New Survey Reveals Just How Long Travelers Will Avoid Using a Public Bathroom

There are a lot of things that can throw off your digestion while traveling. From the airplane ride itself to eating new foods in your destination that are far from your typical meals, it’s no surprise when our tummies get a little upset. The key thing to know here is that it’s nothing to be embarrassed about. In fact, a new QS Supplies survey shows that 51 percent of travelers experience “digestive changes” while traveling. But that’s not the wildest stat it found.

In March, the online bathroom warehouse brand, released the findings of its Toilet Troubles While Traveling Study, which surveyed more than 1,000 UK and American travelers to learn the “unfiltered truth about what really happens when nature calls on the go.” 

The most critical piece of information this survey found is that if you’re a traveler it’s important to try to overcome any fear of public toilets, which is a real diagnosable disorder known as parcopresis, or “shy bowel syndrome,” which the IBD News Daily explains, is “the inability to defecate in public.” It noted that while the American Psychiatric Association doesn’t officially recognize parcopresis, it does consider paruesis (aka shy bladder syndrome) a social anxiety disorder. Paruesis impacts up to 16.4 percent of people.

The reason it’s critical to address this before traveling is because the QS Supplies survey found that the average traveler will hold their bladder and bowels for 83 minutes if they are traveling instead of using an unfamiliar toilet. It also noted that “one in five travelers hold it for more than two hours before using an unfamiliar toilet.” 

The survey stated that 89 percent of respondents said they hold it over “cleanliness concerns,” followed by 60 percent citing “bad smells” and 53 percent citing “no toilet paper or soap.” 

“Brits tend to hold it longer than Americans, waiting 90 minutes on average before using an unfamiliar toilet while traveling, compared to 79 minutes for Americans,” the team shared in the findings. “This hesitation extends to the air as well, where opinions on in-flight etiquette vary. More than half of travelers (52 percent) believed people should never fart on an airplane and should hold it in, with Americans (54 percent) more likely than Brits (47 percent) to agree.” 

Again, can’t stress enough, science says to please just pass the gas. You can hurt yourself holding it in. 

Still, the respondents to the QS Supplies survey certainly had feelings about other people’s stomach issues. Nearly 1 in 5 respondents (19 percent) said that passengers with “particularly smelly farts should be removed from a flight, while 29 percent of travelers said they should be “reimbursed for sitting next to someone who farts, with Americans (33 percent) more likely than Brits (24 percent) to feel entitled to a refund.” 

This, despite the fact that 40 percent of respondents also stated they have experienced a bathroom emergency while traveling. So yes, digestive drama on the road is more common than you think and remember: we’re all human and none of this has to be as embarrassing or scary as it seems. Just maybe don’t skip the pre-boarding bathroom break if you’ve got the chance.