March/April 2009
Page 7
Bathroom Hints
Lynn Rowell, Editor of the Rambling Rosebud, Anne Arundel County, MD
If you have a very active ostomy with a lot of output, like me, you get to visit the "small room" rather frequently. I have found that one of the toilets in my house doesn't do a good job of flushing the waste away. In fact, the bowl fills with clean water from the tank and then the surplus is "sucked" down the toilet into the sewer. Unfortunately, a lot of the liquid waste remains and it becomes necessary to wait for the tank to fill and flush again or risk someone thinking you either didn't flush or the toilet's not working correctly.
Having to flush twice is both annoying and wasteful. Also, these kinds of toilets that have a large bowl with a lot of water in it, means that as you empty, it can create quite a splash - putting in a few squares of toilet paper first prevents the waste from splashing as the pouch is emptied. Newer toilets are sold meeting water saving requirements. Unfortunately some of them are still designed so that clean water from the tank fills up the bowl and then is sucked back out; these also may have problems removing the waste properly.
Many public facilities have installed power flush toilets that require little water. They have a powerful sucking action that removes waste. Since they don't have much water in the bowl, if the output is thick, some may remain after flushing, so it's best to put down a few squares of toilet paper into the bowl before emptying the pouch. The majority of the waste, hopefully, will be on that paper, which is then pulled away when you flush. I have also found this to be helpful when using the toilet on a plane as they also use very little water.
As I have encountered public restrooms minus soap, I carry a small hand sanitizer or pack of travel wipes for such occasions. A few tissues in your supply kit or some squares of toilet paper are also good for the time when you have to go, but the stall is out of paper.
SOURCE: The Re-route, Evansville, IN., Okanagan Mainline, February 2009 , via Inside Out On-line Mar/Apr 09.
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