I’ve been wearing diapers for many years and admittedly don’t fly very often. The times that I have had to fly I have had virtually no issues with going through the security screens at the airport.
The keys to getting through airport security while wearing diapers with no issues are to go through with a dry diaper and make sure you have nothing in your bags that will cause them to search it. If you have to go through a full body scanner a wet diaper can potentially set off further investigations.
As long as your diaper is mostly dry when you go through security you won’t have any issues. There are a number of things to be aware of in order to ensure a smooth trip through the security checks of your trip but having a relatively dry diaper on is the most important.
How To Avoid Being Searched
The main thing that people worry about when going through airport security is being subjected to embarrassing searches.
Whether that is the dreaded invasive pat down to the body or having your personal belongings where your diapers are stashed searched right in front of you.
When you need to wear diapers you worry about all of it. Will the diaper you are wearing set off some sort of red flag that will cause you to be strip searched?!?
Will they think it’s some sort of underwear bomb?!? (I mean…sometimes there can be bombs in there but not the kind the TSA is generally worried about ha ha)
The bottom line is that we all want to avoid embarrassment when traveling. We want to avoid the embarrassment of any potential accidents as well as the embarrassment of having our diapering needs exposed to the whole world.
To avoid getting searched and having to endure any of these situations it is best to make sure you change into a fresh dry diaper before going through security.
Personally, I just make sure I change into a dry diaper right before heading to the airport. There usually isn’t enough time to wet it enough for it to cause any issues in the scanning machine they use.
If you do have any potential concerns about your level of wetness just change into a fresh dry diaper right before heading over to security.
The other main thing to consider is what you will be bringing with you in your carry on bag. It is important to bring enough spare changes with you to get you through a full 24 hour period.
Spare diapers and regular baby wipes shouldn’t cause any red flags.
It’s the oils, ointments, and powders you have to watch out for. Be sure to keep any products like this within the necessary regulations if you absolutely need to bring them.
For any baby powder you can safely bring a 12oz bottle of baby powder in your check on bag. You CAN also bring a larger bottle of baby powder with you too it just will need to be taken out of your bag and placed into a separate bin to go through the scanner.
Any oils, lotions, or disinfectant sprays will need to be in bottles of 3.4oz or smaller to be brought with you on your carry on bag. Anything larger should go in your checked luggage.
I usually just opt to go without these products in my carry on when flying. It is one way to ensure your bags won’t get searched when going through security.
When I flew recently I had no issues flying in either direction. The one time I had an experience where my bag was searched was due to a bottle of oil.
Will My Diapers Be Seen In The Body Scanners?
Another common concern we who wear diapers have is what exactly gets seen when we go through those TSA body scanners?
The fear of being physically searched is one thing but having to go through a machine that potentially shows all the goods to a complete stranger is quite disconcerting.
When you are already extremely self conscious about needing to wear diapers, pull ups, or a pad to begin with then the thought of someone seeing you in one is mortifying. That is one reason I wrote this page on things you can wear to help hide your diapers! Click here to check that out!
The key thing to remember in these situations is you will never meet or speak with anyone who happens to be seeing those images. Furthermore, A LOT more people wear and use these products than you might think.
Especially when traveling.
I’m sure TSA agents see this sort of thing all the time. That said, what exactly DO they see?
What they see depends on what kind of machine you end up going through. In some airports, all they have are some basic metal detectors for most of the lines you go through. I just had this experience myself when going to fly out of Denver.
In these cases, the only thing you have to worry about are metal pins or buttons if you happen to be wearing some type of cloth diapers. In these sorts of setups, they will pull the occasional person to be scanned or searched at random.
Some airports only have body scanners while others do some combination of both.
There are a few different types of body scanning machines currently being used in airports around the world. While they are primarily used in the United States you may find yourself needing to go through them to travel from other countries into the United States too.
Most airports use screening equipment such as metal detectors, millimeter wave machines, backscatter x-ray and cabinet x-ray machines.
According to what I’ve been able to dig up so far the basic image that is shown these days is a genderless cookie cutter image that only shows where potential threats may be hidden. Indicating to the agents where to search instead of showing every detail of the more private areas we are generally concerned about.
The movement to reduce the number of backscatter machines being used began back around 2011 and as far as I can tell there has been a concerted effort to remove the types of machines. These were the types of machines that may expose the fact that you are wearing a diaper as well as your nude body.
As of June 1, 2013, all back-scatter full body scanners were removed from use at U.S. airports leading to the widespread use of the more privacy friendly millimeter wave scanners.
These scanners use Automatic Target Recognition algorithms that allow programs to scan the data collected for threats rather than having human eyes on the images.
The operators are either shown a green screen indicating the passenger is safe to go or it might show a generic genderless cookie cutter image indicating where a potential threat might be hidden.
If you are really concerned about your privacy and just absolutely refuse to go through any type of body scanner you can opt for a pat down instead. That is always an option.
If you are this kind of person and are constantly worried about people noticing your diapers I also have another article with 14 tips to help ensure your diapers don’t get noticed. Check that out here next!
Since there are so many different types of conditions and situations that can lead to someone needing to wear diapers during a flight be sure to take the time to consider anything specific to you and your situation.
Traveling can be tough as it is with incontinence issues. No need to make it any worse than it needs to be by forgetting something essential to maintaining your comfort during your travels.
Either by leaving it behind or having it become a problem when going through security. So be sure to consider all of your needs and not just your diapering needs.
How Do You Travel with Adult Diapers?
How one goes about traveling with adult diapers depends heavily on their needs and the sort of trip they are planning to take.
I recently went on a 4 day trip and brought more diapers than I actually needed for the 4 days. For any trip or vacation that lasts a week or less, I can fit more than enough diapers in one half of my luggage.
Leaving the other half for clothing and any other necessities.
Another potential alternative for longer trips is to plan ahead and order whatever products you will need to be shipped to the address you will be staying at. This way you won’t have to travel with ALL of what you need.
Plus, generally no matter where you are going the options available in local stores are not ideal. This is why it is so important to plan ahead, bring what you can with you, or order what you need ahead of time to be sent to where you will be staying.
Speaking of which, if you’re not sure what diapers are the best adult diapers I compiled a great resource right here for you to refer to. Check it out to figure out what diapers might be best for you!
If sending them to where you will be staying is not an option another option is to have your diapers sent to a local pharmacy nearby. I have never tried this myself as I have not yet had the need to but I do hear that is a potential option.
Either way you go it will be important to bring enough with you on the plane just in case of some sort of emergency.
On my recent flight back home I made the mistake of checking my carry on bag that had my spare changes in it. It was supposed to only be a 4 hour flight so I thought I would be okay.
They were asking people to check their carry ons because they were running out of space so I thought I could help out and get by without it.
That 4 hour flight turned into a 9 hour flight. Being stuck on a plane for 9 hours with no change was not a good position to be in.
Fortunately, I was dehydrated and didn’t wet that much so it didn’t really become an issue but in retrospect, it was a HUGE mistake that I will NEVER make again.
ALWAYS bring enough changes in your carry on with you to last you at least 24 hours. You never know what will happen and it is better to be prepared than to have to suffer by wearing cheap store brands.
I’m sure as I grow The Diaper Dynamo brand out I will start taking a lot more trips and get some more detailed experience with traveling to all sorts of places with diapers.
For now, my best advice is to pack what you need, order it ahead of time, and always bring your spare changes on the plane with you! Never check them!