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Image: Sarcasm |
But let
me backtrack a bit.
Growing
up, I was taught to clean myself with water any time I peed or pooped and this
was followed by a strict rule to wash my hands afterwards. This was common
practice for my family and many families that I knew. So if I went to the
toilet 20 times on any given day, I would clean myself with water 20 times.
As we got
older, the concept of cleaning ourselves with tissue paper began to be
mainstream but again, we were taught to use the tissue paper to dab
ourselves after we had washed with water.
It wasn’t
until I got to the university that I saw people use tissue papers as
their primary cleaning option. I was shocked. So many
questions ran through my head; how did they do that? Were
they truly clean? And if not, were they comfortable
walking around with traces of pee or poop on them? And then finally, I
wondered if their nether regions smelled?
There is
a flip side though.
The way I
was looking at these people like they had alien parts sprouting out of their
heads was the same way they were looking at me. I got asked
some questions that expressed their shock at my choice.
“Do you
use your hands when you wipe down with water?”
“Which
hand do you use? And do you eat with that hand?”
“How can
you stand touching your feces?”
“Isn’t it
disgusting?”
And
they really were disgusted!
So it
made me wonder; was their option so ‘wrong’? Well…there are times that I have
no option than to use a tissue paper. It has always felt weird. And worse, I
have always had to deal with an itch every single time I have
used this option. It may be psychological (or not) but that has always
happened. As a result, if I have to poop when there is no water, I would rather
hold it until I can find a toilet with a bucket or a water shower that I can
use to wash. If however I have diarrhea and just have to go, I
always feel bad afterwards. I use so much tissue that you have to wonder
whether I am trying to clean the oil spillage in the Niger Delta. Even at that,
I never feel clean.
I am not
the only one on this boat. In fact, I have heard of people who take off their
clothes every time they poop and have full baths afterwards
because they don’t want any remnant of feces on their bodies. The
thought of carrying even the smallest remnant of feces on our
bodies is why we have decided that the tissue option is not for us.
Back to
my opening statement.
It is
surprising that many hotels, restaurants, clubs, schools, offices and other
public places do not have toilets that cater to people like me. So if we have
to use the restrooms in these places, we have to wonder whether we can risk
holding it in (which is totally unhealthy) or risk getting itches that may (or
may not) be the start of an infection.
This is
why I think that ALL public places should have both options
for people who use their facilities. Ensure that you have running water as well
as an abundance of tissue papers. If you cannot provide a detachable toilet tap
(or a bidet as it is called) in your toilet, then get a bucket and bowl in
there. Or a small kettle. First, it ensures all your customers are satisfied
and second, you wouldn’t have to deal with the possibility of having
urine/feces on the seat, the door and every other place a person might touch if
they do not wash their hands afterwards.
And if
are like me and don’t know what options you may have when you want to use
public toilets, do yourself a favor and go in there with a small bottle that
would suffice. We can’t allow ourselves suffer in a clear case of Mohammed
refusing to go to the mountain.
Here 👇 is
what I think an ideal toilet in a public place should look like. What do you
think?
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An ideal restroom with options for cleaning one's self. Image: Becoming Peculiar |
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