I do not travel much but recently I have
had to travel to Europe for business. It
was on a recent trip whilst travelling through airport security that I became
aware of a very unique Ostomy question.
To declare I have a stoma or not declare?
Let me explain how this question arose:
On
the outbound journey I decided to treat my wife to a new bottle of perfume (I
know nice aren’t I.) It wasn’t until the
return journey that I realized this may have been a mistake. I had purchased the 120ml bottle of perfume
after I had passed through security at Stanstead. On my return in Belfast I now had to take my expensive
125ml bottle of perfume through the 100ml outbound security limit! Fortunately (although probably not a good
thing) the perfume was not flagged as an issue when scanned, however, I was!
Even after taking off my belt & shoes I
had still failed the metal detector. In
Belfast they seem to of upgraded from the normal ‘pat down’ to a new electronic
system. You basically stand in a pod and
the scanner makes a 360 degree sweep around you (see image below). It then by the magic of technology displays
any areas of ‘interest’. I assume
abnormalities/lumps bumps from what it has been programmed to think the
‘average’ human body looks like when scanned.
You can probably now see the reason for my
original question. The machine had
flagged my stoma site as ‘an area of interest’
I was then called over to be padded down in that area the traditional
way but focusing on this area.
Now I know there are plenty of Ostomists in
the UK & Northern Ireland but like me before my op does the rest of the
population have any idea on what a stoma is?
Would this airport security guard have any idea of this strange bulge on
my stomach with liquid inside. As I wear
a midi bag I must also add a bag containing what felt like over 125ml of liquid
(I had been queuing for 30mins and my flight was shortly after dinner!)
What should I do? My stoma nurses hadn’t covered this when they
told me about the new challenges I would face as an Ostomist. In this situation I’ll be honest I panicked,
I didn’t say anything and ironically the security guard patted down the area,
seemed happy and sent me on my way.
Whilst on the returning flight it made me
think, should I declare I have a stoma?
I would’ve hated to make a scene when one wasn’t necessary. I am happy to tell people I have an Ostomy
bag, but would I want to be escorted to an isolated room to be searched? In this security conscious times it was also
a concern that the security guard hadn’t noticed (or had he?)
During my previous journeys I had passed
through security with no issues. I asked
some friends in an Ostomy group about their experiences. It was definitely a mixed bag of responses.
Since this flight I have found that you can
you can get a passport of sorts for you Ostomy.
A small wallet sized card that explained in several different languages
what this ‘strange’ bag of liquid stuck to your body actually is. I have decided that being a forward thinking
Ostomist next time this occurs I will use this card and explain. Perhaps all airport security guards aren’t
educated on what an Ostomy bag is. By
highlighting this to them in a professional way perhaps it could save someone else
the embarrassment of it being ‘discovered’
If one new person learns what an Ostomy is
and they educate 4 people and they then educate 4 people, well…you get the idea :)
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