Camping & Crohn's: It Can Be Done Between Flares

I should preface this by saying that the last time I went camping was about 14 years ago; at that time, I'd had Crohn's for about 10 years. It was difficult enough that I haven't done it since, but then, I'm a lot older now, too, which makes a difference to me.

If you have Crohn's and you want to camp, plan ahead. I realize it's impossible to schedule a flare; they happen when they happen. By planning ahead, I mean to make sure that you have a good supply of any medicines your Crohn's doctor has prescribed for you, and a stock of any over-the-counter medicines he or she has agreed you can use. Most of the best places for camping are a long way from pharmacies, so you'll want to have everything you need. You'll also want to have a stock of toilet tissue and something like Depends^TM just in case a flare starts, as well as pre-moistened towelettes of some sort. If you decide to go camping while you're having a Crohn's flare, either you're insane or you define a "flare" differently than I do. When I'm having a Crohn's flare I generally need to use a toilet every 15 minutes or so, and that isn't conducive to a pleasant camping experience.

When I last went camping, my (now ex-) husband and I chose a campsite that had primitive facilities, but it did have facilities; they were outhouses with no running water. I wouldn't do that again; if I went camping again, I'd choose a site that was very close to running water and flush toilets, mostly so that I could wash better. These days, you can find portable toilets for camping, that have a sort of bucket within a bucket, and sterile plastic bags to line the inner one, so that you can keep your waste confined and easy to dispose of, and you won't be squatting over a hole in the dirt. I'd use something like that the next time I go camping, should I do it again.

My husband jokingly said, as we were looking for a place to set up our tent, that we should find a place with a good supply of soft moss, "just in case." It wasn't really all that funny, but he had a point; had I not brought extra tissue in case of Crohn's diarrhea, I'd have needed that moss while camping. We chose a camping area that was within two hours of our home, so we could go for a three-day weekend, and I wasn't having a flare of Crohn's at the time; had I been, we'd have gone another time. We chose our camp site in a place that was not too far from the "toilets" but not too close either; it was summer in central Nevada, and those things were pretty stinky. We had a tent that was easy to set up and take down (and easy to get out of quickly, in case I needed to), and we also had mats to put under our sleeping bags. There's no point in being uncomfortable; when you have Crohn's you tend to be uncomfortable enough without adding a hard place to sleep into the mix. I was able to do a little hiking, although not too much (I also have chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome - CFIDS - and it interferes with my tolerance for exercise). We were camping with friends, so the guys went camping, and we wives sat around the lake and enjoyed relaxing, and later we all fished.

By mid-day of the last day, I could feel the early warning signals of a Crohn's flare starting (if you have Crohn's, you'll probably have your own warning signals) so our camping trip ended a little early. Fortunately it didn't turn into a full-blown flare until evening, and we'd gotten home and unloaded by that time.

I would advise anyone who has Crohn's and doesn't want to give up camping to plan ahead, come prepared for a flare, make sure that your company understands what might happen. Choose a camping site that is within easy driving range of your home, and don't choose a time when you feel like a Crohn's flare could come on. Also, make sure that you are with someone who can handle setting the camping equipment up and taking it down and packing it up again, should you become incapacitated with a flare. Adding stress to yourself worrying about what could happen is more likely to bring on a flare than to do any good. It's important to live your life as normally as possible between flares of Crohn's disease, and if you love camping, there is no need to give it up. Just be sure you're prepared.