In the lead up to my adventure I was anxious about travelling alone and the possible issues I may have with airport security hence why I spent so much time preparing all the medical supplies for my trip. Considering that over the past year I have gone through airport security 11 times in various countries across Asia I thankfully have not had many issues with my medical supplies and security; all things considered it has all been relatively stress free!!! There have been no questions about carrying multiple months of ileostomy products in my carry-on case and nothing has ever flagged up as it has gone through the scanner…….I had anticipated so many questions being asked at this stage but I really needn’t have worried!!
The only time there have been any questions about my bag has been when security have done random body searches……and believe me it’s so much easier to explain an ileostomy bag if the security person speaks English!! One of the documents I carry with me is a Travel Certificate from Dansac (link in Resources) which is stamped and signed by my GP; it explains the reason for the bag in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish which is great but not so helpful in Asia. If you wanted a little more reassurance of getting through security easily and the certificate does not cover the country you are planning to visit you could translate it into the correct language and get it signed by your GP prior to travelling (see below for update on Travel Certificate).
Travel Certificate
I think whether I get searched is not so much about which airport I’m in but more who is doing the job on that day. I’ve been through Delhi and Trivandrum (Kerala, India) airport a few times and had a different experience each time, sometimes getting waved through with no body search at all, other times my bag has been questioned.
TIPS ON GETTING THROUGH SECURITY:-
- Carry your medical paperwork in your hand (can make everything much swifter & easier). I always take my Travel Certificate, a copy of my prescription, a letter from my GP explaining the quantities and repacking and a letter from my consultant giving my medical history.
- Its an obvious one but I always try to make eye contact and smile at the female security as I go through the metal detector – it breaks the ice if they are going to search you!!
- Sometimes they just wave you through but other times they may use their hands or a scanner to search you.
- I normally wait until they have started searching to see how thorough they are going to be and if I sense they are going to touch the area around my ileostomy I tell them that I have had surgery and I have a bag.
- Most of the time they accept this but there are times where they do not understand so it is here that I will try and explain again. (It would be at this point I would show the travel certificate if I have a translation relevant to where I am) If that does not work I lift up my top and lower my waistband slightly. I have always managed to do this discreetly and has been sufficient to stop any further questions.
- India has been the country where I have been most asked by airport security to lift my top and show my bag to clarify what it is; I really think that this is because an ostomy is not something they encounter so often and haven’t understood my explanation. In certain Indian airports they do have segregated areas for men and women to got through the security checks, with the women’s area curtained off making it a more discreet and comfortable experience.
- An internal flight through India changing at Delhi Airport was the only place I have had to show my medical documents. The security woman took them to show her boss and once he had checked them over I was able to proceed.
Medical documents I travel with including vaccination card.
**** I did a bit of research while writing this post and contacted Dansac to check that they still produced these Travel Certificates – not only do they still do them, the information is also in Greek, Punjabi, Hindi and for the Middle East……it might have been an idea to check this before my trip!!! They also provide a booklet called Holiday Advice which is full of useful information. Click onto the resource tab at the top of the page for the link to Dansac – they are happy to send these leaflets out to customers.
