Pooping while on vacation: how to solve the trouble
What can ruin a vacation in Finland—or anywhere else? Plenty of things, of course. Getting sick, having an accident like twisting an ankle… but some travelers suffer from something that isn’t talked about much: they have trouble going to the bathroom while on vacation. They get blocked up. They can’t go “number two.” To put it bluntly: pooping while on vacation is, for many people, not possible or very hard.
Tough. Really tough.
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Not being able to poop while on vacation: a problem many people have
Looking back, I think the first time I met someone with this problem was during the “Camino de Santiago“.
Everything started off great—lots of laughs and good vibes. But a few days in: sweating, general discomfort, bloated stomach, frequent gas that led nowhere…
Total blockage. Days went by, and our friend couldn’t get any relief. When he finally told us about it, he admitted it happened to him all the time. Even in university, he couldn’t go—only once he got home.
A laxative solved it, of course. But it’s an ordeal best avoided so you don’t have to fear traveling.
Luckily, there’s another way.
Why do some travelers have trouble going to the bathroom when they’re not at home?
It depends on the person.
For some, it’s about public restrooms—they either find them gross or simply can’t relax enough to do their business with people coming and going.
But for others, it’s even worse: if they’re not at home, they just can’t go. It doesn’t matter how clean or private the bathroom is. Even in a hotel or vacation rental, they struggle to let things happen naturally.
And these are the people who suffer the most.
Side note: A language curiosity and “false friends” on this topic
A fun fact for those learning Spanish.
A “false friend” is a word that looks similar in two languages but has a different meaning. For example, the Spanish word carpeta looks like the English carpet, but carpet actually means folder. If you find this topic interesting, Wiktionary has a list of false friends across languages.
For today’s topic, there’s one false friend worth knowing: the English word constipation or constipated.
A "false friend" in Spanish: "constipado" doesn't mean "constipated". It means "having a cold". Take this into account while in a Spanish speaking country. Share on X“Constipated” – not being able to poop – is not constipado in Spanish. “Constipado” means “having a cold”. So, if you have trouble pooping while on vacation, be careful not to tell your Spanish-speaking pharmacist or friends that you’re constipated unless you want them to offer you some cold medicine.
Now that we’ve cleared that up, let’s look at solutions to bathroom troubles while traveling.
Pooping while on vacation: how to do it
As I mentioned earlier, my friend’s problem was solved with a laxative. This might be your go-to solution if you’re okay with medication—just pack it in your suitcase and take it when needed.
But if you don’t want to rely on meds, or if you’re worried about unpredictable timing (imagine visiting Santa in Lapland and suddenly needing to go), there’s a natural way to help your body do its thing.
Scrolling through Instagram, I found this video that might help. Below, I’ve summarized the key points in Spanish.
Three natural “tricks” to go to the bathroom while traveling
A pelvic health physiotherapist shares these tips (you can follow along in the video to see how to do them).
Trick 1
- Lie down with your knees bent and feet on the floor—so that your hips, knees, and feet form a triangle.
- Find your hip bones, apply gentle pressure, and press upward a few centimeters.
- Find a firm spot, press on it, and take three deep diaphragmatic breaths (expanding your diaphragm). This should help.
Trick 2: The “I L U” massage
- Using four fingers (excluding thumbs), press from your right hip bone and move up, left, and down.
- Why does this work? It follows the path of the intestine. If there’s material inside—which there probably is if you haven’t gone in days—this motion helps move it toward the exit.
Trick 3: A floor exercise to assist
- Still lying down, lift your knees, hold them with your hands, and keep your feet in the air, pulling your knees toward you.
- You can also rock from side to side in this position, take deep breaths (as in Trick 1), and then lower your knees.
If you’re someone who struggles to go to the bathroom while traveling, will you try any of these techniques? Let us know in the comments if they helped—or if you have another trick that doesn’t involve chugging massive amounts of Finnish coffee.
Topics: Trip planning |
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