Stomach bug in the house? Close the toilet lid!!
I am reading on Facebook and hearing from many friends that some nasty stomach bugs are going around Atlanta.
A new study of hospital toilets shows that it’s critical to close the lid on the toilet before flushing to help prevent the spread of diarrhea-causing bacteria.
“Researchers from Leeds Teaching Hospitals in the U.K. detected C. difficile – a germ that can cause diarrhea and even life-threatening inflammation of the colon – nearly 10 inches above the toilet seat after flushing lidless hospital toilets. C. difficile is frequently found in hospitals and long-term care facilities were antibiotics are common.”
“The highest numbers of C. difficile were recovered from air sampled immediately following flushing, and then declined 8-fold after 60 [minutes] and a further 3-fold after 90 [minutes],” the researchers reported in the January issue of the Journal of Hospital Infection.
“C. difficile was spotted on surrounding surfaces 90 minutes after flushing, with an average of 15 to 47 contaminated toilet water droplets landing in the nearby environment, according to the study.”
” ‘Almost everywhere we go, except in some public spaces, we have lids on our commodes. But not everyone puts them down when they flush,’ said Dr. William Schaffner, chair of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. ‘Doing so will reduce this type of environmental contamination very substantially.’ “
And always remember to wash your hands!
Has your family been hit with the stomach bug yet? Do your kids flush with the lid down? Do you? Will you make that change? Do you believe it will make a difference?
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30 comments Add your comment
Get real
January 4th, 2012
12:07 pm
You would have to dunk your head in the toilet for this to be a problem. I don\’t know about bathroom habits out west, but here, we don\’t dunk our heads in the toilet after a wet dookie.
Augusta
January 4th, 2012
12:08 pm
LYSOL!!!!!
Kaitlyn Thearsa
January 4th, 2012
12:09 pm
our family just got this yestrday our stomach is hurting our heads hurt we have been puking and a lot omore so we are just hoping it will be going away soon
Kaitlyn Thearsa
January 4th, 2012
12:09 pm
our family just got this yestrday our stomach is hurting our heads hurt we have been puking and a lot omore so we are just hoping it will be going away soon
Light
January 4th, 2012
12:12 pm
Let God will be done http://lightoftheearth.blogspot.com/
Augusta
January 4th, 2012
12:31 pm
May I suggest that if ONE family member gets this virus, confine them to ONE bathroom, and don’t let anyone else use THAT bathroom!!!
I have to ask
January 4th, 2012
12:41 pm
What is a wet dookie?
A wet dookie...
January 4th, 2012
12:59 pm
…is a Dook University football, soccer, or lacrosse player who plays the game in the rain…or a Dook swimmer…
camille
January 4th, 2012
1:00 pm
We don’t have the stomach bug floating around the house but you should close the lid. Matter from the toilet can splatter on your sink area and toothbrushes if the space is small.
Augusta
January 4th, 2012
1:16 pm
Sorry, I don’t buy that spatter crap……there is no way my toilet spatters up on to the sink, infecting our toothbrushes. I have NEVER closed the lid on our toilet, unless I have to stand on it. If it did, you’d be cleaning the counter after every flush…….Pa Leese…..
jmb
January 4th, 2012
1:38 pm
My daughter just called and is driving back from NC after seeing her husband off to Afganistan. She is sick as a dog and thought it was from Olive Garden last night but my guess is it’s this bug that’s going around. Just praying she’ll make it through the next 4 hours of driving while so sick. There is nothing worse than trying to make a trip like that with a stomach bug.
Old Man
January 4th, 2012
1:42 pm
Nah, spread it around. A little dose of it boosts the immune system.
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
January 4th, 2012
2:14 pm
jmb — i hope she makes it back ok — that is terrible. That test found it splattered 10 inches above the toilet — also the article has other research that supported the findings. Specifically talked about fecal matter in tooth brushes!!!
camille
January 4th, 2012
2:26 pm
@Augusta… .year ago there was a new story about this topic and an experiment was performed and showed until ultraviolet light how matter does splatter.
Try this experience…. sit on the toilet while you flush. If you feel any water on your behind, you have spatter.
Augusta
January 4th, 2012
3:00 pm
We have those low flush toilets….no spatter whatsoever.
jmb
January 4th, 2012
4:19 pm
TWG – Thank you, she just made it back. I’ve been so worried about her today. Hope no one here gets it!
kimmer
January 4th, 2012
4:48 pm
C difficile is not the stomach bug and really does not pose much of a risk unless you are on antibiotics and/or in a hospital, nursing home etc. The stomach bug can be similarly aeresolized when flushing but probably more so by the act of vomiting and you gotta keep the lid up for that! Even with that the more likely way to get it is hand to mouth after touching something contaminated by an infected person. It spreads by the fecal-oral route (gross but true). Best bet is rigorous practice of hand washing.
motherjanegoose
January 4th, 2012
4:51 pm
Our toilet is in a separate room, inside our bathroom, so I guess we are safe? The kid’s bathroom is all in the same room but they are at college and really not kids anymore.
