Do you remember the last time you used a public restroom? That is, any bathroom that is not that of home comfort. All of us, at some point in our lives, find ourselves in need of using them. And, in general, they do not usually bring good experiences.
Public toilets do not always meet our needs. Today, thanks to research, we know that they can even negatively affect different aspects of our lives. Especially to people who, due to various health disorders, depend on them.
Where are they? Normally, in the back to the right of the establishment, hidden, both literally and metaphorically. The consequences of not giving it the importance it really has is its gradual disappearance and the continuous neglect of its cleanliness. Sometimes they are in really deplorable conditions.
To identify negative experiences in public toilets, we interviewed those who use them most frequently. That is, people with inflammatory bowel diseases, including Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The unpleasant situations they face are varied: from establishments that hinder their use to the presence of dirt, poor hygiene or lack of privacy.
But quality of life
The results show us that there is a relationship between these negative events and the decrease in quality of life.
In addition, we detected that these negative experiences tend to be affected by social class: they occur more frequently in people with low economic income and a lower educational level.
In line with previous research, it was also found that the (bad) relationship with public toilets is conditioned by gender: there were more negative experiences on the part of women than men, perhaps related to different needs that are not usually taken into account.
This burden is especially heavy for people who cannot put off using the bathroom, or putting it off involves great pain and discomfort. There are various medical ailments that generate this situation: intestinal and urogenital diseases, side effects of medications, etc. And they all involve a dependency on public toilets when we’re away from home.
Another study from our team shows that we can specifically relate these negative situations to increased shame related to your ailment. This shame related to the disease itself is related to worse health results, since, for example, the search for help or support in the environment is reduced.
And the list of problems associated with public toilets does not end there. For example, trans and queer people face difficulties accessing the bathroom as a consequence of transphobia. And an evident proliferation of urogenital problems has been detected as a result of putting up with the urge to go to the bathroom in the workplace or not adapting educational centers to the needs of children.
We have to talk about public bathrooms
A poor public toilet system is a burden on everyone’s shoulders that can affect quality of life and health. But all is not lost: evaluating the situation and becoming aware of the problem is the first step towards a horizon where we have quality bathrooms for everyone, which respect the needs of each individual.
One thing is clear: you have to talk about public toilets and stop doing it in secret. We must demand our basic right not to have to wait until we get home to go to the bathroom.
This article has been published in ‘The conversation‘.
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