Five Wrong Ways You Are Using The Toilet

A lot of us don’t give much thought to the way we use the toilet but it is important you look before you flush, ease up when you wipe, and, know there is a right way to hang toilet paper. Here are five ways you ha E been using the toilet wrong.

You Sit too Long
It’s quiet in the bathroom and you can actually lock the door and sit uninterrupted with a magazine, book or, more likely, a smartphone. It is however better for you to find another spot for your quiet time.

Sitting perched in that position too long puts extra stress on the veins in the lowest part of your rectum; if those veins swell or bulge, it results in hemorrhoids. In many cases hemorrhoids usually clear up within a week, but in the meantime, it can be itchy, uncomfortable, and are the most common cause of rectal bleeding.

If you happen to see any bright red spots on your stool or toilet paper after you wipe, see a doctor to be sure the bleeding isn’t a symptom of colon cancer or another serious condition.

You Push Too Hard
Straining and holding your breath to get stubborn stool out increases the pressure on the veins in your rectum and also boosts your chances of hemorrhoids, and having anal fissures.

Anal fissures are tiny tears in the tissue that lines your butt hole which occurs when you force out large and hard, constipated poop. To help keep stool soft for an easier exit, increase your fiber intake, drink plenty of fluids, and stay active (regular physical activity increases muscle activity in your intestines).

And to ease the need to strain, try squatting for a few seconds before using the toilet. That position naturally aligns the intestinal tract in a way that may help move things along with less effort.

You Don’t Look At your Poop
While it may sound gross, seeing what comes out can give you a hint at what’s happening on your insides. Soft, smooth, and sausage-shaped stool is a sign of good gastrointestinal health; soft blobs with clear-cut edges are fine too.

If your deposits are hard and lumpy, you may need to up your fiber and fluid intake. Poop that exits like pee, on the other hand, could be caused by a mild case of food poisoning or food intolerance, an infection or signal more serious conditions, such as Crohn’s or celiac disease.

Floaters are most often due to poor absorption of nutrients or too much gas in your digestive tract; pencil-thin bowel movements could indicate colon cancer.

Keep an eye on the contents of your bowl, and talk to your doctor if you notice bright red or jet-black stool (a sign of bleeding), as well as any big and persistent changes to your bowel movements.

You Ignore Stinky Pee
it is totally fine if your last meal was made up of asparagus. During digestion, certain acids in these green stalks are broken down into sulphurous, smelly, airborne compounds that waft up when you pee. Other foods and medications, including certain vitamins, have a similar effect.

But if the smell is strong and foul (and your urine is dark and cloudy), it could signal a urinary tract infection. Other conditions, such as bladder infections, liver disease, poorly controlled diabetes or certain metabolic disorders can also change urine odour.

And if your pee smells like ammonia, and its color concentrated, it can mean your body is low on fluids.

You Use A Lot Of Bleach
On its own, it’s fine: add ¼ cup into the toilet bowl and let it sit for a few minutes to disinfect before you clean. But if bleach is mixed with ammonia, toxic gases called choloramine are created, which can cause coughing, wheezing, nausea, or watery eyes; or at higher concentrations lead to chest pain, wheezing, or pneumonia.

Using it together with certain toilet bowl cleaners, drain cleaners, and even plain old vinegar is no better. The combination of chlorine bleach and acid gives off a toxic chlorine gas that can cause burning eyes and breathing problems in small amounts, and be fatal at high levels.