12 replies to this topic

[Almin]

Hello Everyone,

This post is concerning my dad. He recently suffered a gunshot wound in January this year and got paraplegic due to a spinal cord injury at the T8 level. He is basically paralyzed from his belly button all the way down. He does not have any control on his bowel movements and so he is on a catheter and a diaper. Because of his current condition we have decided to move back home to India and so I need some much needed advice on this. The flight to India is very long, around 24-29 hrs including one or two stops. My biggest concern for him is if he has a bowel movement during the flight or during the journey, how are we able to change his diapers? Are there any alternatives to this? Is there any equipment that we could take along that would help us better achieve this may be at the airport? Would constipating him for a few hours until we reach there be a good idea?

My family is fairly new to this and of course we have never traveled with a paraplegic. So any advice and tips would be highly appreciated.

Peace and Thank you.

Edited by Almin, 03 June 2011 - 06:52 AM.

[Smileyblue]

Hi Almin

The first concern in my mind with such a long flight would be pressure sores.. These can be deadly if not treated properly and therefore should always remain a major concern.. Please ensure that your father exercises proper pressure relief all through the flight..

I have not got experience in how to manage bowels during a flight, but I'm sure there are many who will have advice, and will be along shortly.. Constipating him does not sound like a good idea to me as even this (with no relief) risks pressure sores..

What is his current bowel program? Is it possible to extend his routine at all? Mine is every second day, but can be extended by another half a day to a full day if needed..

[macthefox]

Almin, on 03 June 2011 - 06:51 AM, said:

Hello Everyone,

This post is concerning my dad. He recently suffered a gunshot wound in January this year and got paraplegic due to a spinal cord injury at the T8 level. He is basically paralyzed from his belly button all the way down. He does not have any control on his bowel movements and so he is on a catheter and a diaper. Because of his current condition we have decided to move back home to India and so I need some much needed advice on this. The flight to India is very long, around 24-29 hrs including one or two stops. My biggest concern for him is if he has a bowel movement during the flight or during the journey, how are we able to change his diapers? Are there any alternatives to this? Is there any equipment that we could take along that would help us better achieve this may be at the airport? Would constipating him for a few hours until we reach there be a good idea?

My family is fairly new to this and of course we have never traveled with a paraplegic. So any advice and tips would be highly appreciated.

Peace and Thank you.

Hello to you - I am a para. permanently confined to a wheelchair, and travel a lot on my own. My bowel movements tend to be unpredictable and then urgent and when traveling long haul I deal with it with medication which produces a short term constipation effect, but I do this with complete advice from my GP and hospital specialist for this area. Contacting them is not complicated, for me it was started with a phone call but is essential to ensure as comfortable as possible journey for your father, with no unwanted after effects. I spend most of my time in Asia and so I have similar journeys and have always had uneventful trips. As mentioned by another, pay careful attention re pressure sores - getting them is so easy getting rid of them is not!!!

[Denny]

When I travel back from India I generally take Imodium tablet as precaution cause Indian food can some times alter my bowel program. Try to achieve bowel routine and if possible use toilet at airport during transit.

How much ever care you take, bowel accident can happen, and it is important that you are prepared for that. First priority is to get cleaned, dont have much option but to do at seat itself. I suggest carrying following as cabin luggage.
Wet wipes, toilet tissues, perfume (to mask smell , can request blanket to screen area while cleaning up), gloves, plastic bags to collect waste and spare cloths.
I suggest carying and sitting on Seatpad to protect the seat and can put a new one once cleaned up.

Breaking up the jeourney helps. If possible get seating on window side with 3 seats, if the flight is not full you can lie down and easy to do pressure relief . Dmestic flight in India only have ladder to get on flight. They generally have chair with handles and lift you to the door before transferring to inflight chair. Be careful where you hold on to on that chair, there are moving parts that can crush your fingers!

