Research Scrolling while on the toilet linked to higher risk of hemorrhoids

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https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1096101

INTRO: Survey participants who reported using a smartphone while on the toilet had a higher risk of hemorrhoids than non-users. Chethan Ramprasad of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, U.S., and colleagues present these findings in a new study in the open-access journal PLOS One on September 3, 2025.

Every year in the U.S., hemorrhoids lead to nearly 4 million visits to the doctor or emergency room and more than $800 million in healthcare spending. Hemorrhoids involve swollen veins in the anal or rectal area and can cause pain and bleeding. Anecdotal evidence has linked smartphone use on the toilet with increased risk of hemorrhoids.

However, few studies have explored whether smartphone use on the toilet is actually associated with hemorrhoid risk. To help clarify, Ramprasad and colleagues conducted a study of 125 adults undergoing screening colonoscopy. The participants answered online survey questions about their lifestyle and toilet habits, and endoscopists evaluated them for hemorrhoids.

Among all participants, 66 percent reported using smartphones on the toilet, and they tended to be younger than non-users. After statistically accounting for other factors thought to possibly be linked with hemorrhoid risk—such as exercise habits, age, and fiber intake—the researchers found that participants who used a smartphone on the toilet had a 46 percent higher risk of hemorrhoids than non-users... (MORE - details, no ads)

[Magical Realist]

“This study bolsters advice to people in general to leave the smartphones outside the bathroom and to try to spend no more than a few minutes to have a bowel movement. If it's taking longer, ask yourself why. Was it because having a bowel movement was really so difficult, or was it because my focus was elsewhere?”

“It's incredibly easy to lose track of time when we're scrolling on our smartphones—popular apps are designed entirely for that purpose. But 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. 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."

You have to have an almost zen-like mindful state when going to the bathroom. It can't be forced. You have to let it happen and in its own time. Which means consciously paying attention to the pressures and releases of your rectum as it does its work. Being on a cellphone disrupts all this, putting you out of sync with your body and imposing unnecessary stress and strain on it when it doesn't need it. Hence hemorrhoids.

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This widespread activity being something to consider when asking to borrow slash touch another person's smartphone, out of need. In the old days, it was just reading the newspaper, or a magazine.