Surviving Outdoor Outings: Tips and Tricks

Risking long lines and less than ideal bathroom environments, how do you prepare for an outdoor event, like a hike, an outdoor concert, or a beach day? Any suggestions?

Small garden trowel. Dig a hole and bury the evidence.

I have a colostomy. If I eat very little the day before the event, there is little action. Or, I just use a bag that you can easily remove and put on a new one a couple of times a day. Porta-potties are gross, but they are better than having an accident.

I started bringing empty Pringles containers in the car when my kids were little. If anyone was carsick or had to pee real bad, it went in the can. Put the lid on, and it was ready for disposal at the next stop. I started packing one with me on day trips and outdoor excursions for emergency empties for my ileostomy. The can stands up, making empties a bit easier. The lid goes on for odor control, and the most anyone thinks when you toss it is "good choice in snacks". You also get to eat the Pringles in the beginning.

I just always have a backpack of 'supplies' with me at all times. It includes items for a complete change of my pouch/wafer as well as an emergency container with a tight lid, wet wipes, change of clothes, air freshener, plastic garbage bags, etc. Everything but the kitchen sink!

Oh, another thing. My output will get very liquid if I am anxious/nervous, and going on new outings usually does the trick. LOL, so I use GEL-X Absorbent Capsules and Deodorizer. They solidify liquid output into a gel. So that buys you some time to find a place to empty.

A couple gallon freezer ziplock bags and some paper towels in the glove box

Sally has the right idea. If I leave the house, so does my backpack. I take enough supplies for at least 2 complete changes. If it can happen once...

On the plus side, as a type 1 diabetic, the pack gives me a place to stash the surprising amount of T1D paraphernalia that also has to go with me. I guess that's not the biggest plus side ever, but you have to appreciate the small things in our situations.

I agree... we do have to appreciate the small things.

LOL Rae, this is such a great idea! I think my daughter left a couple of empty cans in her room last time she was home. I think I will put them in my car.

Thanks Sally! We have a lot of kids that get carsick, so the trick has been around a while. It only made sense when we ended up at a park with no restroom and my bag was "filling fast." I like that the end result isn't see through.

The tubes are cardboard? How long would they stand up with liquid in them? I mean if you weren't near a trash can to get rid of them right away?

Lays makes containers for chips that are basically the same as Pringles but made of plastic.

Thanks, I will see if they are here in Oh Canada.

They have a foil freshness lining. From experience, they last a while.

Good to know! I just remember the smell from week-old yogurt containers the kids would leave in the car! So...

You were doing better than I was. Our car just smelled like French fries.

I'm cracking up as our 33-year-old son was a carsick serpent from birth. And Pringles cans were our safety plan. Friends would save them for us. Lol. Now he lives in the Rockies and is just as bad as he's always been. His van and all of his friend's cars have Pringles cans in them. I don't think I'll tell him of the alternative use yet.

I did recently do my first empty in the woods on the side of a highway on my first big car ride since surgery. My pouch has two morning fill-ups and we left before the second one. It was so much easier than hanging my butt over a log and taking a messy dump. I did empty into one of the Hollister gray bags from my emergency kit, as I didn't want to leave the gross mess on the ground. That bag and two baby wipes to the opening and all done.

Finally, I felt gratitude towards my pouch!

Haha, I love that you used the hack too! You might scar your son if you tell him our other uses. Haha, in time I guess.

I'm glad you had a successful road trip, Empty! All the little successes really add up.

That's wonderful, Angela.

There is no problem with going outdoors with an ostomy. I have traveled around the world with mine and if I needed to empty my pouch, I just hid someplace and did it. As a matter of fact, Convatec made a video of me because how I dealt with an ileostomy might help others.

Here is the link to that video: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q1KP5wpWugARBh6lb9Zb2mIajMmvEtHh/view

I hope this was helpful to you.