Restroom Sensory Issues

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Am I the only person who doesn't like to go to the bathroom after someone else? Especially if I have to sit on the toilet. I hate a warm toilet seat.

Nope.

I think that's normal among NTs as well.

My son doesn't like public restrooms because of the noise the toilets and urinals make when they flush.

Oh no. I hate toilets. I'm kind of okay with the bathroom in my house unless there's a non-family member in the house. But it still freaks me out sometimes even after 18 years of using it. Just sometimes it hits me that it's unclean and everything in it is completely filthy, even if it's just been washed.
Public toilets are way worse but it's a mix of fussiness and sensory issues. It's not the seat, although warm seats are a little strange. It's the smell, the noise of hand dryers (I'm terrified of them), the thought that people can hear me using the toilet. The last one applies at home sometimes if there's someone waiting to use the loo.

That being said, sometimes they're the best place to hide when everything gets overwhelming. They're generally way quieter than elsewhere

I am not a fan of public restrooms. I have to clean the toilets before I use them. Taking a piss isn't a problem, but if I have to drop a deuce, I'm wiping it down. If other people are in the bathroom, I'll wait until they leave or find a new restroom. The idea that someone is using the toilet at the same time, in the same place as me is unnerving.

Last edited by ExceladonCity on 06 Nov 2013, 12:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

I don't like it either and don't let the seat be wet or worse. I will generally not ever actually sit on a toilet unless I am home though. Squatting works fine and is great for the quads!

If I ever need to sit, I use a couple of layers of TP to cover the seat or use three paper seat covers. But now I carry thin plastic seat covers in my purse that I found in the toddler section at the grocery store. They are great because they are super thin so you can have a few in your purse or even in your pocket. My husband has used them too. But they have little adhesive strips to stick them to the seat and keep them from moving and they create a great barrier. They are awesome for parents to keep in a purse or pocket because little kids are so small that they often have to not only sit on the toilet seat but also put their hands on it to balance. And they have cute Sesame Street graphics! And older kids can carry them discreetly to use at school or camp.

Sometimes I don't even close the door properly in a public restroom because I don't want to touch the handle. And usually the door stays in a closed position even if you don't lock it and people can see your feet so they don't come in. But that is a very common issue. It's not likely that you will catch anything from a toilet seat and if you wash your hands properly you should be fine. I wash mine longer than necessary, but still, I would rather touch as little as possible. There have even been times when I have sprayed a little disinfectant on the bottoms of my shoes after coming out of a public restroom. I usually carry a little personal sized spritzer bottle of disinfectant in my purse for just such occasions as those.

But sometimes I have sensory issues too. If it smells too bad in there I can't go in. I get sick from that. But that might be pretty normal too.

I hate public bathrooms: the flushing noise hurts, the smells are too pungent (air fresheners and otherwise), and the crowds that sometimes show up are really irritating because they take up so much space. There's a single-toilet bathroom in the library on my university campus, but I rarely use it because the line is typically a mile long.

@ OP: There was another thread similar to this.

My only thing about public restrooms is for some reason I hate going number two in them. This is probably because I've built the routine of thoroughly cleansing with soap and water after each time and you can imagine how awkward that would be in a public bathroom. I suppose I'm a bit of a germophobe/OCD clean freak in that regard.

I have a routine like that too but I use baby wipes. Those are great and they have flushable wipes too which I keep in my purse. But that might be a good idea for you too because if soap and water wash is not practical you can still get very clean with the wet wipes. The non flushable ones I put in a little bag and throw it away. You can also get fully biodegradable wipes too and fully biodegradable bags. But that might be an option for you if you are not home and need to go.

I don't really like them, not knowing what kind of soap is in the dispenser and not knowing what illness people have been spreading is not good, I try to avoid them even more if beer is served in large quanities becouse drunk people all too often make a major unsanitary mess of the restrooms. Most restrooms fall into disrepair very quickly and I am always fearful of the questionable people who sometimes hang around them.

My latest hate for the puplic restroom is the Dyson Air Blade dryer, I thought the high pressure air blast could kill if it pushes dirt into a blood vain and the air pressure feels really bad sensory wise. I found though that I could stick my hand through the sensor to start it and hold my hand above and it will dry from the airs indirect movement below, just not as fast. I used to like the old World Dryers, those felt nice on wet hands.

I hate that too but I think even NTs hate that as well.

Whenever I hear someone in casual conversation cite a janitor as representative of something unworthy, I ask them if they have ever had to use a bathroom in a bus station and then ask them if they don't really appreciate a good janitor.