Crohn's & Real Estate: Look for Bathrooms!

If you have Crohn's disease, it's a factor in every major decision you make. One of the biggest decisions most people make is purchasing a house. As you look at possible homes when you have Crohn's disease, you'll probably be considering a few things that most people don't, or at least considering them in a different way.

Most people who know anything about Crohn's disease understand the importance of the bathroom for a Crohn's patient. One of the most common symptoms of Crohn's disease is diarrhea, generally frequent and often explosive diarrhea, and the patient may have little forewarning. If you're considering a home with more than one level, make sure that there's at least one bathroom on each level, and more than one bathroom on the main level, although the second only needs to be a half-bath with a toilet and sink..

Crohn's patients aren't necessarily seeking the grand master bath that many home buyers do. Most of us aren't all that concerned with a huge bathtub with multiple jets, or a luxurious shower with multiple jets or steam functions. While counter space is nice, it's less important than a comfortable functional toilet, at least to this Crohn's patient. It sounds mundane, but it's critical to many of us. I personally want a bathroom (or bathrooms) that have enough room to allow easy access, easy maneuvering, and space for a stock of toilet paper.

The ideal situation is to have a bath "en suite" with the master bath, assuming that the person with Crohn's has the main bedroom. If that's not in your budget range, make sure that the bathroom is as close as possible to your bedroom. Mine is next to my bedroom, which is frequently a very good thing.

Another place you want a bathroom is near the kitchen or dining room. That may not seem ideal (or appetizing) but those of us with Crohn's know that eating, or specific foods, can suddenly trigger a bout of abdominal cramping that demands a bathroom right away. I don't have that exact feature in my own home, but my home is very small so my dining room is pretty close to the only bathroom on my 900 sq. ft. main floor. Having only one bathroom on my main floor is less important to me than to those who have a family or a partner, because I'm the only one using it, so I don't have to wait when Crohn's strikes unexpectedly.

I also have a basement, used mainly for laundry and storage because it's mostly unfinished. I remodeled the existing bathroom when I moved in to make it easier to get to the toilet in the extremely small three-quarter bath. I removed the rusting square shower stall and replaced it with an angled shower in one corner. It made the room seem a bit larger, and made it easier to get to the toilet. I'm glad it's not the only bathroom, because getting up and down the stairs is often painful and difficult for me, partly from Crohn's disease and partly from other illnesses. When I'm doing laundry, I'm really glad I don't have to attempt to run upstairs to reach the bathroom.

There are other things Crohn's patients look for. Open space is important, because Crohn's patients need to be able to move through rooms easily. A large enough bedroom to contain things that a Crohn's patient may need at night, such as sanitary undergarments and somewhere to put them, a stack of towels, and medication and water, is another consideration. Both front and back doors should be unimpeded; this is a problem in my home because I have a small space walled on three sides just inside the front door, and from the living room, I have to make a hard right turn to get into that space and to the door. I often wonder what the architect was thinking. Why, you ask, is that important? Imagine that I'm driving home, and just as I pull up in front of my home, I realize that I need the bathroom, NOW. Got the visual? Good.

I believe that a single level home is the best plan for a Crohn's patient. The longer you live with the disease, the more difficult going up and down stairs can become. If you have Crohn's, and your illness is well managed with your medication regime, it may not matter. If, however, you've been living with Crohn's long enough to have had multiple surgeries, as some have, you won't want to have to go up and down stairs, even when going out of your house.

An outside deck or patio is a wonderful thing to have. As a Crohn's patient, I often find taking a walk impossible, because the motion of walking can trigger another sort of movement. But fresh air and sunshine are as important to mental health as to physical health. Spending time outside can keep you from feeling like a prisoner in your home, so a semi-private outdoor space convenient to the door was something I looked for when purchasing my home.

All of us have our own ideas of what we want in a home, and having Crohn's doesn't mean you have to give up any of them. Remember that you're a person first, and a person with Crohn's after that. You can choose the home of your dreams; you may just want to add a few extra dreams to it.