'Why are women too scared to poo?' blog discussion

Agent_C

I work in a healthcare environment so I'm not very squeamish about bodily functions. And I know it's not much of a choice, but I'd rather smell poo in a work toilet than those awful air fresheners that spray on the hour and make my eyes water and my chest tighten up. Plus I have no qualms about letting a fart go in front of my OH.

But I would never poo at work or in a public loo unless I really had to. I like to be on my nice clean loo at home with reading material and no disturbances. I'm not quite sure why that is - perhaps its a hygiene thing. Or maybe it's the memory of a work colleague coming into the office with her face screwed up saying that someone had left a STOOL in the ladies' lav (it wasn't me!).

My OH is the same - he needs to go into a cubicle to wee, and at work he used to use the disabled toilet to have a poo - but one day he got locked in and had to pull the air vent off from the inside and shout to his colleagues - perhaps more embarassing than the poo smell!!

mademoiselle_2

not_loaded wrote: »

And that is why we’ve all died of terrible diseases from visiting toilets throughout our lives.

Oh, hang on a minute, we haven’t have we?

.

Er... well actually, I think you will find that typhoid and cholera are still responsible for tens of thousands of deaths each year, in the developing world. *smacks forehead*

I suppose you feel all nice and distanced from that kind of thing, so that you can sneer at those who try to remember hygiene around excrement. However, it's barely one hundred and fifty years since people in this country were dropping like flies from cholera, because they hadn't made the connection between fecal matter and the water-borne bacteria that caused such a terrible death.

It's amazing how quickly ignorance comes to rule again! And the way I see some people behave around lavatories - even our nice flushing Western ones - a quick outbreak of typhoid wouldn't surprise me at all!

But fine, if you and JD Power want to stand around public loos sucking in all those noxious bacteria-laden odours, be my guest!:rotfl:

PS: JD: too much information!!!!:eek:

nodwah

You're not smelling bacteria - you're smelling the results of bacterial action.

In general you are at no more danger from a smelly loo unless you are unucky enough to go in just after someone with norovirus in this country. In cases of explosive diahorroea (and vomiting) the virus particles can remain suspended in the air for hours, but it's much more dangerous to touch the door handle or tap as these could be loaded with infectious material. If you're a blood group B type you probably won't catch it anyway.
(Anyway I'd hope someone feeling that bad would have stayed at home.)

Horasio

I need to have total peace and quiet to go for a no 2, Hearing other people outside puts me off going. I wish I could go when I am out and about. I can go in hotel rooms and loos that have no gaps underneath but you always get someone chat right outside the cubicle.:mad:

nzseries1

CCStar wrote: »

I need to have total peace and quiet to go for a no 2, Hearing other people outside puts me off going. I wish I could go when I am out and about. I can go in hotel rooms and loos that have no gaps underneath but you always get someone chat right outside the cubicle.:mad:

It's not just me! Wooo!! I'm the same.
Also, I find it so uncomfortable when a work colleague starts talking to me in the bathroom. Especially if it's while at the urinal!! Can't you save the convo for outside the bathroom? :eek:

valk_scot

I got over this worry a long time ago, if indeed I ever had it. We camp a lot, often for several weeks at a time in the summer, and that's a long time to go without a poo! Yet on the camping forums I frequent there are often stories about women not going for a poo for an entire weekend because of this phobia and even restricting food intake to allow for this, for goodness sake.

Yes I think it's about time we got over it. It's not right to get so worked up over a normal bodily function that you can damage your health, surely? Or restricting activities like eating or travelling or holidays because of being afraid to go to the toilet? It's starting to border on obsessive compulsive behavior syndrome once it gets to this point ie it's a psychological problem. I think it's a good idea to have some sort of public awareness campaign about the potentially serious consequences of this, and to make people aware that really, it's not you being fastidious or ladylike, it's you choosing to possibly damage your body in order to conform to a slightly irrational standard of behavior you've set yourself.

poorbabe

Very interesting topic here. I have no problems using loos when out and about or here at work. I line the seat with paper, or hovver if there is none (I carry tissues, just in case). I put a few sheets in the bowl as I hate splash and, if there is a lid I put that down so there is no splashback when I flush. When I have to go, I have to go.

gbswales

well I know I am a guy but its difficult to understand how this inhibitions develop - since we all poo, we all break wind and we all smell - why should it matter - its not as if we are different to anyone else - if you are a lady and it bothers you then just imagine the Queen with her knickers round her ankles breaking out the loudest smelliest poo you can imagine!

We should all be more comfortable with our bodies - I dont even understand why nudity should cause offence to some people - we all have the same bits and pieces so why the big secrecy about it all?

k2tog

nodwah wrote: »

You're not smelling bacteria - you're smelling the results of bacterial action.

In general you are at no more danger from a smelly loo unless you are unucky enough to go in just after someone with norovirus in this country. In cases of explosive diahorroea (and vomiting) the virus particles can remain suspended in the air for hours, but it's much more dangerous to touch the door handle or tap as these could be loaded with infectious material. If you're a blood group B type you probably won't catch it anyway.
(Anyway I'd hope someone feeling that bad would have stayed at home.)

Does this blood group have a better immune system or something? Not being sarky, really find this interesting.
It seems from this thread that many people's objections are down to the state and cleanliness of toilets. Perhaps a poll would be in order to sort the various concerns

nodwah

k2tog wrote: »

Does this blood group have a better immune system or something? Not being sarky, really find this interesting.
It seems from this thread that many people's objections are down to the state and cleanliness of toilets. Perhaps a poll would be in order to sort the various concerns

It's down to genetics, group B people are missing the receptor that noroviruses bind to at the molecular level. BUT there are a lot of viruses out there and they mutate all the time so it might not be true for all of them all of the time and there are a whole lot more things out there that give you trouble.

The point i failed to make was that cholera and typhoid are not generally a problem in your average british office toilet!