Traveling With an Ostomy: Packing, Airport Security, and the Right Ostomy Belt

A little planning can help you focus on the destination, not your pouch.

I've lived with Crohn's disease for nearly thirty years. I've worn an ostomy for the last seventeen years. During that time I've taken many cross country road trips here in the US, and also traveled across Europe, and Canada. I've picked up plenty of small lessons along the way. Some lessons I've learned the easy way, and some the hard way. None of what follows is medical advice; it's just what I've learned works for me, and what I wish someone would have told me before my first trip after surgery.

As long as you're prepared and have your backup supplies with you, there's no reason you can't travel anywhere you want to go.

1. Pack Smarter and pack a bit More Than You Think You'll Need

Before leaving, prepare a small ostomy travel kit and keep it with you rather than placing it in checked luggage. I suggest packing one change per zip lock bag. This helps you keep track of how many supplies you have. Putting one change per bag also helps you grab one easily and quickly. In case your things get lost or stolen, you can have them spread out across a few different carry on items and luggage so you'll have something always available to you, easily.

Consider bringing:

• At least one extra pouch and skin barrier for each week you are traveling.
• If you normally change once per every 3 to 4 days then bring 3 to 4 per week.
• Wipes, disposal bags, and any adhesive products you use. You might have to change on the go and not have access to the nice shower or restroom you are used to using.
• A change of clothes that is light and easy to carry. Think; day tours, and hikes for example, where you might not be able to bring all your luggage with you, but might still need a backup.
• Your usual medications and supplies. You may want a travel companion to carry a days worth of supplies as back up, too.
  

Of course, I highly recommend wearing an ostomy support belt while you travel. In my experience (and according to published research on ostomy support belt/garment wearers), people who wear a belt tend to report less leakage and less peristomal skin irritation than those who don't. Fewer leaks and less irritation generally mean fewer emergency changes, which is exactly what you want when you're on the road and trying to carry less with you.

On a trip through Europe a few years ago, my checked bag was delayed for two days. I was very glad I had everything I needed in my carry on. These days, I always make sure my carry on has everything in it that I need in the first place, rather than trust that my luggage and I will land at the same place and time. That backup supply is really the whole secret: once it's with you, everything else is just details.

When I'm flying, I make it a rule to carry at least two full changes of supplies in my personal carry on: enough to comfortably get me through a week or so, in case my checked bag never shows up at all. It's happened to me before. Having those extra provisions planned for in advance, meant it was a minor inconvenience instead of a real problem.

When traveling, I pack my needed supplies in individual daily kits (a simple zip lock bag works fine, or a small travel bag) with one of each item I need for a single change kept in it. It is small and compact. That way, if I need to step away on a plane, a bus, or anywhere else, I can just grab one little kit and go. I look the same as anyone else heading to the restroom. No digging through a big bag in a tight space, just grab, go, and get back to your seat quickly. This method is very discreet and works well for me.

One trick I picked up that's made a real difference: instead of carrying a whole separate bag of backup supplies, I bring one extra belt and use its pocket as the kit itself. A flange, a pouch, a small trash bag for the change, all rolled up and tucked inside that spare belt. Everything I need for one full change lives in a single, compact package that's easy to carry and doesn't look like anything out of the ordinary. If I ever have an emergency or just need to duck into a restroom, I grab that one belt and I've got everything in hand inside of it, no extra bag, nothing to explain, nothing anyone else even notices.

2. Empty Your Pouch Before You Leave

This goes without saying: Starting your trip with an emptied pouch can make the first part of your journey more comfortable.

If you're driving, have pre planned stops along the way instead of waiting until you feel rushed to stop. If you're flying, use the restroom before boarding and consider checking the location of airport facilities ahead of time.

It's nice to know where the restrooms are, but it's not something to stress over. After seventeen years, this is just part of how I leave the house, no different than grabbing my keys and wallet.

3. Get Through Security Without the Stress

Here's something nobody tells you before your first trip: if you're wearing an ostomy belt or appliance, there's a good chance TSA's scanner is going to flag it, and you'll get pulled aside for a pat down. It's happened to me more times than I can count, and it used to catch me off guard every time.

