Illustrations by Elizabeth von Oehsen.

When you live with a debilitating bowel condition, you must cope with chronic pain and bouts of diarrhea among a plethora of physical symptoms. Then there’s the emotional afflictions, chief among them is what I call toilet anxiety.

I’ve had it since I was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis a few years ago. Whenever I go to a new place, I must know right away where the nearest restroom is. Or worse, I avoid going out entirely for fear that a flare-up will surprise me on the road.

In the United States, public bathrooms can be hard to find, with only eight public toilets for every 100,000 people. In this comic, we explain why that’s a problem for the millions of Americans suffering from medical conditions, as well as people who are unhoused, older adults, pregnant individuals and more.

Editing by Hannah Good and Tara Parker-Pope. Design editing by Chelsea Conrad and Christian Font. Copy editing by Paola Ruano.

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