 Supermarket giant Tesco has today announced that it will change the signage of its accessible toilets to reflect the ‘invisible nature’ of some health conditions. This follows a successful UK public campaign for support by Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
A major anxiety for people living with a chronic health condition, like Crohn’s Disease or Ulcerative Colitis, is being refused toilet access or being confronted about why they are using a disabled facility. Whilst someone may appear to look ‘okay’ on the outside, they may be in a daily battle with a serious medical condition and urgently need to use the ‘disabled’ or ‘accessible’ facilities. The new signage will be rolled out to over 700 stores across the country, using the tagline message that ‘not all disabilities are visible’. Crohn’s and Colitis UK, called for supporters to back the campaign by emailing the bosses of the UK’s largest supermarkets; asking for their help to end the stigma and distress and help raise awareness that not every disability is visible. The announcement follows Asda and Morrisons, who have already adopted new signage which has helped to highlight the true impact of these debilitating conditions. By supermarkets adopting new accessible toilet signs, it is a simple but effective act they could help to ensure that customers with a medical condition can use the toilet facilities without fear of criticism or embarrassment. We are always listening to feedback from our customers on how we can improve our store facilities and when this issue was raised we felt it was important to make the change. We hope these new signs will help those customers who need to use a disabled toilet to do so without worry. Helen Gales Tesco Customer Service Director 19,000 emails have been sent to the top supermarkets in the UK since the launch of the campaign five months ago. Tesco’s is the second major supermarket to agree to change its signage during that time. This announcement is a great step by Tesco towards reducing stigma and raising awareness that not every disability is visible and everyone is grateful to them for making this change. People living with Inflammatory Bowel Disease can be very disadvantaged by the impact of their condition. They may not look unwell but are often profoundly affected by debilitating and unseen symptoms that affect all aspects of their lives. The experience or fear of unpredictable incontinence is very undermining to a person’s confidence and self-esteem and can lead in some cases to the person affected becoming too anxious to leave their home. Dan McLean Crohn’s and Colitis UK - See more at: https://www.crohnsandcolitis.org.uk/news/tesco-announces-new-toilet-signage-for-invisible-conditions?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=Tesco+announces+new+toilet+signage+for+%E2%80%98invisible%E2%80%99+conditions&utm_medium=Social+Media#sthash.GDoKdDxh.dpuf
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 Though there are over 7,000 rare diseases, there is one thing that all rare disease patients and families have in common- the need to cope with whatever challenges their disease throws their way. This is something that I have seen in my own life and I know that everyone copes differently.
I am the fourth generation in my family to have a hereditary colon cancer disease. Not only have I had to cope with my own diagnosis of Gardner Syndrome (GS), I have witnessed my dad battle Familial Adenomatous Polyposis (FAP) Syndrome, have lost two relatives to a hereditary colon cancer disease in my lifetime, and have also seen my brother diagnosed with GS. Luckily my brother and I have been in “remission” for nearly eight years. Though at times, I still struggle with knowing that I have about a 99.9% risk of colon cancer. I feel very blessed to be in remission. But I still struggle with worrying about what my future holds at times. A little over a year ago, I turned to blogging. For almost eight years, I had a hard time coping and accepting my disease. I knew that GS had a purpose in my life. But it wasn’t until I started blogging, that I started to see my disease as a gift. Somewhere between treatments, surgeries, therapies, waiting for test results, and setbacks, we have to find the strength to keep fighting. Living with a rare disease is an ongoing battle- one that many will end up fighting for their entire life. So how can we cope with this challenge? Here are some suggestions for ways to cope: • Support Groups. Find a support group for people who have your disease. With the growing popularity of social media sites such as Facebook and other support based websites such as Inspire and MDJunction, this is becoming easier. • Talking About It. Confiding in close friends and family members can be a helpful way to cope. • Writing. Whether you blog, or just choose to keep a private journal, writing can help you get your feelings out. • Exercise. It can help reduce stress you may be experiencing. • Prayer/Meditation. For those who practice a religion, prayer or other forms of meditation could be helpful for coping. These are just a few examples. Try a few different activities and see what works best for you. About the Author Alyssa Zeigler is a recent college graduate from Western Washington University. She has Gardner’s syndrome and comes from a family that has a history of hereditary colon cancer diseases. She has a degree in psychology and hopes to help people who are living with rare diseases. In her free time, she likes photography, knitting, playing the ukulele, spending time with friends, and writing. Alyssa is the author of the memoir, The Waves of Life: Going Against the Tide and the blog Learning to Live by Defying the Odds, and the creator of rareACTION. Symptoms of intestinal obstruction Intestinal obstruction causes a wide range of uncomfortable symptoms, including: * severe bloating * abdominal pain * decreased appetite * nausea * vomiting * constipation * diarrhea * severe abdominal cramps * abdominal swelling Some of the symptoms may depend on the location of the obstruction. For example, vomiting is an early sign of small intestine obstruction. This tends to happen after a longer amount of time if you have an obstruction in the large intestine. A partial obstruction can result in diarrhea, while a complete obstruction results in constipation. Intestinal obstruction may also cause a high fever if a portion of the intestinal wall has ruptured. #bowelobstruction #bowel #bowelmovement #boweldisease #surgery #operate #blockage #cartoon #instapic #intestines #toilet #helpforhirschsprungdisease #stomach #tummy #bloatedbelly #nausea #vomit #gas  Harald Hirschsprung was a Danish pediatrician who initially described "congenital megacolon" as well as many other gastrointestinal conditions as pyloric stenosis,esophageal atresia,and intussusception. Harald Hirschsprung was a native of Copenhagen. Hirschsprung, an intelligent student in high school, chose to become a doctor instead of taking over his father's tobacco factory. He passed his acceptance exam for university in 1848 and passed the Staatsexamen in 1855. He was interested in rare diseases concerning the gut throughout his life, and one such, atresia of the oesophagusand small bowel, was the subject of his doctoral thesis, presented in May 1861. He became the first Danish pediatrician in 1870, when he was appointed to a hospital for neonates. In 1879, he was made the chief physician at the Queen Louisa Hospital for Children, which opened in 1879. He was appointed a professor of pediatrics in 1891. Hirschsprung taught small classes on Sunday mornings between 9 and 11, to ensure that only truly dedicated students would come. He was not a great teacher, however, having problems with public speaking and a penchant to focus on rare cases rather than those most beneficial to general practice.#haraldhirschsprung #hirschsprungs #helpforhirschsprungdisease #hirschsprungsdisease  |
AuthorI am a mum of three precious children, one suffering from Hirschprung Disease...wanting to connect, share, support and make a difference. 
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