Catching herpes from a toilet seat?!?

[ocean11]

Hello all... I just got a call from a distraught friend of mine, who found out that her roomate has recently aquired what appears to be genital herpes! now she's freeking out because she shares the same washroom as this girl! she is convinced that she might get it because they share the same toilet!?

I told her its very rare to catch it like that but she wanted more proof... does anyone have any stats on the probability of catching this disease from sharing a toilet with someone who has it?!?!?

Or are there any sites I can forward to her?

Thanx in advance....

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[Apparition]

from http://www.herpes.org/faqs/topten.shtml#7

Q. I live in a non-sexual relationship with someone who has herpes. Am I at risk of catching herpes from the swimming pool - hot tub - toilet seat - shared towel - etc?

A. This chance of contracting a herpes infection when living in a non-sexual relationship with a person with genital herpes (or oral herpes for that matter) is vanishingly small. The herpes virus has to actually enter the body of another person through a broken area of the skin. The virus will not enter through intact skin. So, touching the blister fluid from a herpes infection with the tip of a finger would not transmit the infection directly to the finger, for example. On the other hand, if the finger that had touched the blister fluid was then used to scratch an itch on the eyelid before being washed with soap and water, for example, the infection could, in fact, be transmitted to the eyelid, and possibly into the eye, if the person scratched hard enough to create a tiny, microscopic tear in the skin.

The chlorine that is in pools, hot tubs, and shower water kills virus. Soap of course instantly kills virus. One can find occasional reports of people who claim that they have contracted herpes from a hot tub. But, such a case must be extremely rare. Cases of facial herpes have been reported to have been transmitted during rugby playing, presumably because of an infected player transmitting it to other players.

The infected person should be encouraged to use good sense and to not place others at risk when symptoms are obvious. Infected persons should understand their responsibility to clean infected areas on their bodies well with soap and water and to refrain from contacting common household areas with the infected part of their bodies when active infection is present. At a time when they have an active infection on the genitalia, if they were to sit on a toilet seat that is used by others, it would be common courtesy to clean the toilet seat after use with either alcohol or soap and water on a clean cloth and then set the cloth aside to be laundered in a hot wash.

 

[jlee9531]

for some reason i think im going to learn more on sdn than i am at medical school...

catching herpes from the same toilet seat. hmm.

now you force me to google this crap...

haha. ill bbl with any attempt to help....

but i mean i always thought it could only be spread thru sexual contact. but for the time being. you can always have your friend use those protective seat covers for the time being.

 

[exmike]

How is she using the toilet? She would have had to contact her.. uhm.. affected area directly on somewhere her roommates.. uhm.. affected area also touched.

Unlikely

Originally posted by ocean11
Hello all... I just got a call from a distraught friend of mine, who found out that her roomate has recently aquired what appears to be genital herpes! now she's freeking out because she shares the same washroom as this girl! she is convinced that she might get it because they share the same toilet!?

I told her its very rare to catch it like that but she wanted more proof... does anyone have any stats on the probability of catching this disease from sharing a toilet with someone who has it?!?!?

Or are there any sites I can forward to her?

Thanx in advance....

 

[jlee9531]

Originally posted by exmike
How is she using the toilet? She would have had to contact her.. uhm.. affected area directly on somewhere her roommates.. uhm.. affected area also touched.

Unlikely

haha thanks mike...

i didnt want to write that down tho i was thinking that too while i was typing out my post.

 

[Brickhouse]

Or maybe someone with a cold sore went down on her. More likely the case. Sorry to be graphic.....mmm...no I'm not.

 

[wow]

Hi,

I have over two years worth of clinical research experience working with individuals who have HSV-2, the common cause of genital herpes. (Less commonly, it is caused by HSV-1, the virus associated with "cold sores".) I felt that I had to respond to this, because this is a common question, and your friend may be feeling a lot of anxiety about this. I also wanted to ensure that you receive correct information.

First, let me start out by saying that 22% of the general population has genital herpes caused by HSV-2 infection, and the majority (approximately 80+%) do not know it. This is based off of National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data (Flemming et al, New England Journal of Medicine, Oct 1997).

Genital herpes is NOT acquired from toilet seats, towels, or etc.. used by an infected person. It IS transmitted through direct skin-skin contact (i.e. sexual intercourse, or genital HSV-1 infection may be acquired through oral-genital contact), even if the infected person is not experiencing symptoms.

If your friend wants more info, feel free to PM me. Otherwise, the ASHA website (http://www.ashastd.org/) has reputable and up-to-date information on STD's, as does the University of Washington Virology Research Clinic website (http://depts.washington.edu/herpes/)

Hope this helps!

 

[IrishOarsman]

22% of US general population? Any relevant breakdowns (age/etc)?

I only ask because that number is surprizingly high...

 

[exmike]

He's right. Its just that most HSV infections are asymptomatic.

Originally posted by IrishOarsman
22% of US general population? Any relevant breakdowns (age/etc)?

I only ask because that number is surprizingly high...

 

[wow]

Yes, you are absolutely correct exmike in stating that the majority of HSV-2 infections are subclinical. Another scenario is that the patient and/or clinician may not be able to recognize symptoms. There are a lot of patients, after being tested serologically, who will actually recall having had symptoms when their blood work comes back positive. They had just attributed their symptoms (lesions) to other things, since it is possible to have a recurrent outbreak anywhere where boxer shorts would cover (thighs, buttocks, etc..) and this tends to be confusing to patients. What this amounts to is that unrecognized infection contributes to new infections and the ensuing high prevalence (yeah, 22% of ANYTHING is quite shocking).

Also, while condoms have been shown to be effective in reducing transmission of HSV-2, they are NO WHERE near 100%, again contributing to the high incidence and prevelance.

Regarding demographic factors associated with HSV-2 infection, the female gender (just like every other STD), older age (because it is a non-curable STD), and a greater lifetime number of partners (risk factor) seem to be predictive. There are others, of course, sited in numerous papers...

I guess you never know what you are going to learn on SDN?



Oh, and I am actually a she. 😀

 

[exmike]

Quite true. That is also why routine HSV screening isnt recommened because so many people are positive yet asymptomatic. It would just cause unecessary hysteria among the worried well. No one really understand why HSV is symptomatic in some but asymptomatic in others. It probably has something to do with the host immune response and whether it is tilted towards a Th-1 or a Th-2 response.

I think even more shocking is that well over 50% of young women are HPV positive. but again, most are asymptomatic.

Originally posted by wow
Yes, you are absolutely correct exmike in stating that the majority of HSV-2 infections are subclinical. Another scenario is that the patient and/or clinician may not be able to recognize symptoms. There are a lot of patients, after being tested serologically, who will actually recall having had symptoms when their blood work comes back positive. They had just attributed their symptoms (lesions) to other things, since it is possible to have a recurrent outbreak anywhere where boxer shorts would cover (thighs, buttocks, etc..) and this tends to be confusing to patients. What this amounts to is that unrecognized infection contributes to new infections and the ensuing high prevalence (yeah, 22% of ANYTHING is quite shocking).

Also, while condoms have been shown to be effective in reducing transmission of HSV-2, they are NO WHERE near 100%, again contributing to the high incidence and prevelance.

Regarding demographic factors associated with HSV-2 infection, the female gender (just like every other STD), older age (because it is a non-curable STD), and a greater lifetime number of partners (risk factor) seem to be predictive. There are others, of course, sited in numerous papers...

I guess you never know what you are going to learn on SDN?



Oh, and I am actually a she. 😀