上公廁選擇半蹲而非坐下實際不利於女性健康,爲什麼?
When it comes to public toilets, there's a broad spectrum. Which is why, as women, many of us prefer to hover delicately over the toilet seat (if, indeed, there even is one) rather than make contact.
公共廁所這一話題涉及範圍很廣。所以，作爲女性，很多人都寧願半蹲在馬桶墊（如果有的話）上方，而不願與其直接接觸。But it turns out squatting could be doing us More harm than sitting down, and may in fact INCREASE our chances of catching a nasty infection.
但事實證明，半蹲給人體帶來的危害要高於坐下，事實上，可能會增加我們嚴重感染的風險。So why is squatting so harmful?
爲何半蹲的危害如此之大？
"The problem with 'hovering' over the toilet when urinating is that the muscles of your pelvic floor and pelvic girdle - your hip rotators, glutes, back and abs - are extremely tense," women's health therapist, Brianne Grogan told The Conversation.
"小便時懸於馬桶上方會使人體骨盆底和骨盆帶的肌肉、臀部旋轉肌肉、臀部肌肉、背部和腹部肌肉處於極爲緊繃的狀態，"女性健康治療師Brianne Grogan對The Conversation說道。"This pelvic girdle tension makes it difficult for urine to flow easily, often requiring you to push or 'bear down' slightly to make the urine come out quickly. Frequent pushing or bearing down to urinate can contribute to pelvic organ prolapse."
"盆骨帶緊張會使尿液不易流出，通常需要你使勁或稍微下壓才能尿出來。經常性的用使勁或下壓的方式排尿會導致盆腔器官脫垂。"
By hovering, we may also not be emptying our bladder properly which in turn could lead to cystitis. What is it we should be doing instead then? Apparently, it's perfectly safe to sit down, as there's very little risk of getting an infection by doing so.
懸於廁所上方時，我們可能無法將尿液全部排出，這反過來會導致膀胱炎。那我們應該怎麼做呢？顯然，坐在馬桶上是很安全的，因爲坐下來感染的風險很小。"Most intestinal diseases involve hand-to-mouth transfer of bacteria as a result of faecal contamination of hands, food and surfaces," clinical mircobiologist at the University of Leicester, Dr Freestone, adds.
"大多數腸道疾病都是由於手、食物和表面的排泄物污染造成細菌的手-口相傳所致，"萊斯特大學的臨牀微生物學家弗里斯通博士補充道。We also have two handy forms of protection against infection.
我們的身體本身就能預防感染，以兩種簡單的方式。Firstly, our bodies comes with a layer of good bacteria and yeast that "functions as a highly effective protective shield".
首先，我們的身體自帶一層有益細菌和酵母，它們"起到高效防護的作用"。Then secondly there's the immune system, which Dr Freestone describes as being "ferociously good" at protecting against nasty bugs. So next time you find yourself in a public toilet, plonk yourself down on the seat. And maybe take anti-bacterial wipes too, just in case.
其次，我們的身體有免疫系統，弗里斯通博士將其描述爲在預防細菌方面"特別猛"。所以再去公共廁所時，坐到坐便器上吧。爲以防萬一，如廁結束後最好用抗菌紙擦拭。
