Can We Catch Genital Herpes From A Co-worker By Using The Same Bathroom?
We just found out that a co-worker has genital herpes, and though we do not want to treat her any different, we are worried that we all share the same bathroom(which only has one stall) We don’t want to be stupid about this either and say something that will make her feel uncomfartable, but we all have kids and partners that would not be too happy if we come home with an STD. (also one of the girls in the office is pregnant) So my question is can genital herpes be passed on by any other ways other than sexual contact? Please only give us seroius answers. We feel that this is an important and extremely serious matter. Thank you for your answers.
Tags: Bathroom, Catch, Coworker, From, Genital, Herpes...., Same, Using
December 30th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Okay, you asked a very difficult question in a very appropriate manner (much better than some of the weird stuff that comes through here). I’ve never dealt with genital herpes personally, but I have enough education beyond general sex-ed that I feel I can answer what you’re concerned about.
Genital herpes can be passed through some (read SOME) forms of casual contact.
The toilet is one method, if a person is having a herpes outbreak and gets the herpes virus on a surface (such as a toilet seat), and the next person using that surface has a break in their skin barrier (such as a wound) and the virus enters the body.
The area affected of someone with genital herpes is generally limited to the genital area, this means that the person would have to rub their genitals on a toilet seat in order to get the virus on the toilet seat to begin with.
The odds of a person rubbing their affected genitals on a toilet seat, and then another person rubbing their own genitals on a toilet seat aswell, or getting the germs past the natural skin barrier… The odds are extremely slim, but there are cases.
Your best option, if you want to be absolutely certain that you’re not going to catch it in the remotest sense, is to spray whichever appropriate surfaces with an antimicrobial agent before use, or to use a barrier (tissue designed to barrier the toilet seat, or toilet tissue on the seat) to avoid contact with your skin/genitals with the toilet seat.
I do want to applaud your efforts not to stigmatize your co-worker. The world needs more concerned and compassionate people like you.
December 30th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Just lay down the paper toilet sit cover and you’ll be fine. Herpes isn’t that easy to catch – check out WebMD. There’s a reason it’s an STD – it needs to be transmitted *sexually*, not through casual contact.
December 30th, 2009 at 7:17 pm
NO! Impossible.
December 31st, 2009 at 1:36 am
It’s impossible to get an STD from someone by using the same toilet.
The ONLY way to get it is by sexual contact.
December 31st, 2009 at 4:12 am
yes..if they rubbed themselves all over the seat during an outbreak, and in return if you rub yourself all over the seat, especially if you have open cuts, sores etc.
December 31st, 2009 at 6:29 am
No! it is passed by skin to skin genital contact. There is no chance. The herpes virus is very fragile and only survives outside the body for a few seconds. Only sexual contact can pass it. I would be devastated if I knew my co-workers were expressing similar concerns. I have genital herpes type 1. Which, by the way, is the same type as oral herpes which is just as able to cause genital herpes. Are you worrying about your colleagues with cold sores too?
December 31st, 2009 at 1:27 pm
no
the herpes virus needs a warm moist environment to survive.
It dies almost immediately on a toilet seat if any gets on it.
The odds of the virus getting on the seat a quite slim too, as most people I know don’t put their genitalia directly on the seat.
Theoretically it can happen, but the situation for this to occur would be a million to 1.
December 31st, 2009 at 3:25 pm
No, I asked this question to a dr once when I was pregnant.
But as a general rule you shouldn’t sit on public toilet seats anyway. You can’t catch STD’s from toilets, but you can get some type of bacteria, I think.
I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the other coworkers have herpes, or even worse, as well.
I think you could be easily sued if you made an issue out of it.
December 31st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
Herpes, whether genital or oral, is not passed by casual contact. You can not get it from sharing a glass, touching the same object or by using the same toilet seat. The herpes virus is contained in the sores. The virus is spread when a sore comes into contact with another person’s mucous membranes–genitals, mouth/lips or eyes.
More importantly, how do you know that your co-worker has herpes? Unless someone tells you that they have herpes there is no way for someone like a co-worker to know that they have it. If you believe that your co-worker has genital herpes, you are not at risk unless you have sex with him/her. And, if you are referring to oral herpes, cold sores, you are not at risk unless you kiss him/her. And, the majority of Americans have oral herpes and most get it as children through non-sexual means. And, did you know that 1 in 5 Americans, that’s 20%, have genital herpes? Thus, if you truely believe that using a shared toilet puts you at risk than in essence any public toilet, not only at your workplace is putting you at risk because 20% of people have it. So many people have herpes and lives lives just as others without herpes and those people with it do not put others at risk through their daily activities. I really do appreciate the way you worded your question so respectfully, however in my opinion you are being paranoid. Sure, no one wants to contract and STD, which is understandable but I do truely believe if you spend some time learning about herpes and other STD’s you’ll come to understand that your question is unreasonable.Did you also know that there is not test for herpes unless you have sores and then those sores are cultured? Hence, people can have herpes and not know it unless they have ever had any sores because the virus can be present but may never produce sores. Lastly, what if you or your co-worker were health care providers? For instance, I am a health care provider at a family planning clinic and many of my patients have herpes–if herpes was transmitted through casual contact as you are concerned than any one in health care would have it, then we would all have it..and we don’t because it is sexually transmitted. I believe that when people are fully educated about sexual health we will begin to stop stigmatizing people with STD’s.
Check out:
ashastd.org
plannedparenthood.org
January 1st, 2010 at 2:37 am
Nope – you should be okay. Its kind of like the whole myth of being able to get hiv from a toilet. Obviously make sure that any toilet is clean before sitting – but that just makes sense, right?!
No worries!