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That's my second long trip since lockdown, this time including a drive and a ferry. Rightly or wrongly I'm reluctant to use public toilets due to the increased risk of virus transmission. Am I saving up potential long term bladder issues by holding it in too long?
Probably. If you're talking about driving through France my preference is to use the squatty potty in the "aires" with just a car park and no cafe. Less contact with surfaces or humans.
meh.... I think you are over thinking it. Wash and use Hand sanitiser you'll be fine.
meh…. I think you are over thinking it
Quite possibly. I guess I've becone so used to lockdown and lack of people. Everywhere just seems so busy now.
Must be somewhere you can pee al fresco?
Must be somewhere you can pee al fresco?
Over the side of a ferry on The Minch? Quite apart from the risk of falling in, there's the splashback to consider.
Seriously though, are there any health issues resulting in holding it in for too long?
my wife seems to manage a 12hr shift without going possibly too dehydrated to go, hurrah for the NHS and lack of breaks
What?
You are a boy, you don't need to touch anything except your own willy...
Isn't it called Truckers Bladder?
Is it not a potential source of kidney stones (urine crystallising or something)?
Take the van . Use the toilet in that.
You’re having us on right?
though if you’re not you might be better addressing this novel phobia head-on rather than adding to your anxiety with groundless fears of ‘bladder troubles’.
I don’t think of public toilets as high-occupancy poorly-ventilated places. They might be a less effective place to catch this virus than the ferry.
‘holding it in too long’? Ain’t gonna happen. When you have to go you have to go.
as for kidney or bladder stones. Not likely.
Take the van . Use the toilet in that
The chemi-khazi?
The Chillis had the right idea for this.
Anyone else weigh themselves before and after a wee? I routinely wee a litre in one go. Thinking that it might not be good for me.... It was helpful while playing Centurion at uni though
If you’re a man of a certain age, the risk of urinary retention is definitely a thing. A deeply unpleasant thing that will land you in a (French?) hospital with a catheter. Do not risk.
Cant help think of a frank Zappa lyric...
Scotroutes - I don’t think your concern is irrational at all. In fact if Calmac hadn’t made the decision for us it’s one of the things which would have make us pause for thought on our planned 5hr trip this year.
For those trying to be helpful: you can’t access the vehicle deck during transit so can’t use the van. Peeing over the side is likely to get you some other problems. Calmac toilets are not normally the most pleasant places - and involve opening doors touched presumably by other people whose personal hygiene standards is not necessarily what it should be. Covid is found in Shit so this is believed to be a good transmission route. If it’s choppy people often go to the bogs to throw up - i imagine that’s quite an effective way of spreading it too. There is some evidence that flushing is a very good way of distributing aerosols of potential virus. Calmac bogs are particularly small and poorly ventilated. Queues to get in them are potentially hot spots too - although I imagine calmac Will have some system in place that are more effectively managed than outside my local barbers.
Personally I’d be “holding it in” for the 5h crossing too. Although we should balance this by saying the number of people in Scotland with the virus is currently very low so the probability they are on your ferry is low too - but it’s certainly non zero. One of the issues is, if you go to the Hebrides for a week, pick up covid on the way there and develop symptoms just before your return you won’t be permitted to travel - where do you stay? Your accom is probably occupied by next visitor. For the honest that causes a major headache. For the selfish it encourages them to not mention their temp or loss of taste - spreading the virus. Realistically your risk of getting sick from the ferry is probably no worse than normal - salmonella, ecoli, norovirus, flu are probably all risks on a normal calmac trip. Whether you perceive Covid as worse than those may depend on your personal circumstances, and if you think being part of the transmission chain IS being part of the problem even if you are healthy.
Personally I’ve no major problem holding a pee in that long, especially if I drink “sensibly”. Adding on 3 hrs to get to Oban, an hour waiting for departure and an hour to get to your accom on the other side is not even approaching my personal 18hr record but is getting uncomfortable.
Toilets on shore are not necessarily that much better. In their wisdom council etc have closed them - that means those that are open are under greater pressure - and probably cleaned less often than the ferry.
I doubt that doing it twice a year is going to cause perm damage. Doing it regularly can’t be healthy.
For those trying to be helpful: you can’t access the vehicle deck during transit so can’t use the van
Depends on the route the smaller inter islanders you can and I'd imagine currently it's encouraged in the same way it is on the Eurotunnel
And more so his whole trip isn't on the ferry.
Use the van Squatty potty (great phrase DrP) get on ferry survive a few hours - if it's one of the long ferry's to say Shetland then book a room have a Private pisser.
After many years of deep drysuit diving with long decompression stops I can offer two solutions. One is to get some condom catheters which secure over your best friend (they come in different sizes and vanity will cause leaks) then plumb that in to a suitable receptacle that you can stash about your person (we used a valve to dump it off board), or some adult nappies which will hold a surprising amount as long as you can control the flow. I started out with the catheter solution but changed to nappies after an unfortunate incident with a kinked pipe and 90 mins deco left before I could safely get out. When you're just hanging in the sea there is nothing else to think about than how much you need to pee.
Edit - I did actually develop bladder issues (poor detrusor function, so not emptying fully) but the consultant said that my years of holding it in before getting the above solutions wasn't an issue.
I once heard from a nurse that a higher than expected proportion of drivers in RTAs were busting to go. Double disaster, smash and slash.
Decent mask, gloves, wipe down handles before you step in, ditch the gloves, sanitise hands/arse, jobbies a good'un. Take your own bog roll. The main threat would be the miasma of aerosolised shite in the cubicle from the previous few occupants, not the surfaces, as long as you're careful about self-hygiene.
Yes. Hyponatremia. If that isn't bad enough, Google Tycho Brahe. Died 11 days after sitting through a Victorian dinner with a full bladder. Of an exploded bladder or something less interesting, depending on which account you believe.
Seriously though. You could pretty safely rub your knob over every surface in the bathroom and not get covid. It needs to get into your mucus membranes. Using a washroom is no higher risk than being in any other room.
Google trabiculated bladder
I'd be more concerned about dehydration