Experts warn that using a smartphone on the toilet dramatically increases the risk of developing hemorrhoids
When you're in the bathroom, you tend to have nothing to do, so you tend to play with your smartphone while sitting on the toilet seat. Many people have probably had the experience of being so engrossed in the video or article they were watching or the game they were playing on their smartphone that they continued touching their smartphone even after they had finished defecating or urinating. However, experts warn that 'using a smartphone on the toilet can dramatically increase the risk of
Using Your Phone on The Toilet May Dramatically Increase Risk of Hemorrhoids : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/using-your-phone-on-the-toilet-may-dramatically-increase-risk-of-hemorrhoids
The findings on the association between using smartphones in the bathroom and hemorrhoids were presented at Digestive Diseases Week (DDW) 2025 , an annual conference on gastroenterology, hepatology, and gastrointestinal endoscopy held in San Diego, California in May 2025. The study was presented by Trisha Satya Pasricha, a gastroenterologist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.
Pasricha surveyed 125 people undergoing colonoscopy and asked them about their smartphone usage habits in the bathroom. Over 40% of the subjects had hemorrhoids, and 93% said they used their smartphones in the bathroom at least once a week.
There are several types of hemorrhoids, including anal fistulas caused by bacterial suppuration and fissures caused by tears. Hemorrhoids are swelling caused by blood congestion or blood vessels breaking inside the rectum or anus due to pressure around the anus caused by straining during bowel movements.
When asked what they do on their smartphones while using the toilet, about 50% answered 'I read the news,' about 44% answered 'I looked at social media,' and about 30% answered 'I sent emails or text messages.' Some subjects answered that they spent more than six minutes on the toilet each time. Many people also said that they thought their smartphones made them spend more time on the toilet.
When the researchers investigated the relationship between smartphone use in the bathroom and hemorrhoids, they found that people who used smartphones in the bathroom had a 46% higher risk of developing hemorrhoids. The results were not affected by the subjects' age, sex, weight, or dietary fiber intake.
There are many factors that can lead to hemorrhoids, but they are generally thought to be caused by excessive pressure on the anus and rectum during bowel movements, long bowel movements, or frequent bowel movements.
Some
That's why some doctors advise people to keep their bowel movements to 10 minutes or less , while others say they should be completed within 3. The latter recommendation is based on a study of 100 hemorrhoid patients, which found that people with hemorrhoids spent more time reading than those without.
Science Alert, a science media outlet, says that reading in the bathroom is nothing new -- people have been reading newspapers in the bathroom since colonial times -- but that smartphones have surpassed newspapers in capturing people's attention, distracting them from the top priority of using the bathroom.
'Until we know more, it seems important to limit the time you spend in the bathroom. A person's top priority in the bathroom is to defecate, not scroll through their smartphone,' Science Alert said.
in Mobile, Science, Free Member, Posted by log1h_ik