[Almin]

Smileyblue, on 03 June 2011 - 07:40 AM, said:

Hi Almin

The first concern in my mind with such a long flight would be pressure sores.. These can be deadly if not treated properly and therefore should always remain a major concern.. Please ensure that your father exercises proper pressure relief all through the flight..

I have not got experience in how to manage bowels during a flight, but I'm sure there are many who will have advice, and will be along shortly.. Constipating him does not sound like a good idea to me as even this (with no relief) risks pressure sores..

What is his current bowel program? Is it possible to extend his routine at all? Mine is every second day, but can be extended by another half a day to a full day if needed..

Thanks for your reply. I absolutely agree that pressure sores are another big concern. However, we have been managing them very well. He had a couple of them, which has healed pretty good. I think now he understands how important it is to shift every now and then to relieve pressure. So I am confident that we will be able to manage this.
For the bowel program, we use suppository every morning and he has a BM once a day, sometimes 2-3 times in a day. However, he has had days in the hospital when he did not have a bowel movement for like 3 days even with the use of suppositories. So he is pretty inconsistent, still. But what I was thinking was, if we can clean his intestine a day before the flight and then give Imodium or something like that on the day of the flight then he should be good until we get there. And then as soon as we reach home, give him a suppository to relieve him. And if at all he still has one, then we just would have to clean him up at the seat itself just like Denny suggested. Anyway, thanks for your help.

[Almin]

Denny, on 03 June 2011 - 01:26 PM, said:

When I travel back from India I generally take Imodium tablet as precaution cause Indian food can some times alter my bowel program. Try to achieve bowel routine and if possible use toilet at airport during transit.

How much ever care you take, bowel accident can happen, and it is important that you are prepared for that. First priority is to get cleaned, dont have much option but to do at seat itself. I suggest carrying following as cabin luggage.
Wet wipes, toilet tissues, perfume (to mask smell , can request blanket to screen area while cleaning up), gloves, plastic bags to collect waste and spare cloths.
I suggest carying and sitting on Seatpad to protect the seat and can put a new one once cleaned up.

Breaking up the jeourney helps. If possible get seating on window side with 3 seats, if the flight is not full you can lie down and easy to do pressure relief . Dmestic flight in India only have ladder to get on flight. They generally have chair with handles and lift you to the door before transferring to inflight chair. Be careful where you hold on to on that chair, there are moving parts that can crush your fingers!

I talked to Delta about cleaning him up at the seat, if he has a bowel accident. And they were like, we can't let you do that because it would be a health risk. He also said that some air crafts are equipped with a handicapped accessible restroom, which is a little bigger than the conventional restroom and so we can use them. But, I am not sure if we might be able to because he cant stand at all. Anyway, thanks for your help.

[Smileyblue]

Perhaps another suggestion would be to clean his colon with Colo-prep (the stuff they use to clean the bowels out before bowel surgery).. If the bowels are cleaned out properly the night before the flight, it would take some time before enough waste is built up to cause an accident..

I wish you the very best, as a public bowel accident is humiliating to say the least!

;-)

[WheelGamer]

How about the option of an indwelling catheter? The risk of contracting a UTI is raised with an indwelling catheter but it will lower the need to use the toilet and keep pressure off the bladder. Your dad's doctor may also be able to offer some medications that may help improve bowel program timing. In addition to a diaper using incontinence pads may be helpful as they're easier to change. I recommend the overnight pads in this case(brands like Depends, Tena, etc). Sitting on his wheelchair cushion is a good idea as well as using disposable underpads/seatpads for sitting on. If there's an opportunity to use the airport restrooms before flights definitely take it.

[mellowgator]

it may be a good idea if you dad doesn't eat the day of the trip. maybe have some yogart and a milkshake so he doesn't get hungry. do he bowel program as late as possible and then stop eating and than i'd take imodiam. that should help remove the risk of an accident as much as possible.

[Izziwhizzi]

Alim

A t8 should be able to manage his bowels without such accidents or need of 'diapers', and timed so he goes every 2 days.

