Using Your Phone on Toilet May Give You Hemorrhoids: Study

You may want to leave your phone behind next time you head to the restroom, in order to avoid suffering hemorrhoid rage. A new medical study published in PLOS One has found a link between lengthy doomscrolling while seated on the toilet and the prevalence of hemorrhoids. Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center reported that out of their 125 survey participants, 66 percent reported using smartphones on the toilet. Phone use on the can was associated with a 46 percent increased risk of hemorrhoids. Study author Trisha Pasricha told NBC that using a cellphone on the toilet could lead to losing track of time. “It’s possible that constantly sitting longer on the toilet than you intended because you’re distracted by your smartphone could increase your risk of hemorrhoids,” Pasricha said. “We need to study this further, but it’s a safe suggestion to leave the smartphone outside the bathroom when you need to have a bowel movement.” The study also found that 37.3 percent of phone users spent more than five minutes per bathroom visit, compared to 7.1 percent of non-phone users. The most common scrolling in the john was for news (54.3 percent) and social media (44.4 percent). The study suggested that limiting smartphone use on the toilet by setting a timer could help reduce the prevalence of hemorrhoids in the population.