Public Bathroom Gadgets That Make Me Happy

A few days ago, I took my daughter to Salt Lake City to see a pediatric urologist about her recurring bladder infections. They wanted a urine sample and she needed to go pretty bad. Her regular pediatrician's office has always provided me with a medical urine hat that goes in the toilet and catches the urine. They also gave me rubber gloves to use. The urologist's office did not have any urine hats. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to get a urine sample from a 6-year-old without getting it all over me. I put toilet paper on the seat and instead of sitting her down, I stood her on the toilet. As I was getting the sample cup ready, she couldn't hold it any more and started going. I panicked and yelled "stop!" but she couldn't. I just had to stick the cup in the stream and then pull it back out when it got full. My daughter was cracking up because pee was going everywhere. It went down her legs, on her feet, on the toilet, and on the floor. I laughed with her because it was pretty funny. Fortunately, I managed not to get it all over me. I helped her clean her legs, feet, and shoes off. Then I cleaned the toilet and floor. It's a good thing I always keep sanitizing wipes in my purse. Once all that was done, we both washed our hands very thoroughly. My daughter was prescribed a low dose of antibiotics that she will be taking every day for the next six months to prevent further infections and, hopefully, cure the problem. I'm not crazy about her being on antibiotics for that long because the overuse of antibiotics is what has created superbugs like MRSA. I don't want her to keep getting these infections though so I will hope for the best.

After we left, we went to Fashion Place Mall to have some dinner, look around a little, and wait out rush-hour traffic. We took a potty break at Nordstrom because their bathrooms are pretty clean. I was thrilled  to see this dispenser by the door. It dispenses the equivelant of about three squares of toilet paper that you can use to open the door. What a cool idea! They also had a trash can right behind the door to throw it away in. I didn't have my camera with me so I had to get my phone out to take a picture of this (with clean hands, of course). It doesn't take much to make me happy. Anything that helps with the avoidance of germs is a winner in my book! This happened to be one of those single-stall family bathrooms, so I didn't have people looking at me funny while I was taking pictures in the bathroom. I have to applaud stores that take extra measures to help people stay healthy. I am happy to give stores like Nordstrom my business and also recommend them to others.