I think the flight should be the least of your future problems. Why move the family because of his injury? I hope you will make sure he has sufficient medical care there in one of the larger cities, and not make him housebound in a rural area where even basic antibiotic medication is a days bus trip or more away.

[Almin]

Izziwhizzi, on 04 June 2011 - 03:22 PM, said:

Alim

A t8 should be able to manage his bowels without such accidents or need of 'diapers', and timed so he goes every 2 days.

I think the flight should be the least of your future problems. Why move the family because of his injury? I hope you will make sure he has sufficient medical care there in one of the larger cities, and not make him housebound in a rural area where even basic antibiotic medication is a days bus trip or more away.

Well, unfortunately in his case he is not able to have any control. I am guessing it is because it is a complete injury. Why move to India? Because we have lot more family and support in India than here. I just don't want my mom to feel isolated and stressed here. She can get lot more help than here. Moreover, we would be moving to a major city called Hyderabad, where access to top class medical care and all kinds of therapists (physical, occupational, ayurvedic, etc.) would only be a few kilometers away. My parents have lived there for several years and so they have lots of friends there too. All in all, we think this is the best option for us. Anyway, thanks for your concern.

[Izziwhizzi]

Cool, great you have such a support network over there. I am concerned because my Mum was in a car accident in rural India and was horrified at the lack of facilities available.

Back to the bowel concerns. It seems like something is wrong. A T8 complete usually lives with a controlled bowel movement regime - honest - even if they have no 'actual' bowel control. Its down to routine, food etc. I hope his rehab taught him how to undertake a successful bowel routine. The only time you should expect an accident is with food problems or some strange drugs upsetting your system. Bowel accidents should not be a frequent event, for example I am also a complete break and I've had 2 in 25 years. Read the bowel threads on the health section if you do not believe me.

Just a thought - eating chillis or hot food will upset his stomach and make his stools loose, and so he may want to address his diet.

Also, why not break the flight, say in Europe so he can sleep and get off his bum? He will also be susceptible to dvt's if he does such a long flight so please be aware of that. Maybe talk to your doctor about having some blood thinning injections before and for a few days after the flight too. I always do.

And ALWAYS make him sit on his pressure relief cushion on the plane seat. No discussion! or else he will get a pressure sore. There are plenty of old threads about plane trips that give you tips, such as the taking of an empty 1 litre green/dark coloured soda bottle and carrier bag on the plane so you can empty his drainage bag incognito and take it to the bathroom yourself.

I have done many long haul flights - its not impossible at all.

Good luck.

[Almin]

Izziwhizzi, on 04 June 2011 - 05:36 PM, said:

Cool, great you have such a support network over there. I am concerned because my Mum was in a car accident in rural India and was horrified at the lack of facilities available.

Back to the bowel concerns. It seems like something is wrong. A T8 complete usually lives with a controlled bowel movement regime - honest - even if they have no 'actual' bowel control. Its down to routine, food etc. I hope his rehab taught him how to undertake a successful bowel routine. The only time you should expect an accident is with food problems or some strange drugs upsetting your system. Bowel accidents should not be a frequent event, for example I am also a complete break and I've had 2 in 25 years. Read the bowel threads on the health section if you do not believe me.

Just a thought - eating chillis or hot food will upset his stomach and make his stools loose, and so he may want to address his diet.

Also, why not break the flight, say in Europe so he can sleep and get off his bum? He will also be susceptible to dvt's if he does such a long flight so please be aware of that. Maybe talk to your doctor about having some blood thinning injections before and for a few days after the flight too. I always do.

And ALWAYS make him sit on his pressure relief cushion on the plane seat. No discussion! or else he will get a pressure sore. There are plenty of old threads about plane trips that give you tips, such as the taking of an empty 1 litre green/dark coloured soda bottle and carrier bag on the plane so you can empty his drainage bag incognito and take it to the bathroom yourself.

I have done many long haul flights - its not impossible at all.

Good luck.

Thank! That helps a lot.