I understood the irony.
During my visit to Quebec City, where I visited the Musée de la civilisation’s exhibition about society’s relationship to poop — from the history of toilets and waste removal to the evolving understanding of gut health — I could not go.
The museum has a room where it talks about parcopresis, the fear of pooping in public. That wasn’t my problem. I have very little embarrassment when it comes to the act. Clearly. I’m writing about it right now.
But when I travel, sometimes I just can’t make it happen for the first 48 hours, at least. I know this is an issue for a lot of people, and I figured that the wise experts behind this fecal-focused exhibit might be able to tell me why. The scientific committee for the “Ô Merde!” exhibit (translation: “Oh Sh*t!”) at the Musée de la civilisation includes stars such as Catherine Bourgault, sanitation adviser at Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technologies, and Corinne Maurice, a researcher at McGill University specializing in cellular microbiology, immunology, microbiota, and viruses.
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After touring the exhibition and returning home (where yes, I went), I scanned the list of experts and reached out to Alain Veilleux, a researcher and assistant professor at Université Laval who specializes in metabolism and intestinal microbiota. I figured he’d know best.
I asked, “Why can’t I get it done on vacation? What can I do about it?”
For travelers who suffer the same problem, he explains what’s happening — and not happening.
1. We’re dehydrated.
“When we take a plane, the air is very dry ... and sometimes we drink less,” Veilleux said. I drove with a companion from Boston to Quebec City, but I didn’t have much water because I didn’t want to stop 50 times to pee. Also, water wasn’t free like it is at home. Veilleux said that unless we prepare, we might avoid water because it would mean going into a place to buy it. But water is a big part of pooping.
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2. We’re doing different things with our bodies.
We might be walking more or less. Maybe our movement is off because we’ve packed ourselves into a car. One tip for plane travelers, he said: make sure you get up and walk around. That’s not just to stretch our muscles, it’s also for pooping. Also, there’s the body’s reaction to stress and new experiences. Veilleux mentions a study where people were taken 120 kilometers from their residences to see how their bodies adjusted — if there was a stress reaction. Even that close to home (that’s only about 75 miles), people experienced different sleep patterns — and other differences — for five days. Any new routine can alter your system.
3. We’re eating weird stuff.
In Quebec City, I consumed poutine slathered in cheese, a baguette, a beer slushie (I can’t even tell you what was in that), and a plate of duck and rabbit, two meats I never eat at home. I’m sure my digestive system was shocked. This is what we do on vacation — try new things — but I could have paid attention to what I know makes my body work — like oatmeal in the morning. Veilleux says we can try new cuisine without forgetting nutrition.
4. Maybe we’re holding it in.
I am a love advice columnist, so I hear from a lot of people who have troubles with different kinds of intimacy. Many people have told me that when they first travel with a romantic partner — or even friends — they hold it in. It’s a version of parcopresis, I suppose. Perhaps it’s as much about trying to be kind (not smelling up a shared space) as it is about embarrassment. Veilleux told me that holding it in isn’t good for anyone, so find a toilet and get down to business. The longer our poop stays in our bodies, the more our bodies absorb the moisture from it. That makes the poop hard — and harder to pass. My advice? Find a hotel lobby bathroom and make it your own. Sometimes there’s one in the basement, and no one will know you were ever there.
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Meredith Goldstein visited the “Ô Merde!” exhibition in Quebec City over Labor Day weekend. She can be reached at Meredith.Goldstein@Globe.com.