Traveling with an ostomy?

[SusanB]

Hello!
It's been awhile and one of these days I will update my journey since last posting...
Today I would like to know if there are any cruisers out there that have travelled with an ostomi?
Questions like bathing suits, how to go in the water, and I am on the verg of herniating so I have to where a tummy binder. Does anyone have a similar issue? If so what do you do?
Looking forward to some input .. I hope!!
Susan

 

[Samboi]

By cruiser - do you mean on a cruise ship?

I've travelled to Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and China with a stoma.
The only place I went swimming was Cambodia - and it was a-ok.
I wore a singlet and boardies to swim in.

Susan2 has travelled very extensively with a stoma.
I learnt heaps of tricks from her travel expertise.

 

[PsychoJane]

I've traveled a few countries with my stoma. Sometime all-inclusive but mostly back-packing. Every countries present its own challenges as far as I was concerned and it is true mostly for backpacking travelling as sanitary conditions will vary from a place to another. I have not found it to be a barrier but I had to be inventive on rare occasions. Depending on the destination I might be able to offer certain tips.

As far as swimming goes, the limit mostly holds in what you are comfortable showing. I'm not familiar with the tummy binder but I'm guessing it might be easier with a one piece bathing suit? Other than the choice of bathing suit that you feel comfortable with, it's pretty much the same. Just make sure to carry extra supply if you plan on spending extended period in the water as it weakens the ostomy material a bit and reduce the wear-time. Other than this, I'd say enjoy it just as before I'd say the type of appliance you wear plays a role in the duration. Personally, the wafer that are surrounded by a tape would appear to fail faster when dealing with water as opposed to the full gum wafer. There are tapes that can be used to secure the system if it can make you feel more secure about it. It never caused me trouble though.