When you need to go, you need to know

People who need to find a toilet in a hurry will be able to use an iPhone application from today.

The new toilet-map application for iPhones will direct people with conditions such as Crohn's disease and colitis to the nearest toilet using GPS.

Crohn's and Colitis New Zealand (CCNZ) will also launch a new national body today to support about 15,000 patients with chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that causes abdominal pain, diarrhoea, rectal bleeding and weight loss.

CCNZ chairman Brian Poole said New Zealand had one of the highest rates of Crohn's disease in the world, but it was often undiagnosed as people were embarrassed by the stigma associated with its symptoms.

Crohn's sufferers had an average 21 days off work or school a year, putting strain on partners and families who had to care for them, he said.

Claire Worsfold, of Christchurch, was diagnosed 15 years ago and is president of the Canterbury Crohn's support group.

She said the new application and website detailing where toilets were would give her confidence to go to unfamiliar places.

"Having Crohn's, the need to go to the toilet can come on quite swiftly," Worsfold said.
Worsfold said it took a couple of years to get her disease under control, but she had recently run a marathon for her 40th birthday.

Crohn's sufferer Todd Williamson said his daily medication of up to 20 pills kept his symptoms under control. He knew people who would use the application.

- © Fairfax NZ News