If you have bad knees, or are elderly and don’t get up as easily as you once could, how do you deal with a squat toilet? Are there accommodations for folks with weak legs, or the handicapped?
What is a squat toilet?
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There are several types of squat toilets, but they all consist essentially of a hole in the ground.
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My WAG was pretty much spot on.
Try a Google image search. They are the preferred method in much of Asia and Africa. I’ve even seen them in southern Europe.
They sell freestanding toilet seats that the elderly or motion-impaired can use- basically just a toilet seat on a frame.
But for the most part, the elderly in squat-toilet countries just stay a little more spry in that particular aspect. We let the squatting motion go pretty early, because it’s not one that we use a lot. But squat toilet countries also tend to be “sit on the floor,” “sweep with a short broom,” and “generally get up and down a lot” countries, so those motions get used more and people work to keep those muscles functional. A lot of people in the US who are considered “a bit out of shape” would be considered “severely, life-alteringly disabled” elsewhere, so there is just a lot less “letting yourself go” than in a country where people have sit-down jobs, cars, and comfy furniture.
Japan is moving away from squat toilets in public facilities, and one of the reasons is because of the population of elderly people, and that they (squat toilets) are generally a pain in the ass (pun intended).
People can do whatever modifications they want at their home, but public ones don’t have them.
My wife would not and could not use them when she was pregnant.
My fat, infirm BIL just returned from a month in Indonesia, visiting his wife’s family. He didn’t do well with the facilities. He told stories over Christmas dinner that kept us all from overeating. :eek:
Japan has squat toilets? I’ve never visited, but I was under the impression that the toilets over there were all of the sci-fi variety, designed like iMacs, that would give you a butt massage, play a tune, make you coffee in the morning and file your taxes for you…
Not quite that fancy but yes, washlets are common, even in public restrooms of businesses.* In some smaller train stations, public parks, and non-public restrooms, you’ll see the squatter. Thankfully they’re not very common and apparently disappearing rapidly. What surprised me is that Italy’s infested with the squatters. Many bars and restaurants have 'em, even in tourist areas.
- One hotel I stayed in had the same washlet as shown in the Wikipedia article. With no English language instructions it was an experiment to figure out what all those controls did.
Hey, some people like squat toilets. For public restrooms, especially in places like parks and bus stations, I sure as hell prefer an arrangement where I don’t need to touch anything with my bare skin. You can be in and out without making any contact besides with the soles of your shoes- it’s a much better feeling than having to put your butt right on some dirty thing.
There is a better way to achieve the same thing. In some Austrian and German train/bus station public toilets, the fixture looks like a toilet but is a few inches shorter and has no seat. You don’t have to squat down as far and aim is much easier as the target is quite a bit larger and quite a bit closer to one’s ass than the hole in the floor. No skin contact with minimal discomfort.
Maybe I’m a little slow, but it seems to me that with many of the toilets shown that your pants would be in the way. I’ve never seen one of those in person so maybe I just don’t understand.
I did avoid the toilet at the airport in Saudi Arabia as there was no paper, only a water hose. I waited until the plane was in the air to do my business.
I’ve explained before how to use one, and don’t feel like doing it, but my 85 YO great aunt and her husband both used one without assistance. Do it several times a day, and it becomes ingrained.
I’ve used one, too, and there is not much of a trick to keep your pants out of the way, and it is a better way. Still I am now too used to sit toilets.
I might not want to use one in an airport, but when I was in Thailand, the most common style appeared to be a regular toilet with a water hose and a small shower head attached. I don’t know if that’s the same as you’re describing, but I thought those were really nice! I want one like that in my house.
Perma-hovering? Yuck. Hovering is a lot of work for the thighs. A nice squat isn’t uncomfortable, and if you are pooping, it is a better way to poop.
If you are doing it right, there is zero aiming with a squat toilet.
I saw one in Narita airport a few years back: they had one stall with squat toilet and the rest were normal ones.
You’re not supposed to pull down the pants all the way. You pull it down just enough to expose the necessary parts of your anatomy, then squat down.
Personally I like the squat toilet for the reasons given above, but I know my grandmother has bad knees and hasn’t been able to use one in a while.
OK, that makes sense. Maybe I’ll have to go into the woods behind my house and dig a hole. 