| Here ya go! =========== Why yes an astronaut has had diarrhea while on the ISS. And it was me! Getting diarrhea in outer space was certainly not on my bucket list. It was, however, a normal… and qualified “pain in the rear (see what I did there?!).” It was early in my 5-month stay aboard the International Space Station. Not sure what brought it on —guessing food— my symptoms began to occur as I was sleeping in the U. S. Lab module. Waking sometime around 2 a.m. Greenwich time (the time zone used for our daily schedules), I knew what was coming. And it was coming fast! I sailed down to the Russian Service Module —the only toilet on the station back in 2007— and entered the tiny enclosed area short of panic, but with very high anxiety. After quietly closing the sliding door, I fired up the Russian-designed toilet. I was actually grateful for the late hour, as I was hoping this would ensure that my two Russian crewmates (Oleg and Fyodor) would remain asleep… leaving me to my own devices. Ultimately, I would be successful in my crisis-laden endeavor. After using two of the toilet system’s plastic bags (for collecting the fecal matter), and only one rubber glove, my symptoms subsided for a time. This allowed me the opportunity to quietly clean everything up, power-down the system, and fly back to the U. S. segment. It was there that I quickly broke open the American medical kit. Concealed beneath the module’s floor, under a large “door” adorned with the easily recognizable red cross symbol, I used its table of contents to locate the medication I so desperately needed. Immodium AD was —thank God— available for my use, and I followed the dosage recommendation to the letter. I would never have diarrhea again… in space anyway! Keep lookin’ up! |