Top Travels Tips with a Stoma

I have recently come back from my holiday in Sal, Cape Verde so I thought I’d share some of my top tips for traveling with a stoma.

Packing supplies

First things first you need to make sure you have packed enough supplies! I normally pack double what I would normally need, to make sure I don’t run into any unexpected problems. If you are flying and have a check-in bag, I would suggest splitting your supplies between your hand luggage and check-in bag so on the off chance your luggage is lost you still have supplies with you. You could also put some in your partner/ family members bags too.

Travel certificate

Have your travel certificate signed! If you don’t know what that is, a travel certificate basically explains what a stoma is and why we have one in a range of different languages and it’s usually signed by your doctor. Although when I have been abroad, I’ve never needed to use one it’s always handy to have just in case. Along this line, you could also get a sunflower lanyard that lets the airport staff know you may need a bit of assistance. I would also suggest getting travel insurance and to declare you have a stoma.

Respond Global Assistance

Make sure you have Respond’s Global Assistance details to hand! (00 44 29 2076 7880 [email protected]). Respond have worldwide partnerships with a network of stoma and continence product distributors meaning they can send emergency supplies out to you anywhere in the world. This one is super important and could save you a lot of stress!

Swimwear

When I go abroad on a beach holiday, I normally pack some smaller stoma bags. I normally wear Pelicans Modavi bags in Medium but when I go away, I pack the small size too. I like that they are more discreet, and they fit nicely with my bikinis. And speaking of bikinis I like to make sure I have a range of different swimsuits and bikinis, both high and low waisted. If I’m going to be relaxing by the pool, I would wear a low-rise bikini and show off my stoma bag because we are all about body positivity here! Whereas if I was going swimming in the sea or when we went to the waterpark, I wore a swimsuit for extra protection.

Most importantly have the BEST holiday and don’t let your stoma bag get in the way of that!

Summer @summers_stoma