Two things have made this so much easier over the years.

First, I always empty my pouch well before I get anywhere near the checkpoint, not right before, but with real time to spare. You don't want to be standing in a security line with a full pouch, and you definitely don't want to be mid pat down worrying about it. Handle that business early and it's one less thing to think about.

Second, I carry a small card in my back pocket (the kind you can get from ostomy organizations, or just make yourself) that explains, in a few plain sentences, that I have an ostomy, that I'm wearing a medical support belt under my clothing, and why the scanner might flag something. I hand it to the officer before they even ask. It sounds like a small thing, but it changes the whole interaction. Instead of an officer being surprised by something under my shirt and wondering what it is, I've already told them. The pat down still happens, but it goes faster, and it's a lot less awkward for both of us. I'd genuinely recommend it to anyone who travels with an ostomy.

4. Empty Your Pouch Before You Board, Not Just Before You Leave

This one took me a few flights to figure out, and now it's second nature.

Once boarding starts, you're on the plane's timeline, not your own, and once you're seated with the seatbelt sign on, you may not be able to get up again for a while. If anyone with an ostomy knows anything, it's that "a while" and "how full my pouch is" don't always line up.

So instead of boarding with my group, I've started making a point to get to the gate area early and head to the restroom right around when boarding begins, not after. That window, while everyone else is filing onto the plane, often buys me an extra twenty or thirty minutes where I'm not stuck in a seat. I use it to empty everything completely, so by the time I do sit down and buckle in, I'm not thinking about my pouch at all for the next several hour stretch of the flight. It's a small habit, but it means I'm not sitting there for an hour wondering when the seatbelt sign will turn off and whether I'll be comfortable until then.

None of this is complicated. It's just about controlling the moments you can control, so you're not sitting in your seat sweating over the ones you can't.

5. Wear an Ostomy Support Belt

A good ostomy support belt does more than hold things in place. It keeps your appliance secure against your body as you walk, sit, bend, and move through a full day of travel.

In my experience, a well fitted ostomy belt can help:

• Hold the appliance snugly against your body so it stays put
• Support the pouch as it fills, so there's less pulling on your skin
• Reduce leakage and peristomal skin irritation according to published research on ostomy belt wearers
• Give you real peace of mind and confidence through long travel days

That's exactly why I make ostomy support belts myself. I wear the HIRO Performance Horizontal on every trip. I needed something I could rely on for cross country trips and long flights alike. Everyone's body is a little different, so it's worth finding the belt and fit that's comfortable for you. Make sure to use our size guide or give us a call if you want to talk to me or another expert. Once you have the right belt and appliance that fits well, it takes a lot of the guesswork out of a long travel day and you have the confidence to live your life.

6. Give Yourself Extra Time

Travel is more enjoyable when you don't have to hurry. It's certainly good practice to build in a little extra time when you can. If you make a good plan ahead of some of your activities, then chances are, you won't have to worry at all.

7. Keep Living Your Life

Having an ostomy may change how you prepare for travel, but it doesn't have to determine where you go or what you do.

With the right supplies, a supportive ostomy belt, and a little extra planning, you can explore new places, visit people you love, and create memories along the way. Almost three decades into living with Crohn's, travel is still one of the things I care about most. Having an ostomy changed how I prepare for a trip, not whether I take one.

Final Thoughts

Traveling with an ostomy is about preparation, not limitation. Pack your essentials, wear a supportive ostomy belt, and keep your backup supplies close. That's really all it takes.

The destination is waiting. Your ostomy shouldn't keep you from getting there.

Referenced research: "Ostomy Complications and Quality of Life of Ostomy Support Belt/Garment Wearers: A Web Based Survey," a peer reviewed study on ostomy belt/garment wearers generally, not a study of any specific HIRO product. Read the study on PubMed.

Richard O'Hamill has lived with Crohn's disease for nearly thirty years and an ostomy for the past seventeen. He's the founder of O'Hamill Inc., maker of HIRO ostomy support belts.