Because I tend to use public washrooms when I bike ride, I've had some near disasters because of missing toilet paper or toilet paper that runs out shortly after the first bit comes out.

Fortunately, I've had hand wipes with me that I could use in a pinch, but it would be nice if bathrooms were more accessible. A hook 100%!

I've learned not to trust anything at my destination, so I'll make sure to have sometime available to empty my bag, something to clean my hands, etc.

I would not know where to begin to suggest those things or who to suggest them to to get something like that going for us ostomates.

Your national ostomy association should be advocating for this, as they can put more pressure on governments or businesses to act.

But, it's very often a losing battle.

Crohn's and Colitis Canada tried to get businesses to open up their restrooms as part of a campaign for IBD patients. Even our federal government was in support of the initiative.

But very few companies were listed (on the map), and it didn't really take off.

Even now, I try to locate public restrooms for my bike rides and tend to favor routes where I know there will be at least one restroom that I'll have access to along the way. Porta potties are not on my list, since I can't bring my bike inside of one :) I have no idea what the inside of a porta potti looks like in 2023.

its really a simple math problem.   in the US, the UOAA estimates 400,000 ostomies.  i haven't found a break down of colostomies vs ileostomies.   so for every 33 people in a wheel chair there are about 4 ostomy people, that out of 3,300 possible people to use that bathroom.   so how often do you see a wheelchair person, if you saw 8 , then you may have seen 1 ostomy person.    the numbers are even less since most colostomy people do not require to drain frequently during the day, myself maybe twice a day with several hours in between.   wheelchairs need the special room, I do not see where ostomy people need a speical bathroom.  

toilet paper is almost non-existant here.    if a bathroom doesnt have a bum gun you're literally shit outta luck.    so i always have a small kit in a 1 gal ziplock with me.    wet wipes, paper towels, alcohol wipes and some spare flex tape.   doesnt take up much space in my "man bag" -  every non tourist male carries one over here.  and that kit comes in handy when you need it.    i have almost constant output and am extremely gassy so i average emtying 15-20X a day.   

@dogtalkerer yeah that is probably what they would say but there are so many people getting ostomy’s now days. More than ever before.

@veganostomy I had to laugh what you said about the last bit of toilet paper. I’ve had that happen many times! You can’t see either due to the covers they have on them. I used to carry a bathroom bag but then I stopped. I think maybe I should make one up again for trips out. Most bathrooms do have the hooks but somehow I always get the ones that are either broken off or they just dont have them. I do find the hand bars behind the toilet a good place to set my rinse water bottle. Sometimes on top of the toilet paper cover if it’s sturdy enough. 
I may contact our national ostomy association about it just to see what they have to say.
I could not even imagine a port a potty with an Ostomy lol!!! I guess when we got to empty we are going to do what’s available though right?

@davidinthailand I empty a lot like you as well. It’s a pain having to empty this thing out so much.

really no toilet paper? What do they expect you to wipe with over there? 

Sorry I forgot to mention... I do carry baby wipes & hand sanitizer as well.  Both have come in handy several times. Single use Grocery bags are becoming less of a thing here so I use large size dog poop bags for the trash. Here you can get fines for not scooping your dogs poop. I do carry a zip bag with a partial roll of toilet tissue from home too. 

Eric... whats you plan for not leaving output behind in the enviroment??

@chelly    its a very different culture.  certain places youre just thankful theres a stall with a door.  and outside the major cities, squatty potties ( floor level toilets you stand on and squat ) are the norm with a bucket of water and a large ladel to flush.    those of us with bathroom issues learn immediately to carry a bathroom kit.        luckily every buddhist temple has several clean public bathrooms and temples are EVERYWHERE       there are at least 20 within a 2km radius of my house.     i usually drop a 20baht bill ( .75 us ) in their donation box if i use the  bathrooms.     

     even in the states i carried a roll of shit tickets with me when i left the house ( back in the cronic UC days ) 

@dlkfiretruck hi, yes when I used to make up my bathroom bag I would use an insulated rectangular lunch box cooler type because it would fit everything I need in it nicely. Like you, I had a roll of toilet paper in zip lock, a bunch of gloves in ziplock, my water bottle in ziplock, my Odor drops in ziplock. When I used to use wipes I would have those as well. Sometimes I’d use a back pack instead of the lunch box. The garbage I would just put into the regular garbage. Now if j was changing my bag I’d put it in a ziplock. I’d also carry an emergency bag at times that had that stuff in it. 
i have trouble trying to keep things clean in my bathroom bag. They would start to smell and I’d have to buy new ones. That’s why it would be so nice to have Ostomy friendly restrooms. If we had a sink in there we could wash our deodorant bottle with soap and water when we were done etc… 

This is off the topic but I’m still trying to brainstorm on how to keep the outside of the pouch clean when I’m emptying. I rinse so here I’m squeezing the out put into the toilet and then wiping the end with toilet paper and then I put water in and swish but sometimes it’s so pancakey that it needs a second or third swish. I’ve already touched the end of my pouch with output and then having to use the hand in the bag to swish so now I’ve just transferred output to the pouch. This will smell. I used to wipe it off with wipes but it made it smell even worse. Sometimes I will double glove but it’s tricky getting the top glove off. 
the challenges we face ya know? 

