Free stoma travel kit
Are you going on holiday or a weekend away soon? For ostomists, it can feel like a challenge to travel or be away from home for a long time. Mariska Scholte, stoma and continence consultant at the Martini Hospital regularly speaks to stoma wearers who are unsure about this. According to her, this is not necessary at all, as long as you prepare well. “Traveling or going on vacation is part of our lives. Just like sports or work.”
Swimming with a stoma? Absolute!
According to Mariska, the biggest obstacles for stoma wearers on holiday are the uncertainty about the body and material they wear. For example, fear that the bag will suddenly come loose while swimming, or that it will be visible under (swim) clothing. Mariska: “Of course it’s easy to say: ‘I’m not going to swim anymore’, but that’s a shame. You can do a lot more with a stoma than you might think.” But especially swimming for the first time can be exciting. That is why there are special events for ostomists such as Day@thePool and Day@theBeach† Swimming or exercising with people who understand how you feel makes it a lot less exciting.
Tips for traveling with a stoma:
- Take sufficient materials with you. Climate change may require you to change more often. If you indicate this to your medical specialist, you may order more than usual. Do this well in advance, to prevent that there is no stock.
- If you make day trips or are on the road for a long time, always take a set with you: the material you use, the cleaning mesh and the waste bag.
- If you are going to fly, take your stoma materials with you in your hand luggage. In the unlikely event that your suitcase gets lost, you will have it with you in any case. Please note that you can be searched and taken apart at customs to rule out that your stoma is not used as smuggling material.
- Swimming on holiday? For the women, there are bathing suits with several layers of fabric over the belly. These also work great for hiding an ostomy pouch. Prefer a bikini? There are mini stoma bags available for optimum discretion. For men there are elastic bands for sale in swim fabric.
- a van glue remover spray in your bag for extra comfort. You spray the spray and the plaque simply comes off without you feeling anything. This saves time, but it also prevents skin irritations.
Free now: the stoma travel kit. Request the kit and you have everything at hand for carefree travel with a stoma.