Sitting for too long on the toilet bowl poses health risks, doctors warn

International

DO YOU spend a long time sitting or pooping on the toilet while reading books or checking your social media?

Well, while many people think there’s no problem with it, medical experts warned that prolonged sitting on the toilet can lead to health conditions.

According to Dr. Lai Xue, a colorectal surgeon at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, spending a lot of time in the toilet increases the risk of hemorrhoids and weakened pelvic muscles.

Medical experts suggest not to take longer than 10 minutes sitting on the toilet.

Dr. Farah Monzur, assistant professor of medicine and director of the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center at Stony Brook Medicine on Long Island, New York, said an average of five to 10 minutes time spending on the toilet would do.

This is because, since gravity is pulling the lower half of the body down, it forces one’s body to work hard just to pump blood back to the heart, the increased pressure affects blood circulation in the body, which results in the veins and blood vessels surrounding the anus and lower rectum become enlarged and engorged with blood, thus, increases the risk of hemorrhoids, according to Xue, a CNN report said.

Constant straining while pooping can also cause injuries to anorectal organs and the pelvic floor. It increases the risk of rectal prolapse – this happens when the rectum, part of the large intestine, slips down inside the anus.

Sitting in the toilet for too long causes muscles supporting the rectum to get weak.

To avoid these health conditions, doctors suggest not spending too much time in the toilet, and avoiding bringing books, magazines, and phones inside the bathroom could be a great help.

“Make sitting on the toilet bowl as uninteresting as possible,” Monzur said.(LAO)