2022 04 28

Travelling with a stoma (and how to make your trip more comfortable)

Travel can be scary for ostomates or people living with a stoma, especially those who have recently had their surgery and are still adjusting to their new circumstances. Fortunately, having a stoma doesn’t mean you have to give up all the things you enjoyed before, such as exercise and travel.

While colostomy equipment is designed to be discrete, safe and secure, and there are more awareness campaigns and training drives to tackle social stigmas, we understand you might still have some reservations about travelling. This is perfectly understandable.

To help, we’ve compiled a travel checklist as well as some air and rail travel tips which address common issues that people living with a stoma face. They may make your trip less stressful and more comfortable.

Travel checklist

Source: Michael Burrell

Check with your GP

Before you plan your trip, you want to make sure it’s safe for you to travel, especially if you are travelling abroad. You should seek medical approval from your GP or stoma nurse if you have had surgery in the past 6 weeks, or if you have been hospitalised in the past 6 months.

Book a seat near the toilet

No matter the mode by which you travel, it’s a good idea to book seats near the toilet. If you have any concerns about leaks, odours, or ballooning, you can swiftly and easily check on your stoma bag.

Set aside extra time

There’s always a potential for delays when you travel. You might need to go to the toilet to dispose of and replace your stoma bag, or your security check might end up taking longer than usual. To avoid any extra stress, make sure you set aside enough time and more for you to travel comfortably.

Pack essentials in your backpack or handbag

This is possibly one of the most important things to do before travelling. We recommend you pack the following:

Spare stoma bags. Make sure to pack different sizes, and even if you tend to use closed bags, take some drainable bags with you as well in case you suffer from a stomach upset.
Protective stoma rings or seals
Barrier creams, or skin barrier protector wipes
Wipes or sprays to remove medical adhesive
Dry wipes
No-water cleanser
An ostomy deodoriser. Stoma bags have air filters with charcoal in them to neutralise any odours, but if you’re worried about smells, then having an ostomy deodoriser at hand can give you peace of mind.
Nappy bags. We know bag disposal is a major concern, and while you can purchase bags with a flushable inner liner, you can also empty the contents of your bag down the toilet. Nappy bags are in case of an emergency when you don’t have access to a toilet but need to empty your bag.
RADAR key. This is particularly useful if you’re travelling within the UK. It gives you access to over 10,000 locked disabled toilets across the country so you can inspect and adjust your colostomy equipment at ease. Ostomates can purchase a RADAR key from Colostomy UK.

Pack spare supplies

While your handbag should contain stoma-related essentials, you should make sure to carry extra ostomy supplies in your other luggage. That way, in case you lose one, you always have the other to rely on for the duration of your trip without having to purchase new supplies.

Spare supplies could also include your support belt or girdle, or specially designed swimwear to accommodate your colostomy bag or protective stoma seal.

Pack medicines

Ostomates dehydrate quicker than most, so you may want to carry rehydration tablets, especially if you’re travelling someplace hot and sunny. Other medications might include what you normally take for constipation or diarrhoea, as well as anti-fungal ointments.

Eat and drink carefully

This goes without saying, but on the day of travel, and during your trip as well, be mindful of what you eat and drink. Avoid anything which, in the past, has upset your stomach.

Tips for air travel with a stoma bag

Source: dongfang zhao

In addition to the travel checklist above, there are a few tips we’ve listed below that are worth keeping in mind and practising when you fly:

Purchase travel insurance.
Arrange for your stoma care nurse to issue a travel certificate. This can be used to explain to airport officials and authorities that you are living with a stoma, are wearing a stoma bag, and need to carry your medical supplies with you.
Accessible support is available at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester airports. Some airports also run the hidden disability sunflower lanyard scheme. It may be worth contacting the airport at least 48 hours in advance if you believe you will require assistance.
Be prepared for airport security checks. Full body image scanners are often used to detect whether or not you are carrying dangerous items. If you are uncomfortable with such a scan, you can always mention this to staff, though they will be duty-bound to conduct a body check. This can be done in private if requested. Carrying a stoma travel certificate or a hidden disability lanyard can help facilitate this process.
Lastly, if you are travelling abroad and irrigating, then make sure you irrigate with bottled water to avoid any chance of infection.

Tips for rail travel with a stoma bag

As mentioned before, these tips should be paired with the general travel checklist. If you are travelling by rail, there are a few other tips you could make use of:

Book a seat near an accessible toilet, as most trains in the UK, are now equipped with them. There should be a hook, shelf and bin to help you manage your stoma bag easily.
Book assisted train travel in the UK with Passenger Assistance to make your journey easier. Assistance can help you navigate crowded areas and connect you on your way.

