I've seen people use the shower caps from hotels (the plastic ones with elastic) to cover their feet.

Ok, we can figure this out... pinch the bootie between your first two toes; then, grab the bootie from the achilles heal area and pull them off inside out! Throw them into a baggie for disposal... All those with OCD, raise your hand (^)

Btw, Dr. Wanderlust, using hotel shower caps is a great idea since they almost never get used for their intended purpose :cool:

DD

MSY provides disposeable booties for people like me who can't stand the thought of walking barefoot on the gross airport floor.

The TSA agent was wondering why I was standing there with my feet all scrunched up and sideways.

She told me they have booties.

I don't know if all airports have them.

I am a diabetic and frequently have foot ulcers that can take several months to heal. After the Ricard Reid incident, the TSA started "requesting" people to take off their shoes (even though X-rays don't detect explosives). I usually complied as I just wanted to get through the harassment lines that try to pass for security. While coming from someplace in Canada through DTW on my way home, the TSA lady barker told me to take off my shoes. I complied and walked through the WTMD. The barker then asked me what that red stuff was I just tracked through the WTMD. Blood had soaked through my bandage and socks and got tracked on the floor. This shut down that security lane until they could get it cleaned up. The barker then got mad at me for causing this shutdown (although her supervisor apologized to me and sent her off to another line).

I told my doctor about the incident at my next appointment and was chastised for taking my shoes off in the first place (I haven't removed them going through security since then). Having a blood-soaked bandage isn't the normal rule unless I have been traveling all day and haven't had a chance to change things out. However, the risk of infection is there. Considering how long it takes for those woulds to heal and the fact that I spent a week in the hospital taking care on one ulcer back in March, I just refuse to remove them (after explaining why). Ofttimes I get a retaliatory secondary or an ignorant screener who thinks he has to do a complete booty pat down, but I just take their name and file a report with the airport FSD.

I have a few pair of no-slip socks that I carry with me, the type they give out to patients in the hospital. They are substantial enough to protect my feet when walking through and not as slippery as the disposable ones provided by some airports. I bring baggies with me to hold them after they get used and then wash them at home between trips. It's yet another pain point added to what travel is today, on top of the stupid baggie and increased cost of toiletries like toothpaste for traveling.

GeorgiaRebel - your doctor was totally right. As a diabetic, you should not go barefoot in any public place. My mother has similar issues with her feet that has me fairly paranoid for myself at this point, her infections were finally stopped but actions beyond medicine were being discussed at one point.

All TSA employees should work w/o shoes on to demonstrate that it's safe to do this. Do a study to see how much their rate of foot infections, warts, etc. increases.

Of course that would probably be illegal under workplace safety regulations. :mad:

you have two options and in both cases you should not be taking your shoes off.

1. tell the screener that you are diabetic and have foot ulcers and taking your shoes off poses a health risk to you.
   
2. have your doctor give you a letter on his/her letterhead explaing the above and show it to the screeners
3. carry a copy of this with you (http://www.tsa.dhs.gov/assets/pdf/sp...needs_memo.pdf). page 3 is where it's at and this may/may not get you by without the above but it has never failed me with my wearing orthotics (see below)

n.b. never let the letter or tsa memo out of your sight-if they start to walk off to show it someone else, stop them and politely ask that the other person come to you..

in either case, do not take your shoes off but willingly offer to have secondary on your shoes. that's what i do when i tell ths screeners "i am wearing orthotics and i'll need a secondary swab on my shoes". if they ask what happened, i simply say "ankle surgery" and that's it. if they ask "can you take your shoes off", i simply tell them "no and your poilicy forbids you from asking me that". this tact should aslo work for you as well.

Good for you!
 

Everybody with diabetes needs to refuse to remove their shoes. If that would happen, maybe the TSA would finally begin to get the message that it's unhealthy to be tramping over filthy floors sans shoes.

I recently was unable to take my shoes off due to foot surgery, and had a note stating that from my Dr. They took me over for the secondary, and said I had to remove my shoes because "they alarmed" and had to be put through the x-ray.

I will be flying again in two weeks. Do I have to remove the shoes if they alarm?

No!
 

No, you do not have to remove your shoes if you have a medical condition. AND they cannot ask you about your condition. If they try to push it, just ask if they have a medical degree and advise that they are coming close to violating medical privacy. Call for a supervisor.

They should only swab your shoes, but if you get a screener with attitude, you're likely to face a groping.

See goalie's post above and print out his link.

are you sure it was your shoes that alarmed? how did they alarm-during your walk thru the wtmd or with the hand wand? do you have any metal pins in your foot? if the hand wand, did it physically touch your shoes? if it did physically touch your shoes, that is a screener ploy as physical contact with the hand wand will cause an alarm. if that is the case, ask the screener to re-screen your shoes but a) get a new wand, b) have them turn it on in front of you and c) tell the screener not to touch your shoes with it as it WILL alarm due to physical contact. if no alarm, simply remind the screener that all that is required is an edt swab of your shoes (and perhaps your palms). if you have metal pins in your foot, tell the screener as that might be causing the alarm and if that is the case, then you definitely do not have to remove your shoes as that is a medical condtion but i would have your doctor's letter modified to reflect that.

as i posted above in post #22, you do not have to remove your shoes if you have a medical condition and/or are wearing some sort of othopedic device nor are the screeners allowed to a) ask what your condition is* or ask you/require you to remove your shoes.

*i wil volunteer that info but only basic info-i.e. i've had ankle surgery but that's all they get

I do wear orthotics. The last time I kept my shoes on I got the full molester pat down, not the "swab only" I should have gotten. I wasn't SSSSed and I didn't set off the WTMD. The WTMD screener asked "what are orthotics?" before he sent me for a full secondary. I tried to tell him I only needed a swab since I didn't alarm and got an arrogant "Oh really? Hmmmm..." answer.

Did you file a complaint? If not, you certainly should have done so.

I talked to the supervisor and got the necessary information (badge numbers and last names) and then misplaced the information before I got home. I was rather annoyed with myself for that. The supervisor was very polite and did acknowledge I was "mostly" right when I said that I understood the proper procedure was swab only when I didn't alarm the WTMD. Mr. Teeny-Peeny looked a bit uncomfortable when he was called over for me to get his badge # and name.

I was also annoyed with the female screener because she wouldn't listen to me either. She just kept saying to me "If you'll just be quiet we can get this over quickly" instead of answering my questions. I think she knew Mr. T-P was wrong but wouldn't say so to a passenger.

I wore my shoes through and did not alarm the WTMD. They proceeded to do a full body patdown and did a bag search. No one was able to explain to me why they needed to do that if the only problem was my shoes.

Mike