Hello Everyone,
Question circulating work today is how does a blind person know when they’re done wiping after having a bowel movement?
I realize that it was said in jest, but I’m actually curious now. This seems like it would be a difficult problem for a blind person. Please understand I’m not trying to be a jerk, I just don’t know the answer
Per a quick Google: They can tell by the way the toilet paper feels when wiping. The rougher it feels, the cleaner. The more slippier–the dirtier/still needs cleaning. Experience has a lot to do with it.
This question pings my radar. I’m almost certain we’ve done this here before. In any case, the question is commonly asked. A DuckDuckGo search turns up a full page of cites to Q-and-A sites where it’s asked and variously answered. (Best answer: Use Braille toilet paper.)
ETA: I also noted that a good many of those questioners, like our OP here, likewise felt it necessary to include some apologetic comment with the question.
I’m amazed that so many people appear to inspect the toilet paper after every wipe, to see if it needs doing again. Apparently I’ve developed the superpower of being able to tell when I’m done wiping by feel. I thought most people were the same way.
If I was told I was losing my sight, “How will I know when I’m done wiping?” doesn’t even begin to register as a concern.
I do, but only because I can. I really don’t have to; I can tell by feel. I could shave, get dressed, and make a sandwich without looking too. But I do because I can.
Maybe some of this goes back to wiping styles. I was taught as a kid to ball up the TP and wipe. However, sometime along the way I decided, “that’s stupid, I’m folding this stuff.” So now I fold it in neat squares. You can feel A LOT more when it is folded instead of balled up. After several years of this I realized that I didn’t have to look nearly as often. I do sometimes when I am uncertain. In those cases, I think you would just give a couple extra wipes to make sure.
Ever try to read the braille on an ATM or beside the elevator buttons you push to select your floor ? IMHO, if a blind person can make sense of that, then that’s a superpower that will do you a world of good on this subject.
I have to agree with this, and it’s one of the reasons I’ve stayed on this board for over 20 years. Over and over I see a thread and think, “ It never occurred to me to even think about that, but now I really want to know the answer!”
A poop-related example from many years ago was a question in IMHO, I think, asking about whether people look at their poop in the toilet before they flush. I have no idea why the person asked or why I found it interesting, but hey, I still remember it!