DON'T SQUAT OVER THE TOILET SEAT

If you're grossed out by making contact with a public toilet seat DON'T HOVER OVER THE TOILET SEAT! 
Your bladder works opposite in relation to your pelvic floor muscles. When your pelvic floor muscles relax, like when sitting on the toilet, the bladder gets a signal to empty and the muscle that controls the bladder squeezes to help with bladder emptying. When you're finished peeing,  wiping and standing up, the pelvic floor muscles return to their normal resting tone, giving the brain a signal that it's ok to start filling again. There are moments where you can buy yourself some time from emptying the bladder, like if you really have the urge go but the nearest bathroom is a couple of blocks away. You can relax the bladder muscle by performing some quick kegel contractions. These are done by quickly contracting your pelvic floor muscles (like stopping the flow of urine) followed by immediate relaxation. Repeat this about 10 times in a row to tell the bladder muscle to relax until you can get to the nearest bathroom. 
When you hover over the toilet you not only get pee running down your thigh, but you also start learning some poor bladder habits.
Hovering over a toilet can cause:

1. Incomplete bladder emptying- when you hover, you're using all of your core stabilizing muscles to keep you squatting, many of which work together with your pelvic floor causing the pelvic floor muscles to tighten instead of relaxing. When this happens the bladder muscle gets a false signal preventing it from fully emptying, which means you might have the urge to go again very soon.
2. Urinary urgency-frequency- when you don't completely empty your bladder you end up with more concentrated urine stored in the bladder, which can cause irritation to the bladder lining. 
3. Overactive pelvic floor muscles- your pelvic floor muscles work in 3 positions: contracted, relaxed, and stretched. A contracted position is like doing a kegel (stopping the flow of urine and gas). A relaxed position is the normal resting tone that these muscles have throughout the day. After doing a contraction and letting go, your muscles should return to their normal resting level. Lastly, stretched, which should happen when you have to fart or poop.  
4. Bacterial infections- The tube that empties your bladder is called the urethra. Its tiny opening is found above the vaginal opening. When you hover, the muscles around the urethra do not relax all the way, causing some of the bacteria from the urine to be stored in this tube. Over time, this can irritate the lining of the urethra and cause symptoms of a UTI (urinary tract infection). Often times, the urine that is clamped in the urethra will also leak out once you're fully standing causing you to have sensations of urinary leakage and damp underwear. When this happens too often, psychologically, we freak out. So what do we do? We start wearing a panty liner for protection. Wearing a panty liner is the worst thing that you can do. Menstrual pads are not meant to absorb urine usually creating a fun environment for bacteria to party in. Bacteria love dark, warm, moist places and what better place to party in than the vagina!

How to overcome your fear of public toilets?

• Use toilet seat covers, if available
• Carry disposable disinfectant wipes with you so that you can wipe down the toilet seat before sitting
• Tear off some toilet paper to place down on the seat
• Remember that the dirtiest objects in a public restroom are the sanitary napkin disposals, the floor, and the sink.