Respite for overactive bladder: Powder Room lists public restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway

The Powder Room, a national education program for people with overactive bladder, has compiled a list of public restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway (Highway 99).

Since 2008, the Powder Room has encouraged Canadians to add and rate public restrooms across Canada on the Cross-Canada Powder Room Map. Restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway run from Vancouver to Whistler, British Columbia, and have been chosen based on their accessibility to the highway. The public is encouraged to rate the restrooms for cleanliness and maintenance, line-ups, location and overall décor by logging onto the Cross Canada Powder Room Map www.powderroom.ca.

The Powder Room hopes to provide some relief to the one-third of Canadians who experience symptoms of an overactive bladder (OAB). A recent omnibus survey of more than 1,500 individuals, conducted for the Powder Room by Leger Marketing, reported that 28 per cent of Canadians have the urge to urinate that is sometimes difficult to put off (the primary symptom of overactive bladder); 47 per cent wake up more than twice a night to use the restroom, and 30 per cent urinate more than 8 times in a 24-hour period.

"I used to limit my travel plans for fear that I wouldn't find a bathroom in time," says Jo-Anne Tremblay, who has suffered from overactive bladder for more than 10 years. "After speaking to a doctor, I changed some lifestyle habits such as avoiding coffee before I leave on a road-trip, and began taking medication; I'm pleased to say that my life no longer revolves around a bathroom stall."

For those traveling to Vancouver this month, rating restrooms and adding others will be especially helpful to those experiencing symptoms. Restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway were selected via public ratings on the Powder Room website and include:

- Horseshoe Bay - The Boathouse, 6695 Nelson Avenue - Horseshoe Bay - Ya Ya's Oyster Bar, 6418 Bay Street - Lions Bay - General Store & Café, 350 Centre Road - Britannia Beach - Galileo Coffee Co., 173 Highway 99 - Shannon Falls - The Copperhouse Restaurant and Lounge, 36599 Darrell Bay Road - Squamish - The Adventure Centre, 38551 Loggers Lane - Garibaldi Highlands - Squamish Husky, 1814 Garibaldi Way - Garibaldi Highlands - Sea-to-Sky Hotel, 40330 Tantalus Way - Whistler - Whistler Information Centre, 4320 Gateway Drive - Whistler - Carleton Lodge, 4340 Sundial Crescent

To obtain a print-out of the public restrooms along the Sea-to-Sky Highway or to provide a rating for a restroom across Canada, please visit www.powderroom.ca.