A an English teenager has died from a heart attack due to her phobia of toilets.
Emily Titterington, 16, of St. Austell, Cornwall, died after eight weeks without a bowel movement, which left her with a compressed chest cavity and displaced organs, according to The Independent.
The teenager had a phobia of using the toilet and would frequently refrain from going for up to two months.
The phobia, referred to as Toilet Phobia, is classified as an anxiety disorder and rarely occurs by itself.
Some of the most common conditions related to toilet phobia are:
- Social phobia - worrying about being seen or heard in the toilet
- OCD - worrying about bacteria and contamination
- Parcopresis - fear of defecating in a public place
- Paresis - fear of urinating in a public place
- Panic attacks
Other phobias related to using a toilet include that of small rooms and public places.
It's unclear if her phobia was tied to any of the previous conditions, or if it was a fear of the toilet itself.
Home Office pathologist Dr. Amanda Jeffery said her symptoms were in keeping with a condition known as "stool withholding," which is more frequent in children.
Emily was revealed in a post-mortem to have had a "massive extension of the large bowel," according to The Telegraph.
During the period leading up to her death, Emily's Mother, Geraldine, 59, had battled with her daughter to be examined, but she always refused.
Emily also refused to go to the hospital, despite complaining about pain in between her shoulder blades.
"I could see that her abdomen was grossly extended," said student paramedic Lee Taylor, who attended Emily's home twice on the night of her death. "Her lower ribs had been pushed out further than her pubic bone - I was shocked,"