We hope the guidance and tips we’ve provided in this article are useful, and if there’s anything we’ve missed that you feel is worth mentioning, please do let us know in the comments. Till then, we wish you a safe, stress-free and happy journey!

25 04 2022

The best apps for disabled people

It can be challenging navigating the world with mobile, sensory and non-sensory impairments. Thankfully, there are plenty of tablet and phone apps for disabled people that are designed to make things just a little bit easier, more convenient, and more inclusive. We’ve put together a list of 9 such apps.

But before we get to the list, it’s worth mentioning that iOS and Android devices have a suite of accessibility features pre-installed and designed to make using phones or tablets easy for people with disabilities. On both operating systems, you can access this suite by clicking on ‘Settings’ and ‘Accessibility’. Some of the features include Assistive Touch, captioning and audio descriptions, guided access, text-to-speech output and a TalkBack screen reader. If you haven’t already, do give them a try.

Travel apps for disabled people

AccessAble

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

As the name suggests, AccessAble is an app designed to provide users with detailed information on whether a place is accessible or not. It can show whether a place is wheelchair friendly, has Blue Badge parking spaces, accessible toilets, and more. Trained surveyors inspect places and provide reviews, which are further backed up by the user community. The app has over 75,000 detailed access guides and is constantly working to grow its coverage.

AccessAble has a rating of 3.9 on Apple’s App Store, and 3.7 on Google’s Play Store.

Passenger Assistance

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

Passenger Assistance is a travel app for disabled people that allows users to easily request and book assistance for rail journeys. This assistance can be for mobility impairments, sensory impairments, non-visible impairments and more. The app alerts station staff about the user’s requirements so that they can arrange the assistance required.

Passenger Assistance simplifies assisted travel. It has a rating of 4.3 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.1 on Google’s Play Store.

Best apps for blind and visually impaired people

Be My Eyes

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

Be My Eyes is an app that connects blind or visually impaired people with sighted volunteers across the world. The way it works is that whenever a user needs visual assistance, they can open the app and make a live video call. A volunteer answers the call and is able to speak with the user and provide visual assistance.

Be My Eyes has a rating of 4.8 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.4 on Google’s Play Store.

Lookout

Price: Free

Available on: Android

Another free app for the visually impaired, Google’s Lookout uses computer vision to assist users and is developed based on the guidance of the blind and visually impaired community. It comes with 5 different modes, each designed to help users quickly find or get what they need.

‘Explore’ mode provides information on a user’s surroundings. ‘Food Labels’ identifies packaged food. ‘Documents’ allows users to scan and read aloud photographed documents, while ‘Text’ does the same but for smaller passages of text such as email. Lastly, ‘Currency’ identifies US dollars, Indian rupees and Euros.

Lookout has a rating of 4.1 on Google’s Play Store.

Best apps for deaf and hearing impaired people

Rogervoice

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

Rogervoice is a call-transcription app that assists the deaf and hearing impaired. It transcribes speech in real-time so that users can read what someone is saying on the other end of the line and respond instantly. Users also have the choice of typing in what they would like to say during a call, and the app will then use a voice synthesiser to read the message to the person on the other end of the line.

Rogervoice has a rating of 4.6 on Apple’s App Store, and 3.4 on Google’s Play Store.

Petralex

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

Petralex is an app designed to act as a hearing amplifier. You can use the app at home, at the cinema, during social occasions or elsewhere to amplify or fine tune volume and hear with greater clarity. Some of its many free features include speech recognition, hearing correction, acoustic amplification to 30dB and dynamic compression (the amplification of quiet sounds without altering the overall volume).

Petralex has a rating of 4.1 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.6 on Google’s Play Store.

Best apps for people with speech disorders

Spoken – Tap to talk AAC

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

Spoken is a natural language assistant app designed to help people with speech and language disorders, as well as their families and caregivers. It draws upon machine learning and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) to predict what users want to say next – users therefore simply need to tap to talk. (If you’re unfamiliar with AAC, it refers to a range of strategies and methods which help people who struggle with ordinary speech). Spoken also makes use of machine learning to provide a personalised experience – the more it’s used, the better it gets at predicting what a user wants to say.

Spoken has a rating of 4.7 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.3 on Google’s Play Store.

Avaz AAC

Price: Free (with a lifetime edition available at $175)

Available on: iOS and Android

Like Spoken, Avaz (which is Hindi for ‘Sound’) is an Augmentative and Alternative Communication or AAC app designed to help people with speech-related disabilities. It also happens to be very child-friendly and ideal for families. There is a picture mode which makes use of over 15,000 pictures or Symbolstix to help learners build their vocabulary. There is also a keyboard mode with a powerful prediction system that allows users to create sentences with a few taps, and to quickly load commonly used sentences.

