Vacation and travelling

Let your spirits flow ‑ Asia invites you!

I enjoy every minute at the seaside, being lightly dressed and having rapped nice cloths around my belly, ore with the Skippy Venus Shorts even with strong intestinal action.

Usually, nobody perceives my ostomy.

If I am in very remote regions, it is very liberating for me to go swimming completely without ostomy appliance. Nothing can get inside, just out! My professor always used to say that. While snorkelling, without a toilet, it can sometimes become necessary to feed the fish! That, of course, apart from the action and swimming backwards!

Even the diving licence was not a problem.

We usually went diving early in the morning, enjoying breakfast afterwards. Thus, the bowels are not so active. Before day and night dives, I ate simply light fare. You cannot and must not keep your ostomy a secret when diving, it is essential to mention it!

Anyone who goes on a journey has a great deal to tell! You may experience the strangest situations, and you can manage nearly everything with an ostomy. Nevertheless, I am of course very happy that my husband carries 2/3 of our luggage.

Since I don’t keep my ostomy secret, I always came across helpful, understanding people, even in the most remote corners.

Even with an ostomy, we succeed in everything we really want!

Stomaversorgung welchseln in Thailand / ostomy bag changes in Thailand

My ostomy never prevented me from travelling

More often than not, I set off for distant shores shortly after having undergone surgery. For several years now, I’ve been drawn to Asia again and again. The tranquility, the climate, and the friendly people made me forget a lot. I gather strength and energy for the whole year.

I pack the supply for several weeks into a soft cool bag without cold pack:

• Base plates – without boxes; I calculate an ostomy appliance for every second day
   
• Drainable pouches – I put them, already tailored, in groups of 10 into breakfast bags which I close
   
• A pair of nail scissors – to cut the base plates
   
• Breakfast bags - to dispose of the used ostomy appliances
   
• Pouch closures – to close my drainable pouches
   
• Skin barrier cream – to provide a barrier between ostomy and cut plate

Everything fits easily into my backpack. In tropical climates, the soft cool bag perfectly protects the ostomy appliances from moisture, heat, and dirt.

Changing away

A small rectangular plastic box is my emergency box on board of a plane, train, or bus. Even away, it may become necessary to change the ostomy appliance. In that case I’ve one pre-cut base plate, one tailored pouch, one spare pouch closure (well, it may fall into the WC), three compresses, skin barrier paste, and two breakfast bags in the box.

Armed with the emergency box inside the cabin luggage and a bottle of water (in many countries it’s better to use bottled drinking water for cleaning), this method works on the narrowest toilet and in the darkest forest.

• Press the empty square box firmly below the ostomy against the belly
   
• Remove the old ostomy appliance and put it into the breakfast bag
   
• Let the bottled water flow across the ostomy and the belly into the box (still pressed firmly against the belly)
   
• Towel the ostomy and the belly with the compress as usual
   
• Put the paste around the bud
   
• Attach the well-prepared ostomy appliance
   
• Pour the contents of the box into the toilet, flush with the rest of the water, dry, and store all accessories in the box again
   
• If the underwear has been soiled, it can be kept in the second breakfast bag (knotted) until the next possibility to wash it occurs.