Gave Me a Smirk!

I was at work one evening counseling patients on their medications. Many times topics come up that I am not always sure how to approach. I try to stay professional while describing information to patients.

Me: "Sir, this medication has a tendency to cause loose stools so you may want to avoid taking it before you go to work."

Patient 1: "What are loose stools? Is this going to keep me from work?"

Me: "No this should not keep you from going to work. If you get loose stools, you may feel symptoms of diarrhea or may feel the urge to use the bathroom."

Patient 1: "You mean crap? Why didn't you just say poop? Great, I will be crapping my pants. I guess I will just become friendly with the john."

As I want to laugh from this patient's comments, I keep a straight face and move on to the next patient that approaches the pharmacy.

Patient 2: "I don't worry about loose stools. I just hold onto mine!"

I then begin to laugh with the second patient. Maybe I should change my jargon? I did not know loose stools could cause such comic relief....no pun intended!