Stoma Travel Bag: What to Pack in Your Kit (UK)

What to pack in a stoma travel bag

A stoma travel bag is simply the kit you would use for a change at home, packed so it can go anywhere: a small, wipeable wash bag with two or three compartments that stays with you, not in the hold.

Most people over-pack the obvious things and forget the small ones that save a day out. This is the checklist experienced travellers settle on, whether they have a colostomy, an ileostomy or a urostomy. Tick it off the night before.

• Stoma bags, and baseplates if you use a two-piece system, pre-cut to size at home
• Adhesive remover and barrier wipes, ideally individually wrapped sachets rather than a spray
• Seals, rings or paste if they are part of your routine, packed flat so they keep their shape
• Dry wipes or soft paper towels, because skin has to be dry for a baseplate to stick
• Disposal bags, opaque and scented if you like them, plus a few zip bags for when there is no bin
• A small bottle of water for rinsing hands when the sink is outside the cubicle
• A flat pocket mirror for toilets with awkward lighting
• Hand sanitiser, and a couple of gloves if you like them for roadside changes
• A spare pair of knickers or pants and one full change of clothes
• Your stoma travel certificate, a copy of your prescription and your RADAR key
• A spare support belt or wrap, and spare clips or closures if your bags use them

Two things people forget and regret: the spare belt or wrap, and the spare clips. Both weigh nothing, and both are hard to find in a small town on a Sunday. The change of clothes is not there because something will go wrong. It is there so that, if it does, the day carries on instead of ending.

The three-bag system: day bag, hand luggage kit, main supply

Carrying one huge bag everywhere is tiring, and leaving everything at the hotel is how you end up improvising. What works for a weekend, a fortnight or a month away is three tiers.

The hand luggage kit is the one that has to survive a lost suitcase. The main supply holds the bulk. Keep it somewhere that meets the storage instructions on the packaging: a parked car or a tent can get very hot, even in the shade, and a sealed box under a seat does not change that. On a road trip, carry a small kit in the car and take it with you whenever you leave the vehicle.

How many stoma bags to pack

The rule almost everyone lands on is double what you would use at home, plus three. Doubling covers the fact that travel days are not normal days: heat, sweat, different food and long journeys can make wear time less predictable. The extra three cover the genuinely bad day.

If you drain your bag rather than change it, count bags and baseplates separately and apply the same rule to each. Still working out what your normal week looks like? Our guide to how often to change and empty your stoma bag helps you set a baseline before you start counting.

Getting your supplies before you go: NHS prescriptions and delivery companies

In the UK most people get their stoma bags on NHS prescription, delivered by a delivery company (a dispensing appliance contractor) or collected from a pharmacy. A few things make the run-up to a trip much calmer.

• Order early. Put your order in well before you travel, so a delay at the GP practice or with the courier does not land the day before you leave. If the trip is longer than your usual order covers, talk to your GP practice and your delivery company early.
• Know what you pay. Prescriptions are free in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In England, a permanent stoma that needs an appliance qualifies for a medical exemption certificate; ask your GP for the form.
• Ask what comes with your order. Delivery companies can include extras. Fittleworth, for example, lists a free RADAR key, a free travel certificate and free disposal bags and wipes with every order. The charity Bladder & Bowel UK gives a free RADAR key and a Just Can't Wait card to people who sign up to its home delivery service.
• Use a cutting service. If you cut to fit, several delivery companies will pre-cut your bags for you; SecuriCare, for one, offers a free cutting service. That means no scissors in your hand luggage.
• Don't switch products just before a trip. A holiday is the worst time to test a new bag. Try anything new a month out, not a week out.

For the full picture on what is free and how to get samples, see our guide to free stoma supplies, NHS prescriptions and samples.

Travel certificate, RADAR key and insurance

Three small things live in the front pocket of a well-packed stoma travel bag.

Travel insurance. Tell your insurer about your stoma when you buy cover; some insurers also ask for a travel certificate to confirm you are fit to travel. Our guide to stoma travel insurance in the UK explains what to look for in a policy.

Flying with your stoma travel bag

Airport security is usually the least eventful part of the day. Keep your supplies in a clear pouch inside your hand luggage so they are easy to show, with your travel certificate on top.

• Hand luggage, always. Keep enough for the whole journey plus a couple of extra days with you. If your suitcase goes missing, your holiday still works.
• Liquids. Adhesive remover sprays and other liquids follow the liquids rules at your departure airport. These have changed at some UK airports, so check with yours before you fly; sachets and wipes avoid the question entirely.
• Scissors. Pre-cut everything at home so the scissors can go in your suitcase.
• Extra allowance. Ask your airline whether it gives extra hand luggage allowance for medical supplies.
• Scanners. A bag under clothing can show up on a body scanner. If you are asked about it, say "stoma" plainly, show your certificate, and ask for a private search if you would rather not be checked in the open.
• On board. Keep your day bag under the seat, not in the overhead locker, and empty before you board.

Everything else about the flight itself, from seat choice to cabin pressure, is in our guide to flying with a colostomy bag.

Colostomy, ileostomy or urostomy: what changes in the kit

The core kit is the same for everyone. The differences are small but worth knowing, and if you are new to the vocabulary, here is ileostomy vs colostomy in plain English.

Heat, holidays and swimming

Keep two things apart. Heat can damage unused supplies in storage, so follow the storage instructions on each box and don't leave stock in a hot car. Heat and sweat on your skin are a different matter: they can shorten wear time, so keep spare changes within reach and make sure your skin is clean and dry before each new baseplate.

A soft cotton stoma bag cover sits between your skin and the plastic and soaks up sweat, a small comfort that feels like a big one on day four of a heatwave. Sharing a room or a tent? Our guide to managing stoma bag odour covers what actually works.

Water is fine. Pools, the sea, lakes and water parks are all on: a well-fitted baseplate holds, and stoma swimwear with an inner pocket keeps the bag smooth and out of sight.

Changing your bag in a toilet that isn't yours

This is the skill that makes travel feel normal, and it is mostly about order. Lay a paper towel on the cistern or the sink ledge and set out everything before you start: baseplate, bag, wipes, dry wipes, disposal bag. Then you are never reaching for something with one hand.

• No shelf? A large zip bag laid flat on your lap becomes a clean surface.
• No sink in the cubicle? That is what the small water bottle and the dry wipes are for.
• Motorway services or a station? Use your RADAR key: the accessible toilet usually has more room to lay out your kit.
• Roadside, campsite or trailhead? Passenger seat reclined, door open, kit on your lap. Plenty of people do their quickest changes in a car. Our guide to going outdoors with a stoma has more for walkers and campers.
• Shared hotel room? Run the extractor fan, keep the disposal bags opaque, and remember it takes less time than a shower.

What to wear on the journey and once you arrive

Travel confidence is half kit, half what you are wearing under it. A few pieces do a lot of the work, from the queue at the gate to day fourteen of the trip.

• High-waisted stoma knickers and pants with an inner pocket keep the bag flat under a linen dress or a fitted shirt, so you are not checking your reflection every twenty minutes.
• A stoma belt holds the weight of a fuller bag close to your body on a long walking day, a bumpy coach transfer or a hike.
• Soft stoma wraps roll into a corner of your hand luggage and turn a simple top and trousers into an outfit.

The point of all this is not caution, it is freedom. People with a stoma camp for a week, do theme parks in August, snorkel, walk the coast path and sit through long-haul flights. The kit is the boring part that makes the good part possible. Pack it once, keep it packed, then go.

Stoma travel bag: your questions