TASK 2B - COMPARE AND CONTRAST: SQUAT TOILET VS. SEAT TOILET

If someone tells you that he is ‘going to spend a penny’ or is going to ‘the smallest room in the house’, can you understand what he means? The answer is toilet. Toilet is a

fundamental need in our life. Basically, there are two types of toilet; squat toilet and seat toilet. This essay will discuss about the historical backgrounds of both toilet, their advantages and disadvantages.

During ancient Egypt, only rich people and proper bathrooms and toilets in their houses. The toilet seats for the rich people were made of limestone while poor people made theirs using wooden stool with a hole in it. At that time, there was a container filled with sand underneath of the seat which needed to be emptied by hand. For wealthy people, their slaves would do this dirty job for them. Meanwhile, in middle ages, toilets were simply pits in the ground with wooden seats over them. In the middle of 19th century, only royalty and the disabled used chair like toilets. Therefore, the throne-like water closet was invented for the use of ordinary people. That was the beginning of squat toilet.

Both toilet have their own advantages. Seat toilet seems more relaxing and saves energy, however, squat toilet has more benefits than it. Even though, someone will use a lot of energy to squat, but actually, this makes eliminating faster, easier and complete. By squatting, we use thighs to support the colon and prevent straining. Chronic straining on the toilet can cause hernia diverticulitis and pelvic organ prolapse. Besides, a pregnant woman is advised to use squat toilet. This is because squatting avoid pressure on the uterus when using the toilet and prevent her from harming her foetus. Moreover, daily squatting helps prepare one for a more natural delivery. According to a clinical study published by an Iranian radiologist, Dr. Saeed Rad in April 2002, squatting leads to complete evacuation. He measured the angle where the end of the rectum joins the anal canal. He found that when someone uses sitting toilet, the average of 132 degrees when he uses squat toilet. At times it reached 180 degrees, the pathway is perfectly straight and complete bowel elimination is achieved.

Everything have their pros and cons. So do toilets. When we are sitting on the toilet seat, the valve of elimination is unsupported and often leaks during evacuation and contaminating the small intestine. The small angle of bend during sitting forces us to strain a lot. This cause the elimination felt ‘incomplete’, in the sitting position. Although, Dr. Saeed Rad concluded that the use of the squat toilet is more comfortable and efficient method of bowel evacuation than the sitting toilet, but squatting for a long time can cause pile that also known as hemorrhoids and cramp.

In the nutshell, Prophet’s sunnahs while doing elimination can only be followed if we use squat toilet. As the effectiveness of squat toilet has been proven scientifically, this shows that squat toilet is far better than seat toilet.

DONE BY:

FAEIZAH AYUNI BT JAMIL & NUR HIDAYAH BT MOHAMED FAUDZI