BeckyC
January 4th, 2012
5:14 pm
C diff is not the stomach bug but it is a risk. My grandmother almost died of it 4 years ago…not sure where she picked it up. At the time she and my grandfather were living up in North Georgia by themselves. She ended up being admitted to the hospital and was there for about a month. For the rest of her life, C Diff will reside in her system and can be “awoken” if she is put on antibiotics. It is a nightmare….if she is put on antibiotics now for something like bronchitis, she then has be take a probiotic to fight off C diff from feeding on the antibiotic. When she was in the hospital there were signs everything outside her room warning hospital staff that she had it. You cannot use hand sanitizer to eliminate, must use warm water and soap. At the time she had it, I could not go visit as my youngest was 8 mos old and I could not risk bringing it home to him. When I see C diff in the news now I just shudder. My grandmother was very lucky…..
Theresa Walsh Giarrusso
January 4th, 2012
7:29 pm
the point of the story is that the tests show the toilets splatter stuff out — no matter the viral or bacterial make up — it’s still stuff coming up out of your toilet!!!
motherjanegoose
January 4th, 2012
7:52 pm
Enter your comments here
catlady
January 4th, 2012
8:11 pm
The splatter effect of toilets was news several years ago. I always shut before flushing with any toilet that has a lid. Some don’t (like the ones at school!)
Wiccamagae
January 4th, 2012
10:46 pm
Our entire family out here in Utah has this bug, apparently. However, we don’t have fever or headaches to go with it. Just the abdominal pain, nausea and violent vomiting. Onset was EXTREMELY quick. Started with a general “yucky” feeling, then progressed to vomiting within a few hours.
It started two nights ago with my two year old, then my husband started this morning. Thankfully by the time he needed the bathroom, she was “out of the woods,” so to speak.
My little girl’s symptoms lasted less than 12 hours, but she must have vomited more than a dozen times in 6 hours – not fun for such a little kid! She started having mild diarrhea today (36 hours after the vomiting), but it hasn’t been too bad for her.
My husband has had nearly the same symptoms and run time. About 4 – 6 hours of continuous vomiting, no real headaches (aside from what’s caused by the vomiting) or fever. He has also been experiencing major diarrhea during the vomiting, however. This is, for us at least, an “out both ends” illness.
Both are very lethargic, and need to keep drinking a lot of fluids. I don’t recommend eating anything really solid for at least the next 48+ hours. My daughter wanted Mac & Cheese to eat after 36 hours, but that just induced more vomiting.
Crackers and soup are the way to go if you can handle it.
So far, I’ve only had some abdominal pain and nausea, but no vomiting. I’m afraid I’m going to be next, but I’ve also been taking it really easy and lying down as much as I can while watching my toddler.
I hope this helps anyone who may catch this thing – it’s not pretty, but it is manageable. Just make sure you have a bucket nearby if you’re stuck on the toilet.
Wayne
January 5th, 2012
9:11 am
Didn’t MythBusters do a toilet thing a while back? I think they showed that this isn’t as much of a problem as people think. I don’t recall the details though so I could be way off here.
Figment
January 5th, 2012
9:26 am
@Wayne – Yes Mythbusters did do this test. And they did find it spread to most things in the bathroom. Can’t remember the max distance but I’m sure someone could Google it if they’re interested.
Warrior Woman
January 5th, 2012
10:42 am
Mythbusters looked at this in 2004, and confirmed it. Time Warp also has a video where they put dry ice in the bowl before flushing. This makes the plume of aerosolized droplets visible. Very interesting.
Kar
January 5th, 2012
11:21 am
It’s not a matter of “splatter” problem.
They’ve been saying for years that yes, when you flush there’s a fine, detectable to the human eye, mist from the toilet that is largely cut down when the lid is down. Even if it’s not enough to contaminate the entire house or even the whole bathroom, it can be an environmental factor.
Tig
January 5th, 2012
1:27 pm
Re: Mythbusters – Wow!
Penguinmom
January 5th, 2012
2:18 pm
@kar, that was what I was going to say. This is not large droplets spraying everywhere wetting down surfaces. It is moisture contaminated with bacteria that is being released into the air. It then settles down on open surfaces. I don’t think it creates a huge risk but if someone is already susceptible or is being exposed multiple times over the course of a couple of days it could end up causing issues.
Concerned Daughter
January 5th, 2012
4:06 pm
I just took my dad in for a colonoscopy 2 weeks ago and when I was finally able to see him in recovery, I noticed some “stuff” on the sheet and the handrail as I leaned over to him. I know he had c. diff in the past but was told it was all cleared up. Even so, when I asked the nurse, she said there was nothing to worry about- said “it’s pretty common to see “stuff” on the cart after a patient has had a colonoscopy.” She seemed totally unconcerned, and no wonder we have infections in our hospitals. Fascinating that we have this level and detail of research for toilet flushing. How about looking at the obvious for preventing infections?