It may seem like a small detail, but to me, the most noticeable difference between packing for school in Australia and Vietnam is the presence of a water bottle.
In Australia, carrying a water bottle is as normal as packing books, but in Vietnam, it’s almost an afterthought. Why? It’s not because Vietnamese students don’t want to drink water—it's because of a simple yet significant obstacle: the bathroom situation.
I first realized something was amiss when I entered middle school in Vietnam. The school’s toilets were notoriously bad, often non-functional or too unhygienic to consider using. Few students actually brought their own water bottles to class. The school canteen sold drinks, but few dared to drink too much, as using the bathroom was an unpleasant option. The solution? Most of us waited until we got home to relieve ourselves.
As a teenager, I quickly adapted. By puberty, many girls had become masters at managing their bodies to avoid needing to use the bathroom at school. This was so ingrained in us that it hardly seemed worth questioning—until I arrived in Australia.
In Australia, I noticed that students routinely carried water bottles with them to class, and there were water fountains readily available for refills. It was refreshing, in more ways than one. Soon, I adopted the habit of staying hydrated throughout the day, something I hadn't done in Vietnam.
It wasn’t until I began reading about the rising rates of kidney disease in Vietnam that I started to reflect on this difference. Why is kidney disease becoming so prevalent in Vietnam? While the causes are varied, one of the most crucial things we can do for our kidneys is simple: drink enough water.
Yet from a young age, many Vietnamese children are inadvertently taught to limit their water intake to avoid using unsanitary bathrooms outside the home. This, paired with a cultural tradition of eating salty foods, has long-term consequences.
Historically, our grandparents were farmers, working in the fields where they could sweat out excess salt and drink plenty of water, with the open land serving as their bathroom. In today's industrialized society, people leave their homes for long hours to work, but the availability of clean and accessible public restrooms has not kept pace with this shift. As a result, many people reduce their water intake, leading to kidney issues down the road.
Kidney disease is often referred to as a silent killer because it progresses without symptoms. By the time people notice something is wrong, it's often too late. I saw this firsthand with a classmate in high school who developed kidney disease in his early 40s—a shockingly young age for such a serious condition.
The lesson here is clear: the importance of access to clean toilets and staying hydrated goes hand in hand. We can encourage people to drink more water all we want, but without adequate restroom facilities, this advice falls flat.
Toilets aren't just about convenience; they are a reflection of public health. A community's access to clean, functional restrooms can have a profound and lasting impact on the health of its citizens, especially when it comes to kidney function.
*Khanh Huynh is a Vietnamese lawyer, now living and working in the U.S.