Had my ileostomy fourteen months ago and we've finally booked a week in Mallorca for next month, which my husband is thrilled about and I am mostly pretending to be thrilled about.
The bit I keep lying awake over is security. I've read about scanners picking things up and I have this picture of being pulled aside in front of a queue of strangers and asked to lift my top. I know that's probably not what happens but I can't shake it.
Also no idea how many bags to take for a week. At home I change once a day and empty five or six times. Do I need a letter? Do I need to cut the flanges before I go because my stoma nurse mentioned something about scissors?
Not a stoma but I carry insulin pens and a sensor on my arm and I went through all this panic myself. In my experience they are far more relaxed than you imagine. I just say quietly before the scanner what I've got and they nod. Never once been asked to show anything.
Pauline, take a travel certificate. My friend with a colostomy got hers free from her supply company and it's a little card that says she has a stoma and may need a toilet urgently. She says she has shown it twice in about ten flights and both times the officer just glanced at it and waved her on.
And yes cut the flanges. Scissors are a no in hand luggage, I've lost a pair of nail scissors to that rule myself.
Steph DoranAccess reviewer (OT)Joined Sep 2024 · 58 posts #4September 25, 2026, 11:20 am Pauline R. said:
being pulled aside in front of a queue of strangers and asked to lift my top
Pauline, the short answer is no, security should not normally ask you to remove or expose your bag, and at most airports you can ask for a private room, usually with an officer of the same sex, if a scanner flags something and they need a closer look. Telling the officer quietly before you go through, with the certificate in your hand, is usually enough to keep it to a few seconds.
On quantities, the margin most stoma charities and travel health services suggest is roughly double what you use at home. For you that would be about fourteen bags for a seven night trip rather than seven, because heat and different food can change your output and a delay home adds days. Split them between your hand luggage and your husband's case so a lost bag is not a crisis. The working supply, flanges already cut, goes in the cabin with you.
The other thing I would raise with your stoma nurse before you go is fluids. Hot weather pushes up fluid loss with an ileostomy, and dehydration is the commonest thing that goes wrong on holiday. They can tell you what to watch for and whether rehydration sachets make sense for you. Marnie's guide to travelling with medication covers the paperwork for security and the habit of splitting supplies across two bags, which works just as well for stoma kit.
Catheter user here, so slightly different kit but the same nerves the first time. What helped me was a day bag that could do 48 hours on its own and lived under the seat, never in the overhead. Took the dread away because whatever happened to the suitcase I was fine for two days.
Thank you all, honestly. Rang the supply company this morning and the certificate is in the post. Cutting flanges on Sunday with a cup of tea. Fourteen bags it is, plus I'm going to ask the airline about a medical bag allowance because my case is already heaving.
Back home and I wanted to close the loop for anyone else searching this. Went through the scanner, it flagged my tummy, I said "I have a stoma" and handed over the card, and the officer did a quick pat over my clothes on the side and said "lovely, off you go". Thirty seconds. All that worrying.
Used nine bags in the week, so double was more than I needed, but I had a leak on the second day in the heat and was very glad of the spares. Drank more than I ever have and was fine. Already looking at somewhere for spring.
