Road trip with an ostomy

Do you remember your first road trip.  Boy I sure do. My family used to drive from the top of the country down to Florida every single year.  We have lots of relatives down there and in the great and hot state of Alabama.  Road trips are really interesting when you are going with family.  The vehicle you travel in can really impact how that trip is enjoyed.  I have gone with a family of five in the smallest ford car ever made. Or so it seemed. I have also ridden down in luxury with a nice minivan.  Sometimes there are dogs and sometimes there are cats that come along.  Now there is an ostomy bag that comes along and I have to worry about my ostomy care along with a family. So there are a few tips I have learned over the years about roading tripping and now road tripping with a stoma. 

It is important to plan ahead for your ostomy care needs.  Planning a road trip is simply more than picking a route to go on.  Well let's face it now we simply pull out our phones and put the address into an app and set off.  No more pulling out an actual map and writing down a real plan.  Or if you are old enough to remember mapquest when you would print out step by step directions.  Oh lord help you if you missed a turn, now you are lost forever! But what I really mean is pan out some extra stop along the way.  Or if you see a rest stop, me more affirmative about taking it instead of waiting for the next one. 

Now part of planning out a successful road trip is making sure you have the supplies you need.  I know what I need for every week as for getting the correct amount of ostomy gear I need.  So make sure you bring a little bit of extras.  When packing a road trip things just go wrong.  I find when things get thrown around in a car or may get in an accident that things get destroyed.  So take some extras and pack the amount needed in your  main pack which usually goes in the back. 

Now also pack some that are easily and readily available.  Just in case something goes wrong or you need some extra supplies. Keep some on hand!  There is nothing worse than not being prepared on a road trip where tempers can flair and emotions run high! Being prepared helps to keep stress levels down and fun levels up!