Avaz has a rating of 4.4 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.1 on Google’s Play Store.

Other great apps

Miracle Modus

Price: Free

Available on: iOS and Android

The Miracle Modus is an app which emits soothing patterns of light and sound to help people with autism when they experience a sensory overload. The creator of the app is autistic and found such mathematically patterned rainbow lights very soothing. The patterns respond to touch and so can be manipulated or played with to help users relax and refocus.

Miracle Modus has a rating of 4.2 on Apple’s App Store, and 4.4 on Google’s Play Store.

And that’s our list of useful apps for disabled people. Fortunately, app developers continue to work on such apps, and we’re certain in the coming years there will be more apps to be added to this list. In the meantime, please do let us know if there are any apps for people with disabilities which you have found to be invaluable to you.

2022 04 11

77% of UK adults don’t know what the International Symbol of Access is

The International Symbol of Access (ISA) – a blue square with a white outline of a person in a wheelchair – is most commonly used on toilet doors, in car parks and on public transport. Designed in 1968, the ISA has been adopted internationally.

However, our nationally representative poll of 3,000 UK adults has found that more than three-quarters of people (77%) do not understand what the ISA means. Passenger Assistance commissioned this research via our parent company Transreport, to explore perceptions and understandings of accessibility and accessible facilities.

Just under four in ten (39%) UK adults believe this sign applies only to wheelchair users, even though only 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair.
30% believe this sign means ‘disabled people only’.
Just 23% identified the correct meaning, which is that the sign indicates that ‘building features are suitable for disabled people (wording provided by The Office for Disability Issues, part of the Department for Work and Pensions).

Unwanted policing of accessible facilities

Our survey revealed that 1 in 4 (24%) people would challenge someone for using accessible facilities if they suspected they weren’t eligible.

It also showed that people who misunderstand the meaning of the sign are more likely to challenge others for using accessible facilities if they believed they were not entitled to use them. People who believe the sign means ‘disabled people only’ are significantly more likely to challenge others. 20% said they have challenged someone in the past and 17% said they would if they believed they weren’t entitled to use the facilities.

The research also revealed that older people are more likely to challenge users of accessible facilities and men are twice as likely as women to challenge someone. 21% of over-65s said they’d challenge someone for using accessible facilities, compared to just 8% of 25-34-year-olds.

27% of Londoners say they have challenged someone using accessible facilities, compared to 13% nationally.

A statement from Jay Shen, Passenger Assistance founder

“We suspected there was a level of confusion about the actual meaning of the sign, but we were surprised by the number of people who incorrectly identified its meaning. This tells us there is work to be done to raise awareness about what accessible spaces are really for and who is entitled to use them.

“We also need to continue to demystify some of the myths around impairment and disabled people’s experiences. For example, fewer than 8% of disabled people use a wheelchair, yet more than almost four in ten people believe the ISA refers exclusively to wheelchair users.

“I’d like to see more done to add context to this sign, according to where it is displayed. For example, the sign has different meanings depending on whether it’s in a car park, on a bathroom door or next to a ramp. As a company, we believe that improving experiences for disabled people necessarily improves things for everyone. Everybody benefits when accessibility is improved.”

Stop policing accessible facilities, urges campaigner Dr Amy Kavanagh

Dr Amy Kavanagh is an award-winning disability right activist and campaigner. Here’s what she has to say about our findings.

“We need society to understand that disability isn’t always visible and access needs aren’t always obvious. As a blind person, I’ve been challenged using accessible toilet facilities, there’s an assumption that they are only for wheelchair users. It’s humiliating when you’re waiting to use the toilet to be told off like a naughty child because someone doesn’t understand or listen to your needs.”

“For example, I need an accessible toilet as it’s safer and easier to navigate, the layout is consistent and there is space for my guide dog, it gives me dignity and privacy. There is an assumption that the public are doing disabled people a service by challenging ‘fakers’, but usually they’re actually making life more difficult for people with invisible disabilities, like autism, Crohn’s, mental health conditions or chronic illnesses.

“What I really want people to challenge are access barriers, broken lifts, restaurants not having a braille menu or sign language interpreters not being provided for medical appointments. If you want to support disabled people, call out the failures to include us in society instead of policing the limited accessible services we have.“

If you have a disability and you’re looking for insight into travel and exploration throughout the UK, take a look at the Passenger Assistance blog we’ve written about travelling alone as a disabled person, accessible days out in the UK, and plenty of travel tips and destination highlights for your next trip.

More information about the study;

OnePoll surveyed a nationally representative sample of 3,000 UK adults, on behalf of Transreport and Passenger Assistance, between the dates of 22/03/2022 and 30/03/2022. OnePoll are members of ESOMAR and employs members of the Marketing Research Society.