so we have a bunch of patients on our services admitted for 'bowel related' dysfunction. there are all these people with constipation and diarrhea. now, i realize that those could be serious things, but i feel like too many people are just too in-tune with their bodily function. i mean people freak out about their 'constipation'. like you head straight for the emergency room if it's 10am and you still havent pooped. that's not constipation! when i was living in germany there was a show on tv in which jamie oliver (whom i would have married had he not been already taken and had two daughters with weird culinary names) tried to reform the british school cafeteria system. apparently, british schoolchildren have terrible diets adn go to their pcp's (that's primary care physician's) offices not having a bowel movement in 3-4 weeks, now that's constipation! i get it, it's annoying when you havent pooped, but really, really, have some patience. lay off the french fries and have a prune, trust me it'll go away. same with diarrhea, just because you're going and it's a little runny does not warrant an admission to the hospital. i do research in central asia, where you have to boil the water to even brush your teeth, it is so contaminated. and let me tell you, it gets bad, the bugs adn the traveler's diarrhea and i've survived without emergency room visits or hospitalizations. a little diarrhea has never hurt anyone...well, except maybe very smal children, the elderly, and people with HIV adn cholera. but really, occasional clearing is good for the system. also, i think people in coming to ER with complaints of diarrhea adn constipation should be triaged by a special chart. like everyone needs to get a diagram of some sort to correctly identify the poo-problem they are having. loose stools does not equal diarrhea. just because you're not valsalva-ing to the point of your eyeballs popping out, doesnt mean diarrhea. its ridiculous just how obsessed people become over the bowel movements. but unless there is water pouring out of your butt non-stop or you're actually impacted...
speaking of in tuned bodily function. when i was at uchicago for my elective gyn rotation, we had a slew of women come through clinic with obscure vaginal complaints. like women had these vague itchings and discomforts, but the labs and microscopy was always negative for any type of organism or infection. my attending (who is awesome) commented on these women's weird obsession with their own vaginas, their meticulous journal writing about their symptoms and what they ate on the particular day their vaginas were sad. i'm not kidding, really, it was that serious. my attending was amazed at the energy it took to keep this all organized and documented, the feelings adn thoughts of one's vagina. i pointed out to her, that perhaps, it's not so serious to her, vaginal symptoms i mean, because she is an ob/gyn adn knows better when to worry or to dismiss them. and my attending then asked me how many of MY friends were keeping vagina journals...fair enough! so i guess what i'm trying to say, if you have concerns about the state or feeling of your vagina, feel free to document them, write it down, and i'll be happy to discuss any symptoms with you...diarrhea or constipation--i'm not all that interested in, unless it's bad...real bad!
