Camping with an Ileostomy: Tips for Managing Overnight

It's been three years now since my ileostomy, and next summer I would like to get back to camping: tent camping, car camping, heck, just sleeping out under the stars. Camping, not glamping.

I'm looking for any advice or tips on how to handle emptying the bag once or twice a night in a tent, van, or anywhere there is not a toilet or latrine.

Thanks,

Bruce

I'm hoping to figure this out too. Last time we planned on tent camping, I got an angry rash just before going and I required running water until it healed.

Camp sites with outhouses would be a good start. Otherwise, it's not going to be any different dealing with disposing of waste.

Perhaps the only thing to plan differently is whether or not you're going to be needing to do a full wafer and bag change.

No worries about needing a good fart fan! 🍃

Based on the MeetAnOstoMate Forum, tips for camping without toilets include: carry a trowel, use wag-bags or ziplock bags, pack waterproof supplies, bring wet wipes, use a stoma protector, plan ahead, and stay hydrated.

G-Day Bees,

I travel the outback of Australia with no problem. I use Hollister two-piece bag drainable, so they are very easy to empty. Dig a small hole and dump; if I use paper, I burn that and then cover it. As for a complete bag change, I use a container with a sealed top like Tupperware with a doggy bag inserted inside. Once filled, tie the bag off and put it into another container with all the others until you arrive at a dumping station. The large bag I

 

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use for all the little bags is hanging off the back of my 4-wheel drive. See photo

 

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Sometimes I get the feeling I am being watched. Enjoy your trips; it's no problem. Regards, IGGIE

Thank you for the tips, I found some good advice here. I also admit I should have searched the site better for past threads on camping.

As I said in my original post, I  am looking for ideas for middle of the night when I'm in a tent, van or simply sleeping on the ground. I have tent camped in Forest Service campgrounds that had a latrine. So headlamp on I trudged over the little house to empty my bag.

I'm just thinking about those trips away from a campground without a manmade convenience.

 

How to Manage Ostomy Leaks with LeeAnne Hayden | Hollister

Whoa! That's 🔥. Damn accurate too 👍.

Iggie, we are always being watched on this site outdoors.

I'd take your buddy watching me over a fellow human dump, anytime bro. 😉

Ok, follow me here. 1) Get out of your tent, car, or wherever you're sleeping. 2) Walk a ways out and off the beaten trails. 3) Dig a small hole. 4) Empty into the dug hole. 5) Cover the pooped-filled hole with dirt. 6) Go back to bed. 7) The next time you wake up or the next night, repeat steps 1-6, except don't dig where you already dug. 👍 People have been pooping in the wild for thousands of years. They squatted; you lean over so you don't splash on yourself, same concept, just a different approach.

I guess I was just hoping not to have to leave the tent, car, whatever. That someone had invented a better mousetrap. 

However, you are so right. Thank you.

Well, you could empty into Pringles cans, coffee cans, old peanut butter jars, etc. Personally, I find doing that gross and I wouldn’t want to mess with disposing of it later and I wouldn’t want to risk spilling any where I’m sleeping. 

But... but... but I thought only bears shit in the woods? 🤔😆🤣

Just call me IGGIE BEAR. Happy New Year, mate.

Bees, the better mousetrap is the Tupperware container. I have changed in my car in my 4-wheel drive. Stop overthinking it and buy a shovel, job done. Regards, IGGIE. Happy New Year.

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Ha ha... kangaroo bear. Too funny.

Happy New Year, Bro.

I camp quite a bit, both summer and winter. I really don't like having to traipse out to the dunny when the temperature is -20C!! What I did was to get a 5-gallon plastic pail with a lid (available at Canadian Tire or most hardware stores). I line it with two plastic bags, the white ones you use for kitchen catchers. They come in a variety of sizes. I put some moisture absorbent in the bottom to soak up liquids and reduce odor. One of those Smell B Gone capsules (they may have another name, but I can't remember it right now) I place the whole thing on a low chair/stool and you are good to go. When finished, merely tie up the bags and dispose of where you normally get rid of trash.

 

 

So basically...you built an outhouse/porta-potty...Johnny on the spot in your tent? 🤔.

 

Before I had my ileostomy, I had ileorectal anastomosis. Which left me with incontinence issues.

I bought myself a pop-up port-a-potty, a travel “toilet”, and the absorbent gel the other poster mentioned. It worked fantastic, super convenient. And I will absolutely be bringing it back this summer for my next camping trip.

