Contact with toilet seat

Hi Doctors-

I recently went to the bathroom and when I stood up I realised the seat was wet-most likely with water or urine but I worried that it could be vaginal discharge. Unlikely I know, they're not really similar and it looked like drops of water. I know there's no risk from toilet seats normally but I misjudged sitting down and my vaginal area touched the seat right where the liquid was. Would there be any risk?

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

"Contact with toilet seat"???  You can't be serious.  Rumors about toilet seats and transmission of STDs were pretty much over 50 years ago.  The same applies to HIV.

From this question and your recent one about a splash in the eye during a hairwash in a salon, it is apparent you are obsessed with HIV, leading to irrational fears of contamination in the environment.  Here is all you have to know about preventing HIV:  if a bare penis (no condom) does not enter your vagina, rectum, or (possibly) mouth, and if you do not share drug injection equipment with other people, there is no risk.  Nobody in the world has ever caught HIV from a toilet seat, by contacting blood or having injuries in the environment, or splash of fluid into the eyes.  You are not going to be the first.

Abnormal fear of contagion can be a sign of serious mental illness. If the concerns expressed here and in your other thread are infrequent, limited to HIV, and do not seriously impact your daily life, probably nothing need be done.  But if such concerns also extend to things like handling doorknobs, fear of being round other people or touching them, or otherwise dominate your thoughts, I hope you will seek professional counseling.  I suggest it out of compassion, not criticism.  For an excellent example of the potential impact of such fears, in extreme form, rent "The Aviator", the film biography of Howard Hughes.  (It's a great movie, by the way, with Leonardo DiCaprio.)

I'm not going to risk reinforcing your anxieties by responding to any "yes but" or "what if" replies.

Best wishes-- HHH, MD

[katy947]

Thanks Doctor. You're absolutely right and I'm getting treatment for OCD-it's hard going though. I know that toilet seats aren't normally a risk (that much has sunk in) I just worried that the fact that my vaginal area had come into contact with seat/liquid would make a difference. From your response-no environmental transmission anywhere, ever-I guess the answer is no, press on with therapy....

[katy947]

Sorry Doctor, ignore my sneaky attempted follow up. I'm supposed to stop seeking reassurance as part of my treatment and you've already been crystal clear, I'm sorry. Thank you for your help.

[H. Hunter Handsfield, M.D.]

You're right, and you're welcome!  Glad to have helped.  Take care and do your best to block HIV from your mind.