More Traveling with Your Feeding Tube

I’ve combined two steps for traveling together on this post. My other recommendations are broken down into three previous posts.
This is so crucial I probably should have begun with this post. Take a note from your doctor on official stationary or Rx form verifying you are a tube feeder. The enteral system looks like a bomb fuse as you pass through an xray. Don’t get yourself strip searched because your “picture” looks weird. My doctor’s note helped me get through the Las Vegas airport and allowed me to take my water on the plane with me. TSA employees will love you when you hand them that doctor’s note.

Your final step before traveling: packing the “feed bag.” If you’re an experienced tube feeder, you already know how to do this. But if you’re new, there are certain must have’s for the feed bag. Pack soft, absorbent towels. The flour sack towels from Sam’s are perfect. Soft, very absorbent, light weight. Pack about three of four of these. Throw in a plastic glass to put your Jevity, Ensure, etc. in. Pack two syringes. The extra is insurance that the first always works. Grab a handful of rayon sponges. Don’t forget the tube itself, if you are using a Mickey button. A couple of cans of food. A bottle of water for flushing your tube, button, and rinsing out the glass. Do this religiously. You don’t want your tube, syringe, or button getting clogged while you’re traveling.
A quick caution about your bottle of water. When you pass through airport security, they may confiscate it. If possible, make sure the bottle has an unbroken seal. But if they snatch it up anyway, you can always buy additional water on the plane if you feel the need to eat in flight. Good luck finding a place to do this.
So why bother with all this gear if you can’t use it anyway? Because you’re going to appreciate it the minute you leave the airport. And your food is immediately accessible instead of rummaging through your luggage to find it. Besides, if you get stranded or you flight gets delayed, your food is with you.

Would I go overseas as a tube feeder? Perhaps if I were young, adventurous, and traveling with a spouse or friends who understand my limitations. Still, the restrictions of tube feeding would make me hesitate a long minute before I committed to an overseas ticket. The issues of time and privacy are big ones for me. But if they’re not issues for you, Bon Voyage. Send me some pics to post in the comment section.