Jaunts

There are disposable undergarments designed for situations like this. In the US, Depends makes products that are designed to give full coverage without looking like the person is wearing a diaper. There are commercials for it on TV.

It can be used for a variety of issues. Women sometimes use bladder protection pads to help with symptoms of perimenopause. Most of these products come with odor protection as one of their features for obvious reasons...

zitsky

If airlines took out lavs and made pax wear diapers, they could add more seats and make more money.

amt

Most people don’t want to wear a diaper... Especially not when you’re a 22-25 year old lad, an athlete or in the military.

and the steroids, anti-inflamitories and immunosuppressants which barely keep the worst of the symptoms at bay all have unpleasant side effects of their own.

So the take matters into your own hands and wear a diaper suggestion isn’t helpful.

PUCCI GALORE

I have until now kept my council. I have followed the OP for some while and find everything that the OP posts to be reliable and factual, without hyperbole or dramatics. Having been a nurse before I went to fly, I have seen this often. The embarrassment felt by him is tangible and totally regrettable. Indeed the whole incident was avoidable if there had been a little better communication. Poor man - which of us would have changed places with him?

I am glad that you had a god flight home navylad - you were good enough to share the good as well as the bad.

WickedStepMother

As @DeathSlam has said above, people in this thread have been sharing experiences that they normally wouldn't and hopefully that has been a benefit for many others.

I feel the post by @Jaunts about disposable undergarments was intended as a helpful suggestion which didn’t deserve your comment .

Jaunts

I actually think that my response was much kinder and more helpful than the suggestions that the OP stop traveling. There are ways to deal with the symptoms of medical issues like this without becoming a hermit. There are a lot of public events like concerts or football games where there is often a line for the lavatory. Even though the solution might not be the OP's first choice, at least it would give the OP the opportunity to have a life.

Thank you! That was my intent.

gingerlucy

I'm sure most people don't want to, and for many that won't be a good long-term solution. But in circumstances similar to these - a newly-diagnosed condition perhaps not yet well-managed due to lack of experience with handling it and/or new medications/diets, coupled with the unusual circumstances (or at least not part of the daily routine) of an upcoming longhaul trip which can throw up unexpected and stressful scenarios even for the most hardened traveller - they could be of use temporarily. I therefore don't see why that wasn't a helpful suggestion.

Babou

Well, he did delegate his access to the facilities to others... and seing his picture he is a grown capable about 30 years old man so I think he can tak ethe extra step of asking on his own if he can access the toilet to the people in the queue
this is what I would tell my hunband, brothers or sons in the same situation... sorry

rossmacd

Thanks to this thread I was able to recognise the sunflower lanyard today at LHR T3, worm by a small child probably about 4-5 years of age. I’m glad, despite the experience of the OP, that I learned something useful and I was able assist the parent who appeared to be struggling.

Without this thread, I would not have this appreciation, so thank you ^

frandrake

I think the failure of CC here is evident. Yes, he could have been more assertive but the point is that shouldn't have been necessary. One could be an introvert or simply too embarrassed to ask. Although I do not share the same condition as the OP, I would probably never ask people to jump the queue, although I would have probably forced it a bit and used the CW toilet. But again, that is personal.

The point here is that the OP went above and beyond in preparing for this flight and the CC should have known better.

That said I am as well very grateful to have learned about the lanyard and I will make sure to pay special attention to that in the future!

corporate-wage-slave

I think this one is worthy of my 40,000th post on Flyertalk. I was so pleased to read this, a very good example of how FT can add to the quality of people's life. I was vaguely aware of the scheme, but this is exactly what to look out for:



and this is the Heathrow Airport website link with more information. What I found interesting is that HAL will actually post out the lanyards so they the traveller has them available the second they step foot in the airport. However the website also indicates where to collect them in the airport. For T5 that is in both Zone A (near the tube lift) and Zone G (First Wing end of the building though not that far over). Airside they are available from the Litchfield Suite by gate A20. In T3 it's a bit finnicky - the desk is on level 1 above the check-in desks (whose idea was this?) and so the same level as security. Regulars will know the Post Office by Fast Track - if you turn right off the escalators, down that corridor towards the main security entrance there is a large Pret a Manger and a small WH Smith, and that is where the desk is.
https://www.heathrow.com/airport-gui...n-disabilities

I notice that some regional airports (e.g. JER) also have a page on the sunflower lanyard.

USA_flyer

That is awesome, thank you for posting that! I have applied for a lanyard, hopefully it will make a difference.

knav2013

Why don't you float the idea to Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary.

knav2013

I saw that some posters are suggesting 'being assertive'. This may work for the general population, but if a passenger (unlike the OP) has a bowel condition and also has a speech impairment it may be quite hard to be assertive.

Most people associate being assertive with firm (even loud) voice.

I think the key is for CC to be notified in advance, and for CC to be proactive. By this I mean, not just proactive towards the disabled person and other passengers out of guilt or sympathy, but because they genuinely feel it is their duty to serve and uphold all the passengers dignity.

Have a look at how this delta airlines CC treated a deaf passenger:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/...233718243.html

compare with how OP was treated on his outbound flight. Incomparable?...heaven and earth?

BTW, delta airlines have said they are soon offering flight attendants and gate agents who can use sign language a pin to add to uniform - a good idea. BA should adopt the idea and adapt.

RB211

I'm not sure the two issues are comparable (deafness is generally not considered a disability, especially by the deaf community) but perhaps the treatment is. Regardless, nothing justifies the treatment that the OP received. That was a fairly extensive cluster on behalf of BA. They should be ashamed of themselves for that.

rb211.