Victorian Plumbing launches health awareness campaign for early diagnosis

Bathroom retailer Victorian Plumbing has launched a new purpose-driven health awareness campaign that repositions the bathroom as an unexpected yet powerful space for early illness detection, including cancer.

Titled ‘Just a Minute’, the campaign was developed in collaboration with Dr Gareth Nye, medical researcher and lecturer at the University of Salford, to spotlight the critical signs of illness that can be detected during daily bathroom routines – from changes in skin and stool to unusual lumps or changes in urination.

The campaign analysed every NHS-listed health condition for symptoms likely to be noticeable in a bathroom setting. This included indicators related to bowel, bladder, skin, and genital health. A supporting survey of 500 UK adults explored current self-checking habits and found a major gap in awareness and action.

Alex Woods, bathroom expert at Victorian Plumbing, said: “Bathrooms are a private place and offer a space alone, distracted, and usually without clothes. That makes it the ideal environment to check in with how your body looks and feels, inside and out.”

The campaign analysed NHS data and found that:

• •  64.8% of all health conditions show symptoms that are visible or trackable in the bathroom. 

• •  90% of symptoms of the most common STIs can be noticeable in the bathroom.

• •  You can notice 100% of prostate cancer symptoms when in the bathroom. 

• •  Despite these high percentages, fewer than 10% of those surveyed regularly check themselves for visible symptoms.

By reframing the bathroom as a space for self-checks, Victorian Plumbing is helping to give these private moments a new purpose and doing their part to normalise the act of regularly checking in with your body.