01/6​Carrying phone while pooping is a new habit, mostly among youngsters​

Young adults like having their phone while they are on the toilet seat. Browsing through reels, replying to work mails and several things are being done and dusted over a toilet seat.

But, sitting on the toilet seat with the mobile phone in hand might expose you to the deadliest of pathogens.

Read the article to find out more about this:

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02/6​Why does this grim habit need to stop?​

​Why does this grim habit need to stop?​

Toilet seats are the breeding grounds of germs. While we are on the toilet seat and are scrolling up and down we carry lots of germs on our hands and eventually put it in our mouth, eyes and nose.

As per reports, germs can live on mobile phone screens for up to 28 days.

"It’s an established fact that smartphones can carry up to ten times more germs than toilet seats, and from a hygiene viewpoint, touchscreens have been described as the ‘mosquito of the digital age’ as being vectors of infectious disease. When we touch shared surfaces then use our smartphone screen there is a risk of cross contamination, the phone itself then becomes a source of infection," Dr Hugh Hayden, infection control specialist told Yahoo Life UK.

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03/6​What are the germs we are talking about?​

​What are the germs we are talking about?​

The commonly found germs on the toilet seat one is staphylococcus aureus.

Other strains of Staphylococcus, which are also present on the toilet seats, are equally harmful for human beings. These cause urinary tract infections mostly.

On the toilet seat one is also exposed to E.coli and Enterococcus, salmonella, shigella and campylobacter.

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04/6​What are the infections you are likely to get?​

​What are the infections you are likely to get?​

With the risk of so many harmful pathogens the adversities you are likely to encounter through a contaminated phone goes without saying.

From abdominal pain, diarrhea, infection and food poisoning one can be at risk for several complications.

You are also likely to get skin infections like abscesses, respiratory infections like sinusitis and even food poisoning.

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05/6How else will this harm you?

How else will this harm you?

Sitting on a toilet seat with a phone makes you sit for longer than required. Health experts have warned against this habit.

Sitting on toilet seats for a longer duration increases the risk of haemorrhoids as this puts more pressure on the rectum.

"The veins around your anus tend to stretch under pressure and may bulge or swell. Hemorrhoids can develop from increased pressure in the lower rectum due to sitting for long periods of time on the toilet," experts at the MayoClinic explain.

It can also cause injuries and falls as one’s overall attention is mostly on the phone.

​COVID XBB.1.16: Arcturus heightens the incidence of THESE two symptoms​

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06/6​What you need to know?​

​What you need to know?​

We all follow hand hygiene after using the bathroom, but many of us skip phone hygiene.

Hands must be washed properly after using the toilet and phones should be avoided.

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