@davidinthailand it’s interesting to me how things are in other parts of the world. I guess we should count our blessings over here in the states. Although some countries have it better than us. I like England’s healthcare system. I hear it’s pretty darned good. I just heard somewhere that Israel is giving all Ostomy patients free everything. Isn’t that something? 
I could not imagine having to use a bucket in public. Then you’re paying $75 US dollars to use the restroom at the temple. I guess our bathrooms are not so bad after all after hearing what you are going through.

Posted by: @dogtalkerer

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its really a simple math problem.

Not so simple when you take a deeper look.

in the US, the UOAA estimates 400,000 ostomies. 

As of today, June 9th, 2023, the UOAA now says that there are 725,000 to 1 million in the US with an ostomy.

One figure also estimates over 100,000 new surgeries yearly.

so how often do you see a wheelchair person, if you saw 8 , then you may have seen 1 ostomy person.    the numbers are even less since most colostomy people do not require to drain frequently during the day, myself maybe twice a day with several hours in between.   wheelchairs need the special room, I do not see where ostomy people need a speical bathroom.  

I don't like the comparison between wheelchair users and ostomates, since the need to use a bathroom, and lifestyle can be vastly different.

While I agree that a colostomate may not require the use of a bathroom very often, one of my typical bike rides can see me using a toilet 4+ times. Other ileostomates or urostomates may require it even more frequently.

Even though I don't think we need a special washroom designed around ostomates, like they have in Japan (who has far fewer ostomates than North America), I do think we need more public restrooms with adequate supplies, and a place to lay out our own supplies in the event that we have to change our appliance.

If you can find them, washrooms with change tables can be handy.

Posted by: @davidinthailand

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and outside the major cities, squatty potties ( floor level toilets you stand on and squat )

One of the conservation areas I typically make a stop at to use their restroom has something like that. It's not a hole level with the ground, but it is a "toilet" with a hole that goes underground (no flushing). This washroom also has a hand sanitizer dispenser and toilet paper dispenser, but nothing else. I am fortunate that it's a large enough space to bring my bike inside and lock the door behind me. For my needs, it works.

Then several KM away from that washroom, at a park just off the bike trail, is a pair of state-of-the-art, self-cleaning washrooms with all the amenities you could ask for. LOL

@chelly

    .75 cents to use the temple restroom.   and tjats completely voluntary.      as for counting your blessings,     i count mine im no longer in the states and wouldnt move back under any circumstances.  i paid $32,000 US for a 20 year visa to live here and i dont regret that decision one bit.     i actually wish id moved sooner 

@veganostomy

that bathroom looks pretty great for a bike trail !!!

       its sad you have to drag your bike in with you,     theft  isnt a thing here.    it brings shame on the family of the person who steals,  and its generally not an issue at all.      i rarely lock my house if im leaving for several hours.  i never lock my car when out for a meal or shopping at the mall / supermarket.      

i think a stocked bathroom in the states wont stay stocked for long.   theft or some homeless person will just move in.    another thing we dont have here.   chiang mai has a population of just over 1M people.    ive been here on and off for 2years.   i have never seen a homeless person.     think about that.     in bangkok, a city of 10M people which i visit often,  its extremely rare to see someone sleeping on the street.    i think ive seen 5 total.     people live multigenerational here.    when a family  has a sick brother, uncle, cousin,  they make sure he diesnt wander off alone.   if he/she does,  they find him and bring him home.    its a very refreshing concept

@chelly well, show me some new numbers then. back your statement up.

@veganostomy

Nice facilities love the orange walls.  I think we have the same under the seat bag. 😎  

That is a nicer version of what we call pit toilets here, they are common at camp grounds and one step up from portapotties.

Personally I do not care for the portapotties but know where the better kept ones are on my run / hike / drive routes. I carry tissues and have water and often hand sanitizer on hand but most of them are well maintained and kept stocked in my area. 

As for public rest rooms the disabled person stalls have grab bars and I set my rinse water bottle on the bar leaning against the wall.  Some do have shelves. 

Unless broken off all the stalls I come across have hooks for coats etc..

cygo

Posted by: @chelly

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This is off the topic but I’m still trying to brainstorm on how to keep the outside of the pouch clean when I’m emptying. I rinse so here I’m squeezing the out put into the toilet and then wiping the end with toilet paper and then I put water in and swish 

 

Hi,

Add some water first then empty, it comes out cleaner. (be careful not to add too much water, practice at home before doing this on the road)

I rinse twice cleaning off the outlet between rinses and after the last rinse.

cygo

@dogtalkerer I’m not up for confrontation on the subject. I just know compared to years ago there are more people getting them for female prolapse issues, constipstion etc… at least that’s what a urogynecologist  told me before I got mine. This topic was based on my opinion and my experience using most public restrooms since having my Ostomy. Just last night at the hospital ER I could not get the toilet paper from the container and everytime I bent  down to reach for the toilet paper the auto flush was going off. Not even a place to set some pieces of toilet paper pre empty because it’s too unsanitary. Backsplash and Stinky poo feet, that’s all I can say.

@dogtalkerer I guess I should not have used the wheelchair word. It’s something I picked up at work as the girls used to call it the wheelchair bathroom. I work in a caretaking environment .I should have said handicapped and there are more handicaps besides people in wheelchairs I do understand. 
so sorry if I offended anyone here that was not my intentions.

@veganostomy that’s interesting Eric. I never knew Japan had ostomates restrooms. That’s awesome! You are like a wealth of information. Appreciate all the info you share here in your forum.