Some people cannot poop away from home, experts call it 'shy bowel syndrome'

Some people cannot defecate when not at home and might hold in fecal matter for long periods of time. Medical authorities have a name for it ‘parcopresis’ or the shy bowel syndrome.

This psychogenic condition, causing fecal retention, is more likely to affect those suffering from anxiety disorders.

Sufferers are often distressed by the thought of defecating in restrooms at work, vacation or even at school or community events. They might hold the waste till they find a familiar restroom to throw it out of the body.

Though psychological, the condition eventually has a toll on a person’s gastrointestinal function and gut health.

Because of its sensitive nature, experts find it difficult to find the count of people affected by it.

As per experts, the fear arises from being judged for pooping outside the house, taking long minutes or producing undesirable sounds.

Causes

An Australian study describes shy bowel syndrome as: “A condition where people have difficulty defecating in restrooms due to the perceived scrutiny of others.”

The study found that out of 714 university students, 14 percent avoided using unfamiliar restrooms because of anxiety and 3 percent avoided due to fear of contamination.

Most of them were found to be worried about how they are being perceived by others.

Experts have associated this condition closely to social anxiety which might be one of the triggers.

People having shy bowel syndrome are likely to use avoidant techniques and fear there will be negative social consequences if they were to poop in public restrooms.

As per Medical News Today, people having pooping anxiety are likely to suffer from toilet phobia. They are likely to be fearful of public toilets, fearful of staying away from their toilets, fearful of hygiene and about not being able to use the restroom when needed.

They are also likely to have symptoms like a racing heart, sweating, digestive discomfort, irritability, muscle tension and nausea.

Long term effects of poop retention

As reported by a media outlet and reiterated by The Conversation, a British teenage girl had died from a heart attack after avoiding the toilet for over eight weeks.

The fear of going to a toilet had caused her colon to be saturated with fecal matter, eventually compressing her chest cavity and resulting in a heart attack that took her life.

There are other side effects of holding in the fecal matter, including chronic constipation, bleeding from haemorrhoids, tears in the lining of the anus (fissure), rectal collapse (drops down in the pelvic cavity) and others.

As per experts, one must not spend more than five minutes on a toilet seat and avoid tensing the anal muscles.