Crohn’s Disease- humiliated by receptionist at doctors

[KnittingMania]

I’m at doc surgery rn waiting for my appt. I have Crohn’s Disease and have to access toilet unexpectedly up to 12 times a day or more. So Sod’s Law it happened while waiting here. Immediately after I exited the toilet, having tried my best to mitigate odours by cleaning etc, the receptionist bustled out and went straight into toilet, huffed loudly, went elsewhere with lots of door banging and came back with air freshener. She then sprayed it not just in toilet but throughout the reception kind of passageway that is in clear view of the waiting area.

I cannot help being ill. I avoid so many things bc of this miserable and embarrassing illness. I thought I could feel safe at doc’s. They could provide air freshener in the toilet. But my point is wider- no one should be shamed by their illness in a doc surgery.

I would like to complain. Should I? It’s kind of embarrassing doing this. But I feel she should learn and raise her levels of understanding.

Way to miss the point.

Shit smells like shit, with or without crohns. Why would you think having IBD makes you shit smell extra foul? Bizarre assumption.

I would discuss it with the practice manager, and maybe suggest they get some form of automatic air freshener fitted in their toilet to avoid this in future.

I would also recommend carrying a small bottle of something like poo pourri (miles better than vipoo), or some citrus essential oil to pop into the loo before going makes it less embarrassing and masks any smell well.

I hope you get your flare under control soon 💐

I think you also need to complain that she was spraying air freshener around when there were people waiting with asthma, COPD and allergies. She could have made someone very ill.

I understand that but no one wants to smell your crap. If you don’t take precautions such as VIPoo with you then you have to expect others to smell a air freshener when you have been to the toilet.

People who are ill don’t want to be sat in a waiting room that smells foul making them feel worse. It must of been bad for her to spray it everywhere.

If it happens everyday then why don’t you keep VIPoo in your car & bag for things like this.

It shouldn’t matter. If you work in a medical building then you should expect people to be unwell. You don’t have a know a patient’s exact medical history to assume they are legitimately ill in some way. The OP doesn’t owe the receptionist an explanation.

Like I said before, if you’re squeamish about this stuff then you shouldn’t be working in a medical building.

Sometimes there is no time for vipoo my friend has a bag it stinks I make sure there is air freshener in the toilet when she visits

Oh god catch yourself on. The receptionist was a thoughtless idiot. And people in the waiting room would probably rather smell a bit of poo for a couple of minutes (newsflash: everybody poos) than choke on air freshener that could trigger asthma attacks, allergies or coughing fits in a room full of sick people.
Why are you so phobic of your bodily functions??

@Neonyellowfish because it's expensive (when you're shitting twenty times a day and doesn't actually work. Also, if you're on the verge of crapping yourself you can't spray the toilet 4-5 times before sitting and doing your business. It's difficult enough getting the door closed and locked sometimes!

OP as a colitis sufferer, please complain to the practice manager!

I'd rather smell poo than air freshener.

It does fuck all too, apart from putting particles into the air and decreasing the air quality. It smells worse because there's a mix of poo and fake fragrance.

Spraying stuff around people with breathing problems and small children isn't a good thing!

Over twenty years ago I had severe bowel issues due to gallbladder and complications. On one unfortunate incident I did not make the toilet at the gps. I was barely able to walk and I remember asking the receptionist for access to cleaning products to clean up.

She put me in a little side room got me water, rang maintenance about that annoying tap being on the blink again. She was so kind, and dignified.

When I was recovered I popped in a thank you card and flowers. She is practice manager now and has all her team trained to her professional standards. I am so sorry she shamed you.

There is no excuse in a medical setting to not be conscious that these things may happen and have a plan in place.

Nobody needs to carry around VIPoo, it’s perfectly normal and reasonable to poo in a toilet. No, it’s not pleasant to use a toilet straight after someone else has had a poo, but some aspects of life aren’t pleasant and the toilet is a perfectly normal place for there to be smells. Spraying air freshener in a doctors where people may have asthma, allergies or other respiratory issues seems more unreasonable to be honest, I find that air fresheners aggravate my breathing and make my eyes itch which can last hours so would have found that far more annoying than a poo smell in a toilet, the one place it’s expected. Whilst a poo smell isn’t pleasant it isn’t going to trigger respiratory issues or allergies like synthetic air fresheners and sprays will.

Also, as someone with IBS, there isn't always time to be fucking around spraying stuff into the loo - I barely get my pants down sometimes 😬

What a horrible experience,Op.

What is VIPOO? Sounds fun!
You should complain, that isn't kind of her and in a doctor's of all places you shouldn't be made to feel bad for something you cannot help.

Frankly I'd rather smell shit than the revolting chemical sprays. Shit is just shit, and a poopy whiff isn't going to kill you. FFS at the lack of compassion from some posters!

Yes, I would say something. They sound pretty indiscreet.

Yes this.

@BBno4 what a mean comment.

Sorry she was so rude and embarrassed you OP.

It would be helpful if GP practices had bathrooms with windows and that they left air fresheners etc in the room so you could deal with it yourself. This rarely seems to be the case.

I’d complain for 2 reasons. Firstly it’s embarrassed you. Secondly, she shouldn’t be spraying any aerosol around in a waiting room. Anyone with breathing difficulties would find that really challenging and likely to compromise their breathing even more.

Absolutely complain!

It doesn't matter if the receptionist knows OP has Crohn's, the receptionist should understand that people at a GP surgery are more likely to have bowel issue for many reasons.

What if it was someone with fecal incontinence, who soiled their pad? Or a stoma explosion? It's shaming someone and that's not ok.

this ^

Awful, awful, awful.

Patients make, and have, all sorts of smells - from malodorous wounds, faeces, general dirt, stale smoke etc. We would never dream of spraying rooms/corridors/toilets until after that particular patient has left.
I totally understand your upset. Sorry op

I'd rather smell poo than air freshener. It does fuck all too, apart from putting particles into the air and decreasing the air quality. It smells worse because there's a mix of poo and fake fragrance.

Agree with this. Air freshener "masking" a poo smell is horrid, far worse than the poo smell itself in my opinion. They shouldn't be relying on air freshener. If there's no window in the toilet they should have adequate extraction.

We’re not allowed to put cans of air freshener in the patient toilets. We don’t have automatic air fresheners either due to potential issues for people with allergies, illness or respiratory conditions. We open windows as much as possible.

She was thoughtless and insensitive. I’d raise it with the practice manager. No need to copy in the GP as all complaints are shared with the GP partners anyway.