A sweating woman in a car with flames on the side breaths out as she drives, her hair flies out the window

Speeding Home To Prevent An IBS Accident

Let’s talk about that moment when you are driving, and like a ton of bricks, you get hit with incredible urgency. You have 2 options: make it to the nearest bathroom immediately, or ruin your car seat.

Given the ugly circumstances, you do what you need to do and morph into a Formula 1 racecar driver and hit the gas. You try to breathe and stay calm to keep your bowels in check, but you are going fast and making turns you never thought you could. You surprise yourself with the driving techniques that you miraculously pull. Bobbing and weaving through traffic, you finally reach the quiet neighborhood you know so well. It’s impressive. And you can’t believe the maneuvers you’ve pulled.

Driving with urgency

But only impressive because it’s like having a bomb strapped to your body with a countdown. It’s amazing what we can do when we have no choice but to do it. The sheer adrenaline passes through your body as you get closer and closer to home. You pray you make it in time and that you don’t drop your keys on the walk from the car to the door.

I know I can’t be the only one to go through this. Is it not a miracle that you don’t get pulled over amid this full-on race? Perhaps I am the only lucky one that hasn’t heard sirens yet, but I have heard that if you get pulled over and say you are about to have a bathroom accident, they tend to let you off the hook—just a tip.

3 tips for driving with IBS

But why? Why can’t IBS be a bit more forgiving? I mean, this can get quite dangerous! Driving a vehicle while your insides are about to burst is never a good idea, but sometimes it is inevitable with this diagnosis. Here are 3 quick tips to help:

Drive fast but don’t get out of control

In other words, you can hit the gas, but don’t get crazy enough where you are going 75mph down a 35mph street. Be within reason. In the grand scheme of things, having a bowel movement in your car is better than endangering other people’s lives.

Use breathing techniques to help calm your gutTruly, I have been able to escape bowel accidents by using breathing techniques. I essentially breathe in, exhale slowly, and try to remain as calm as possible. I also repeat positive words to myself: this will soon pass, or you are almost at the bathroom. You’ll get through this.Be prepared for an IBS accidentSomething smart to do is have incontinence pads in your glove compartment. If things get hairy, reach for it and quickly put it under your bum. In this case, you can have an accident and not worry about messing up your car seats.How about you? Does this happen to you often? Any tips you can share? Comment below. We love to hear from you.

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This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The IrritableBowelSyndrome.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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