Managing incontinence and flying

Q: I’ve booked a flight but am worried about incontinence in the air. What can I do to avoid problems?

A: Managing incontinence on plane travel poses a number of issues. Cabin crew are not permitted to assist with personal care functions like emptying legbags and urinals. Also, they are not permitted to assist with transfers to/from the toilet. Airlines require that people who cannot care for themselves travel with a companion who can perform these and other necessary functions.

Before flying:

• If you have an ‘every-other-day’ bowel regime, plan ahead to make sure you won’t have to ‘go’ on the plane. On a long trip that might mean that you have to schedule a stopover rather than take a direct flight with extended airport transfer time.
•  Although it is generally important to maintain adequate hydration you might plan to reduce your fluid consumption before boarding so that you need fewer bathroom visits or legbag emptying. Avoid caffeine and alcohol as they are diuretics that can lead to dehydration.
• Empty your legbag or self-cath immediately before boarding.

If you do need to use the aircraft restroom:

• Accessible restrooms are available only on some wide body jets. On smaller aircraft, privacy is provided by a curtain in the adjacent aisle.
• Aisle chairs are available on most aircraft and are brought on request by cabin crew who also provide assistance to/from the door of the aircraft restroom.
• Although you might not usually wear one, an indwelling catheter may be a more convenient option during the flight.
  

If you know you will not use the restroom:

• Use a large capacity leg bag for the flight. There are many products available in a range of sizes and styles. Contact Intouch (www.intouchdirect.com.au; 1300 134 260), BrightSky (www.brightsky.com.au; 1300 886 601) or other suppliers.
• Take enough spare disposable drainage bags or receptacles. These might be specialist equipment or drink containers, zip-lock bags etc.
• At check-in, ask whether an empty seat can be allocated next to you so that you will have as much privacy as possible when tending to your personal care.
• We have heard of a person who asked his neighbour to look out the window while he self-cathed!
  

For advice specific to your needs contact:

• your local community continence health adviser;
• the ParaQuad spinal nurse (spinalnurse@paraquad.org.au; 02 8741 5674); or
• Continence Foundation of Australia (www.continence.org.au; 1800 33 00 66).
  

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