Travel Hygiene Products

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Toilet sanitation

"It's virtually impossible to catch diseases from toilet seats," says Go Ask Alice!, the online health Q&A service at Columbia University. Still, that hasn't kept Chicago's O'Hare Airport from installing condoms on its toilet seats (a.k.a. Sani-Seat toilet seats with Sani-Wrap polyethylene seat covers). As Sani-Seat's Web site points out, "Sharing a toilet seat is like sharing your toothbrush or bath towel with strangers. It's a risk people prefer not to take."

Unless you're traveling with your own Sani-Seat and installation crew, you might prefer to carry disposable toilet seat covers for use in less-than-luxurious loos. Magellan's also sells travel toilet tissue, which offers the convenience of a dispenser that easily fits into a purse or day pack. And if there's no soap to wash your hands with, Magellan's antibacterial wipes or Hand Clens squirt bottle will help you disinfect your fingers before you head from the biffy to a frites stand. Another option is the all-in-one toilet set, with a dozen packets that contain seat covers, toilet paper, and premoistened towelettes.

In Southern Europe and Turkey, you may encounter the so-called "Turkish Toilet" or "squat pot" (see photo at left), which resembles a shower stall with two footrests. Turkish toilets can be tricky to use, especially by women who prefer trousers to skirts or insist on wearing panties.

Magellan's comes to the rescue with Urinelle, a pack of disposable funnels that "makes it easy to answer nature's call." (A similar product--no longer sold by Magellan's--is Uri-Mate, which has a graphic how-to-use Flash animation on its Web site.)

If you're traveling in remote areas, or if the available toilets are so disgusting that you can't stand to use them, step behind a bush or into a fully enclosed phone booth and use a Restop disposable toilet pouch. (Restop 1 is a pocket-sized urinal; Restop 2 is for solid waste. These one-time toilets come with paper and antiseptic wipes.)

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