It may seem excessive, but it’s very helpful in any emergency situation. You fold all of it up once you’re done, it’s super thin and lightweight. I highly recommend.

You could also just get the absorbent powder and disposal bags. Put the disposal bag in a tall Tupperware container (like a drink/soup one), add the absorbent powder, and then close the bag tightly and close the container till morning.

And don’t forget which container has absorbent powder and which one is pancake batter. 😁

Yay to camping! I have done a lot of car camping and did a three-night backpacking trip in Yosemite last summer. If you are car camping in a state park or national forest, there are bathrooms. A nice thing about a pit toilet is that any ostomy odor blends right in. As for backpacking, I left my tent and went off and dug a hole. I carry a trowel and headlamp. I worried that my wafer wouldn't last the three nights, but it did. I carried a couple of spares just in case. I have done other backpacking as well, and whatever extra hassle there is, it was totally worth the time outside! Good luck and enjoy the wilderness!

Here is what I do when there is no restroom around: I purchase doggie bags on Amazon (biodegradable). I can empty my pouch into one of these bags, then I keep a small container (a 2 or 3-gallon bucket with a lid from Home Depot or Lowes) that can be sealed to deposit bags into. Since the bags are biodegradable and you are in the woods, go away from camp, dig a hole, and deposit, then cover up. Terry

I take a medium sized plastic coffee can with lid, and use a plastic bag liner. At night, in a tent I can then empty my appliance while on my knees. With practice it gets easy. Take extra plastic bag liners and you can either haul them out with you, or empty the bag below the ruff. 

Exactly. Digging my personal latrine isn't what I'd want to do in the middle of the night. IGGIE's suggestion of a sealable container with a bag liner makes nighttime needs manageable without leaving the tent. The only thing I'd add is an air deodorizer (Ozium is great and comes in a pocket sized can). Even if you're tented alone, this makes the aftermath less offensive to the nose. I carry those supplies in my car for when I'm just off driving the backroads during daylight, too.It's not always possible to find an "off the beaten path" spot to take care of business. Land owners frown upon trespassers digging holes on their property. 

I believe the idea of having a hole in the ground to use at night involved digging it, or several, before you went to bed.  

In a tent, say, at 3 a.m., you sure don't want to spill anything. And how big is IGGIE's tent?  For decades I backpacked. So my idea of a tent is lightweight and sleeps two closely. Anyway, I agree with the idea of not using a Pringles can (good god).

However in a van, where things are bigger, more stable and there is likely to be better lighting than just a headlamp, some sort of indoor container might do the trick.

This is for camping away from a campground, which means no established latrines.

 

From my personal experience, if you are truly camping and in nature, you do like the animals: dig a little hole, squat, and empty. This is not always appropriate, however, so I have taken an old coffee can and used that; it works in a pinch. I also make sure to take extra supplies and wet wipes along. I think of it like this: we all have to use the bathroom, so wherever you would have gone before your ileostomy, it's a good place to start. :)

I am getting myself kitted out for a camping trip at the moment.

We had a motorhome for quite a few years that I sold after my wife passed 4 years ago.

I have lots of kit so I don't intend to rough it. I even have a small porta potty. I will be staying on a very nice campsite that we have used many times, but I don't think they would be very happy about me digging holes to dump my dump. I have quite a lot planned for this year, including 2 cruises, 2 static caravan stays, and 2 camping trips, so wish me luck. Following my emergency ileostomy and sepsis, I came very close to checking out. I have been given another life and I don't intend to waste it.

Happy days and happy new year to all.

Xxx

Chris S

I'm a woman tent camper with April surgery coming up. Just for peeing in normal tent camping, I use Travel Johns or sometimes one of those big plastic laundry detergent jugs with a screw top. You could add a layer of kitty litter for absorption. On my little sailboat, I use a Home Depot bucket with a trash can liner with kitty litter. Not sure if this works with poopy output.

I get containing it on a boat but why out in the wild? I get there may be other campers around but most popular camping areas have some sort of bathroom or just find a tree/bush etc and go. I really don’t get all this bagging it up and disposing of it later stuff. 🤷‍♂️ Probably why I don’t camp, weird rules. 😁🤔

Oh, yes. How hard it would be to tell the difference 🤣

Good point on backpacker size tent and minimal gear.