10 Travel Tips for IBS and Digestion
To learn more travel tips for IBS, watch The Gut Show episode above (read the episode transcript here) or continue reading!
There’s no need to shy away from the truth here. For those of us living with IBS, traveling can mean trouble in the poop department. If even the thought of traveling makes your bowels lock up, take a breath and relax. I’ve got you covered.
Travel can cause changes in digestion and poop due to:
Changes in routines
Changs in environment
Stress and anxiety
Disrupted sleep
Changes in movement
Eating out more
More alcohol intake
Decrease in usual supporters
Traveling, and these changes that happen during travel, can be major triggers for IBS symptoms. While you may not be able to control all of the factors involved, there are some things you can do to help lower your chances of symptoms, or even just help them not be as severe.
What’s your poop personality? Find out here!
Keep trigger food portions, and meal sizes, small.
Sometimes all you need to do is eat a smaller portion to avoid symptoms! If you eat large portions all day, your gut will be overloaded and you may not feel your best.
If you do know your triggers, this may be easier because you can do your best to work around these. Be bold and ask restaurants if they can omit trigger foods like onion and garlic from your meals. They may say no, but it never hurts to ask. And if they say yes, you'll feel so much better the rest of the day!
If you don't know your triggers, adjusting portions can be helpful because you will automatically reduce the load in your gut at a time.
You don't want to under eat as you reduce portions, so eating more often or filling in the gaps between meals with nourishing snacks that typically work for you can help.
Pack snacks!
Find snacks that you enjoy and load your bag with them. This comes in handy when you're stuck at the airport, or when you eat a small meal due to triggers and need more calories until your next meal.
Some of my favorites include carrot sticks, GoMacro bars, Fody Foods dark chocolate bars , pecans and macadamia nuts, and firm bananas with peanut butter. Check out this post for more low FODMAP snack ideas if you need them!
Drink plenty of water & watch out for those hidden triggers in drinks.
Changes in hydration due to a new environment or schedule can have a major impact on your digestion. Bring a water bottle to help you stay on track, try drinking water early in your hotel room as you get ready for each day, and focus on drinking water whene it is available so you can stay hydrated!
For alcohol, try choosing a wine to avoid mixers, or mix your favorite liquor with something simple like ginger and lime!
For coffee, try to limit your intake to 1 cup/day and be mindful of the added ingredients, including lactose (from milk) and artificial sweeteners.
Be intentional with your clothing.
Clothing can make a huge difference in how you feel.
Tight clothing can create pressure on your abdomen and lead to symtpoms like trapped gas, pain, and bloating.
Also, when you are more bloated or are having symptoms, uncomfortable clothes can symptoms feel so much worse. Comfortable clothes you feel confident in no matter what can increase your confidence - no matter what happens with your gut during your trip.
Stick to the routines that work for you.
If your morning or bedtime routine works really well to have a great poop and keep symptoms down, find a way to build that in during your trip. It may not be the exact same, but when you keep it similar, your body will respond to it and it could prevent a flare.
Get quality sleep.
Sleep may not be fully in your control, but you can prepare by bringing an eye mask to block out any added light, ear plugs for unwanted noise, and melatonin or your supporter of choice to help you fall alseep.
Sleep is one of the most foundational strategies to digestion, so this is an area you want to honor and prioritize as much as you can.
Move your body!
Incorporate plenty of movement throughout the day by walking between locations, trying a local workout class, or doing an online yoga/pilates video in your hotel room.
If you can wake up, drink water, and do gentle movement like walking, pilates, yoga, or barre before you start your day, that could help support digestion and relieve constipation, if that's your struggle.
If you don't move your body as much during your usual routines, but traavel increases your movmeent, this could actually lead to some distress in the body, which could be a diarrhea trigger if that's your struggle.
If this is what you're noticing, build in recovery time and breaks between all of the movement, so that you can calm the body and decrease the stress load.
Bring a support kit.
If you use medications or supplements for symptoms, don't forget to bring them. The anxiety of travel may heighten symptoms, so if you know you may need something to relieve severe constipation or diarrhea, pack it first and use it.
Also think through anything else that will help you, including tea bags to make a cup of tea after a meal, an extra pair of underwear if you fear an accident, enzymes or gas-x for meals, etc.
You may not need to use these, but you'll be confident knowing you have them if you do need them.
Plan ahead.
If traveling stresses you out, give yourself plenty of time to plan ahead, pack well, and communicate your needs to your travel companions! You'll be surprised how much this helps.
You can also plan ahead for meals, bathroom stops, or activities that you know will help you have fun, while keeping symptoms down.
Focus on having fun.
Sometimes the thing that causes the flare is actually overthinking every single detail and panicking. Being mindful and intentional of your choices and actions can be helpful, but don't forget to enjoy your time on your trip.
You may need to journal or have mantras ready to go to help you with this mindset shift, but if you can take time to focus on the joy and the purpose of your trip instead of your gut, you will likely have a better trip.
Do you have more travel tips to share with your fellow IBSers? Comment below!
Are you frustrated with your IBS symptoms? Do you desire to be confident in your food choices? Do you want to have a healthier relationship with your body and diet? Are you ready to take control of your IBS?
