Hi there folks! Fuzzbutt here, I’m Ostomyland’s furry mascot and I’m back with another one of my top Ostomy-related tips.
It’s summer time! Hurray! The weather is nice (if you’re lucky and don’t live in the UK!) and the family want to go out for the day to the beach or something. But, what about caring for your ostomy while out? This can be a particularly big hurdle for new Ostomates to overcome as they often fear the pouch coming off and not being able to care for it outside their usual home-based comfort zone. But it needn’t be a huge hassle and mass panic to gather together any of your supplies to take with you, and you need not be so worried about caring for the stoma outside the home.
My top tip is to make up a small pack of supplies which contains one or two days worth of each of the products you normally use, along with tubes of any creams or powders you may use too (sample packs of creams etc are usually ideal for popping into your travel pack!).
It’s also worthwhile putting in some dry wipes or a cloth, and a small squirty bottle of fresh tap water. Placing a clothes peg or clip into the pack can also be a good idea. This can be used to peg up your shirt or top in places where you cannot remove your top, leaving you free to use both hands to clean your stoma.
Finally, If you have this all together and permanently topped up and available, then you are ready to hit the road at a moment’s notice confident of the fact that you have enough stuff to last the day and an ideal holder for all these supplies is a bum bag, as they are called here in the UK. I believe they are called fanny packs in other Countries. With one of these you have a small pack that can be attached around your waist to carry with you at all times without looking too inconspicuous… but it might not win you any fashion awards these days. hehehe. Another alternative is a shoe bag, or something similar.
If you want more information on travelling with an ostomy, check out the travel chapter of the lifestyle guide for lots more info and great tips!
So, ’til next time, have a great holiday season, and don’t forget to send me a postcard!
September 8th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
It also helps to have a change of clothes in case it really gets messy! Think diaper Bag and toddlers!