The digestive system, it is probably fair to say, is not among the topics etiquette experts recommend for breaking nervous lulls in dinner party conversation.
People view it as a very primitive problem.
Our first lesson in socialization and self-control is potty training. Schuster unabashedly addresses such issues. While not a bestseller, it is the definitive work on the subject, featuring techniques pioneered by Schuster that are the only alternative to diapers or surgery for many of the 5 percent of Americans with fecal incontinence. Schuster, who is president of the American College of Gastroenterology, has also conducted numerous studies on gastrointestinal disorders ranging from uncontrollable reflux to paralysis of the stomach. Last fall, he became the first director of the new Gastrointestinal Motility and Digestive Disorders Center, a research and patient care facility at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Campus.