New Public Toilet Website Launched

Ever been caught short whilst out and about? It's happened to the best of us. The first thing most of us probably check out when we go somewhere is where the nearest loos are. Have you ever tried to look up where the nearest toilets are before you go somewhere? Well now, under a newly launched scheme you can... in limited areas as it's so new.

The areas covered by the Great British Public Toilet Map include parts of London, Manchester, Brighton, Hove, Lichfield, Lincoln and Salford.

It was developed, oddly enough by the Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design - which is probably why it looks so pretty! But who cares who did it - let's hope they extend it to the rest of the world!

You can find it here.

Guest Writer - Lindsay "Let's Talk About Sh--"

Let’s just say it – nobody wants to talk about poo.

I mean, they’ll talk sh*t. They’ll say things like, “I just love lemonade, it’s so refreshing!” and, “I was watching Storage Wars, it was totally inspiring!” and, “Wouldn’t it be great if Kate and William were secretly having TRIPLETS?” But they won’t talk about sh*t.

Nobody’ll say, “I had THE most explosive visit to the loo last night,” or, “My haemorrhoids aren’t half playing up,” or, “I’m prepping for a ‘scope this weekend! Wish me luck with the Moviprep!” Well, you might if you’re in an old folks home where everyone’s losing control of their nethers, but as a YOUNG PERSON? It’s social suicide.

And I hate that it is. I’m not saying I WANT to share the intimate details of every ‘motion’ as the IBD team at my local hospital like to call it (first visit, I asked, “Do you mean my poo?”), but it’d be nice if people didn’t recoil in horror when you admit that, actually, your IBD is playing up, you’re in total aggers and you’d quite like to go chill out in the bathroom for a bit, if that’s ok.

It’s a very British thing, I think. This aversion to talking about what goes on in the toilet. Sometimes, though, I like to challenge that, just to make people feel uncomfortable – if I have to be in pain, why not everyone else? I remember saying, quite loudly, at my gran’s once that prepping for a colonoscopy was, without a doubt, hands down, the worst experience of my life. I followed this statement up with: “I swear to GOD, I’ve never pooed like that in my life. I mean, it was everywhere. It was like, ‘Where is this coming from? How is this possible?’” And in that moment, I think my gran might have thrown up in her mouth.

I know it’s unpleasant. But it’s something that I, and thousands of other people, have to deal with. And it can be really awful if you don’t have anyone to share it with. I feel really sorry for my mum – I’ll share a full report with her when I come out of the loo when my Crohn’s is flaring up. Amount of blood, colour, consistency – the works. When I was in hospital once, I had to fill in a ‘stool chart’, a duty I embraced. I eventually had the chart taken away from me because my descriptions were getting a bit out of hand. I might have employed the odd simile to help paint a clearer picture.

I’m not saying that everyone should take a leaf out of my book and make their colleagues listen to a blow by blow account of their recent colonoscopy (I was awake for it, though, and there was NO WAY that experience was going by undocumented) but I do think that being open about the fact that, OK, sometimes something simple like going to the loo isn’t easy might make a difference. Because that’s the worst bit about IBD – you feel like you can’t talk about it.

Britain needs to set its blushes to one side for a minute and realise that maybe it is OK to talk about what goes on behind closed bathroom doors, because for some people? It’s really awful. It’s embarrassing and it’s painful and it’s horrible to deal with. So talk about it. You don’t need to go into colour and consistency, but don’t shy away from it. Don’t pretend you don’t poo. Talking helps. It helps you deal with it, and it helps other people understand.

Maybe if I could set my watch by my toilet trips, if I didn’t have to think about going to the loo or keep markers in my diary when I experience bleeding, I’d be a bit more conservative about bathroom activities too. But, really, we all have to go. Whether it’s normal pooing or not. And a little bit of sympathy, a, ‘God, that sounds awful!’ is a LOT more welcome for us poor IBD afflicted lot than a look of disgust, a curled lip or a full on recoil of horror. You don’t have to understand – just listening helps.

And if you’re the one that’s spent an evening with extra strength painkillers, anti nausea tablets and diarrhoea, having that person there who doesn’t look at you like you have three heads? It makes life a little bit easier. It makes you feel a little less alone.

What Causes Diarrhoea in Crohn's and Colitis

If you have IBD, your diarrhoea may be due to a flare up of your disease -although there are also some other factors which may be causing the diarrhoea or making it worse.

Side effects of drugs for IBD
One of the rare side effects of 5-ASAs such as mesalazine and sulphasalazine, is watery diarrhoea. You may be able to reduce this side effect by taking the tablets with or after food. Some of the immunosuppressants, such as azathioprine and methotrexate, can also cause diarrhoea especially during the early weeks of treatment. Talk to your doctor or IBD team about ways to  manage this, or see our Drug Treatment leaflets, Azathioprine and Methotrexate, for further information.


Side effects of other drugs
You may also find it helpful to check whether diarrhoea is a side effect of any other medications you are taking. Antibiotics and acid-lowering treatments such as omeprazole and lansoprazole can also cause diarrhoea.


Colectomy and ileo-rectal anastomosis
In this operation the colon is removed and the ileum (the lower part of the small intestine) joined directly to the rectum. After this procedure your faeces will tend to be much more liquid because you no longer have a colon to absorb the water. 


Small Bowel Surgery for Crohn’s Disease 
If you have had the end of the ileum (the lower part of the small intestine) removed, you may have bile salt diarrhoea. Bile salts are produced in the liver and are usually reabsorbed in the ileum, so that only very small 
amounts enter the colon. However, if part of the ileum is lost, much higher levels of bile salts can drain into the colon. This can irritate the colon causing watery diarrhoea. Inflammation of the end of the ileum can also lead to bile salt diarrhoea as well as to poor fat absorption (see below).


Malabsorption of fats 
If you have Crohn’s in the ileum (the lower part of the small intestine) you may have difficulty absorbing fats. This can lead to urgency and to pale and bad smelling, poorly formed faeces that are difficult to flush away.

Iron Supplements 
You may be prescribed iron supplements for anaemia caused by your IBD. A change in bowel habit is a common side effect of iron supplements and while some people get constipation, others get diarrhoea. 

Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
IBS is sometimes confused with Inflammatory Bowel Disease, but is a separate and different condition. Some of the typical symptoms of IBS, such as diarrhoea and colicky pain, can be very similar to those of IBD, but IBS does not cause inflammation or bleeding. However, it is possible that some people with UC or Crohn’s Disease may have irritable bowel symptoms as well as IBD – probably because the inflammation has temporarily affected the nerve endings in the bowel. So they may, for example, continue to experience diarrhoea following an IBD flare up, even once the inflammation has died down.

Diet and food sensitivities
Some people are sensitive to particular foods, such as milk and wheat. Too much fibre, spicy food, chocolate, caffeine (in coffee, tea and cola drinks), alcohol, fructose (a sugar in fruit) and artificial sweeteners (sorbitol) can all have a laxative effect, stimulating and loosening the bowels. Intolerance to lactose, a natural sugar found in milk, can also cause diarrhoea.

Infections 
In people without IBD, diarrhoea is often a sign of gastroenteritis – an infection of the large bowel, commonly caused by a virus or bacteria. These infections can also affect people with IBD and your doctor or IBD team may carry out tests to make sure your diarrhoea is not at least partly due to such an infection.

For more information see our leaflet Managing Diarrhoea.