Aahh those coveted minutes crunched on a toilet seat with your phone on hand mindlessly scrolling across social media platforms, catching up with the latest from your favourite blog as you hide out from your family and so on, so forth keeping yourself occupied as you go about your number 2 is an accepted way of life.
Peaceful, almost therapeutic right? But here is one thing most fail to release, being sited on a toilet seat for more than 10 minutes is bad for your overall health.
Sitting on the toilet for a long prolonged period can have adverse effects on you according to several gastroenterologists.
Just for context, a gastroenterologist is someone who specializes in the digestive system.
For starters, sitting on a toilet for long periods compresses nerves in the perineum, and can lead to temporary numbness. I mean we have almost certainly all experienced that.
The pins and tingly sensation on your thighs or feet you get once you stand up from your comfort spot. Sometimes it can be even slightly painful depending on how long you were in there.
Spending too much time in the loo can cause pressure on your rectum and anus.
This is because due to the position and shape of the toilet seat (cut out) your rectum is lower than the rest of your backside. This might in the long run lead to Hemorrhoids.
Image: Courtesy
While you're seated, gravity takes over and blood starts to pool and clot in those veins.
This is mixed up with straining or pushing just in case you're constipated or haven't been consuming enough fibre and water and bam recipe for hemorrhoids.
Straining is the process of trying to force a bowel movement to happen.
Unfortunately, straining can put your pelvic floor in an unfavourable position that can lead to longer-term issues down the road.
Maria Alexies Samonte a pediatric MD notes that "Hemorrhoids or piles are varicose veins in your rectum. They form because of excess pressure on the veins.
As a result, the veins can bulge and fill with blood clots which can lead to itching, pain, and other unpleasant feelings,"
Other health issues noted to be related to spending long hours on the toilet seat include appendicitis, colon cancer, polyps, ulcerative colitis, diverticular disease, and irritable bowel syndrome.
Quite the unexpected long list... I know.
According to an online medical platform known as Mayo Clinic, hemorrhoids can develop inside the rectum which are referred to as internal hemorrhoids, or under the skin around the anus which professionals refer to as external hemorrhoids.
Besides the listed diseases, there is also the possibility of contacting infectious diseases from the toilet, this is if it's not your toilet.
But even the ones at home pose a risk if they're still communal and not properly cleaned.
Read also:
