‘The Traitors’ star Mollie Pearce is calling on people to banish the ‘taboo around poo’ as she launches a new campaign on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
IBD is an umbrella term for conditions that cause severe stomach pain and diarrhea, the best known of which are Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Mollie, 22, has had ulcerative colitis since she was 11 and is keen to help others who suffer from symptoms that many are ashamed to talk about, she says.
As part of this, she is leading a new campaign called Where’s Crohn’s & Colitis, which invites people to take part in an online game to learn more about the ‘invisible condition’ of IBD.
“Living with a condition like ulcerative colitis comes with so many challenges – from sometimes not being able to leave the house to missing social gatherings with friends,” she said.
Mollie was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis at the age of 11 and in her teenage years often suffered from anxiety and panic attacks because she had to go to the toilet. Here she is pictured at the Make-A-Wish Ball at the Savoy Hotel in London
Ultimately, she was given a stoma, an opening that connects the intestine to a surgically made hole in the surface of the waist that is attached to the bag. She says the surgery has given her a new sense of security and eliminated her fear of going out
She hoped the new Where’s Crohn’s & Colitis campaign, which takes inspiration from the iconic ‘Where’s Wally’ series, would give people a fun new way to get involved and learn more about the topic
Mollie is not alone: it is estimated that one in 277 Britons has been diagnosed with ulcerative colitis.
The condition causes small lesions on the lining of the colon, which can bleed and become infected.
Patients may experience symptoms such as blood in the stool and a sudden need to go to the toilet.
Speaking to MailOnline, Mollie recalled how challenging high school was while she was experiencing symptoms and how this led to the then 15-year-old having panic attacks about being able to find a toilet.
“You don’t want to soil yourself at any point, let alone in high school,” she said.
This fear permeated many aspects of her life and it wasn’t until she got a stoma at the age of 18 that she says she finally managed to overcome it.
“Obviously it took me a while to get used to the bag, but I knew I wouldn’t have an accident and the fear no longer affects me,” she said.
A stoma is a surgically created opening on the surface of the abdomen that connects to the intestine and diverts the flow of feces or urine to a special bag attached to it at the waist.
They are typically only recommended for severe cases of ulcerative colitis that do not respond to medications but give patients, like Mollie, a newfound sense of independence and security.
Mollie added that she hoped the campaign would help raise awareness of the IBD conditions and help banish the taboo people have about discussing toilet habits with their doctor.
“People who have complaints sometimes don’t go to the doctor because they are ashamed,” she says.
“I want to try to change that and make sure no one feels ashamed when it comes to their UC.”
‘The Traitors’ star Mollie Pearce became a household name on the show and now hopes to raise awareness about inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)
Mollie has previously posed proudly with her ostomy bag during photo shoots in an attempt to dispel the stigma surrounding it
Ulcerative colitis runs in Mollie’s family, and her father also has the condition.
She said this made it particularly “frustrating” for her parents when she first developed symptoms, as it still took eight months for them to receive a diagnosis.
“My first symptom was blood in my stool, just a little bit,” she said.
‘I remember calling my mother and thinking my period had started.
‘From then on they got worse and worse. I had more blood, my stools became much more liquid, I went to the toilet much more often and then I started to completely lose control of my bowels.’
Mollie said she understood that doctors had to rule out the many other conditions that could indicate symptoms of ulcerative colitis, with doctors at one point dismissing her problems as an infection, but saying it was difficult for her parents.
“It was hard, my dad has colitis so we knew what it was,” she said,
‘My mother was so adamant and she used to go in there and scream and shout, ‘You’re not doing anything, it’s getting worse.’
She hoped the new Where’s Crohn’s & Colitis campaign, which takes inspiration from the iconic ‘Where’s Wally’ series, would give people a fun new way to get involved and learn more about the topic.
“What’s really fun about the game is that it’s not too serious,” she said.
“You don’t read pages and pages of all this terrible information that will overwhelm you. It’s really great for that.
“When I was 11, that game would have been perfect for me because I would have understood it.”
Mollie also hoped that people would take what they learn from the campaign with them, not only for themselves, but potentially for family or friends who may have IBD symptoms.
“Everyone poops, everyone goes to the toilet, it’s nothing to be ashamed of, we all do it,” she said.
‘You don’t have to be ashamed of something that everyone else does.
“Go out, go to your doctor and be honest with him.”
Here people can participate in the Where’s Crohn’s & Colitis, developed by the South Korean biopharmaceutical company Celltrion. clutch.
Crohn’s disease, the other most well-known IBD, is a condition in which parts of the digestive system become inflamed.
It causes similar symptoms to UC and like this condition, experts are still trying to discover what causes it.
Both Crohn’s disease and UC can be difficult to diagnose because they can cause symptoms that could be caused by other health problems.
Cases are typically confirmed using small flexible cameras that are inserted into the rectum to examine the colon and intestines.