The concept of ‘hygiene’ has been redefined due to the pandemic. On World Toilet Day, we examine how the term has assumed a different meaning this year
The novel Coronavirus has given a new twist to the word ‘hygiene’ globally. While earlier, it was considered to be synonymous with cleanliness, things have changed now. Words like contamination, disinfectants and sanitisation have become a part of our everyday vocabulary. The pandemic has shown us how serious gaps existed in the way ‘hygiene’ was maintained prior to its outbreak. In the post-pandemic world, things are going to be a lot more focussed and holistic as far as global hygiene practices and norms are concerned.
In the past, ‘sharing is caring’ was the common philosophy. People shared clothes, food, seats on public transport or armrests in a film theatre. Now, ‘distancing is caring’ is the norm that we all strictly adhere to. Forget seats, it is not even advisable to sit beside anyone in a public vehicle or premises. A visit to the local grocery store or railway station is a good enough indicator of how things have changed. Elevators no longer have push buttons, temperature guns are aimed at you from a distance to check body temperature and your hands are sprayed with sanitisers before touching anyone. These are some of the most visible and commonly followed protocols in the new world. However, there is another key area of focus which deserves greater attention than ever, and that is personal and toilet hygiene.
COVID-19 is a respiratory tract infection which first enters a healthy person’s body when they inadvertently inhale the contaminated respiratory droplets released by an infected person. Since the virus can survive outside the human body for different durations depending on the material it attaches itself to, it can also enter a healthy person’s body when the person touches a contaminated surface. That’s where public toilets are garnering a lot of attention. In most places, whether they are shopping malls or office complexes or roadside public washrooms, there is usually a lot of mess and lack of hygiene. Floors can be dirty and there is usually the stink in the air. In the wake of the pandemic, everyone is beginning to take note of this problem and most people are now wary of using public washrooms as they are deemed to be unhygienic. To deal with the undesirable scenario of having to visit the common washrooms, people are increasingly carrying their own tissue papers, toilet seat disinfectant sprays, liquid soaps and hand sanitisers from trusted brands.
From the sanitation point of view also, things have changed tremendously. There is a lot of awareness about do’s and don’ts in public toilets. For instance, sanitation workers managing these washrooms are now mandated to wear PPE suits during their presence in the washrooms. Additionally, they must wear face shields and gloves at all times to avoid directly touching any contaminated surfaces. In places like malls, multiplexes, airports and railway stations, multiple cleaning rounds are now being undertaken on an hourly or even greater frequency unlike the past when two-three rounds a day were considered to be sufficient.
The key to effective toilet hygiene lies in understanding how the virus can spread through contamination in public washrooms and adhering to practices that help us prevent such situations. Whenever someone flushes in a public toilet, there is an aerosol cloud created which might contain some of the contaminated respiratory droplets from an infected person. It can hover around the toilet seat and infect a healthy user who subsequently uses the same toilet. To prevent this from happening, the ideal practice is to put down the lid on the toilet seat and then flush it. Also, it is absolutely mandatory to wear face masks even when one is inside the toilet and alone. This can keep the user safe from infection caused by the contaminated droplets present in the air inside the washrooms. Not only that, spitting inside the washrooms is also strictly prohibited now and violators of the protocols often end up paying steep fines.
Majority of people now stay away from public washrooms in markets and shopping malls or theatres, but if you are on a long trip or in the office, usage of the washroom becomes almost unavoidable. In such scenarios, it is important to pay attention to small but highly beneficial user tips. To begin with, you must not touch the door handle with bare hands to enter the washroom or the toilet stall. In case, you need to sit on the toilet seat, inspect it carefully before doing so. If you spot any dampness, wet seat, urine or blood drops etc, use toilet paper to wipe off the surface in a way that your hands don’t touch the surface in any manner and dispose that wad of toilet paper in the waste basket. The best option would be to thoroughly spray the toilet seat with a high-quality toilet seat disinfectant spray capable of killing harmful microbes such as virus or bacteria present on the surface. You need to wait only for a few seconds after spraying the seat while the spray kills the germs and then you can confidently use it.
Similarly, there are also easy disinfectant sprays, wipes and hand sanitisers available in the market that can be used to make other surfaces germ free. There might be times when despite all the precautions, it becomes unavoidable or you accidentally touch any surfaces such as taps, door handles, counters or walls in a public washroom. In such situations, you should thoroughly wash your hands using a soap and running water for 20 seconds in the manner prescribed by the World Health Organisation. Alternatively, good hand sanitisers with 60 per cent or higher alcohol content can also be used to disinfect your hands. This has to be done before touching your eyes, nose, mouth or any part of the face as the virus can get transferred through touch.
While these are practices which have been helping us keep ourselves protected from the pandemic, there are also various innovations and design changes being integrated to address this issue nowadays. For instance, sensor-driven taps, lights, soap dispensers, automatic flushes, doors and toilet lids are going to constitute the smart toilets of the future. The focus of hygiene practices in the post-pandemic world is to use equipment that helps us avoid contact with contaminated surfaces or infected people. Smart, contactless processes and an unwavering focus on personal as well as community hygiene will eventually help us prevail over the disease.
(The writer Vikas Bagaria is the founder of Pee Safe.)
