Expert explains potentially dangerous reason you should never wipe more than three times on toilet
It turns out a common bathroom habit - that most of us are guilty of - could be causing us some serious problems down there.
It's Sunday, which means some of us may have spent this morning on - or head over - the loo regretting many of our drunken decisions.
But there's one thing you shouldn't be doing when you've finished your business... so listen up!
Advert
Turns out you shouldn't be wiping your backside more than three times - which may come as a shock to many seen as it feels like no matter how many times you wipe, it never feels fully clean.
Yep, a pelvic floor physiotherapist has explained that the 'eternal wipe' may actually be a bad habit, and you shouldn't need to wipe more than three times. This is, of course, not accounting for 3.00am kebabs which just don't sit right from the get go.
Three times, it turns out, should be sufficient no matter what level of punishment the porcelain has taken in the preceding few minutes.
Any more than that could create more problems further down the line, and no one wants that.
These include things like haemorrhoids, which can be caused by excessive wiping. Nice.
In a video uploaded to TikTok, a pelvic floor physiotherapist who goes by the name of George, explains everything you need to know around the number of wipes you are doing on the toilet.
She starts the video by saying she will tell viewers how they will be able to reduce the number of times you wipe while going for a number two.
She said: "When you are wiping more than two or three times, that is called faecal smearing.
"So it is essentially when too much faecal matter stays at the entrance of the anus even after you have finished your poo."
However, there is a technique you can use to minimise the amount of wiping necessary.
She explained: "A technique that you can use to reduce the number of times you wipe is by squeezing your pelvic floor in a waterfall formation.
"So start by squeezing the anus 20 percent, then 50 percent, 80 percent, and 100 percent, so that you have squeezed it four times at the end of your poo."
She continues: "This can help close off the anus sphincter, which is the reason you are having little bits of stool hanging on the entrance - it is usually from weakness from that external sphincter."
And, of course, if this doesn't work then she advises you to get it checked out by a medical professional.
People have been reacting to the toilet advice in the comments on the TikTok, with many making jokes out of it - as you'd expect from the internet, with one person quipping: "My problem is I’m as hairy as Chewbacca. It’s like wiping peanut butter off a Persian rug."
What a lovely image...
Think that's enough internet for me today, thank you.
Chloe Rowland