essentially touching the goods right before the customer was to eat them. The bathroom there was so scummy that I could personally never bring wyself to wash my hands there. I DID wash them as soon as I got back on the floor, and I made it my practice to always wear gloves. HOWEVER, I was the only one on my crew who did this. Some of the women had arthritis, which was made more painful somehow by the gloves, and one had an allergy to whatever the gloves were made of (not latex, by the way). When I first started there, I was shocked, but this wore off and by the end of the 3 months I worked there, I had started wearing gloves only when I was doing something particularly messy. I did still wash my hands frequently. My point is, there really is no way to protect yourself from all the bacteria that may come your way. Some people react to this knowledge with paranoia, spraying the air they breathe with antibacterial whatnots, but I have decided to be more fatalistic/accepting, and just not worry so damn much. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-women-supposed-to-wash-their-hands-after-urination/64694.md?page=3)