Hostling as a Bedwetter – Part 2

This entry is continued from Part 1.

There are additional challenges with staying at a hostel while suffering from enuresis. One such challenge is the issue of wet sheets in the morning. In Part 1, I already discussed my not to effective technique for getting the sheets off your bed, but this is only part of the problem. You still have to get new sheets and dispose of the wet sheets.

Most hostels I’ve stayed at didn’t have laundry facilities, nor were guests expected to launder their sheets. You were given a set up sheets when you checked in, and expected to bring those back at the end of your stay. I assume if you stayed for more than a week, or some such duration of time, that you would get additional sheets. I have certainly not stayed at a hostel for this amount of time, so I can’t comment.

What this means is that you need to bring your wet sheets, in hand, and give them to the person at the front desk. And if you don’t happen to be checking out, you need to ask for new sheets. This ‘walk of shame’ is incredibly embarrassing. I think this is because in addition to say admitting to someone that you wet the bed face to face, you are presenting them with evidence of this. It was because of too many of these interactions that I stopped staying at hostels. Regardless of how comfortable I feel about me medical problem, and sharing it with others, this was a step too far.

I have done this on several occasions and I can only say that the thought that you will not see these people again is only some comfort.

One of the problems with staying at a hostel was the constant sounds of a room full of people sleeping affecting my sleeping patterns for the worse, leading to more accidents than usual. On a few occasions I remember having a loud noise wakening me in the middle of the night, and finding myself and my bedding wet. While the sleeping dorm room certainly did not notice my predicament, I found the ‘walk of shame’ to the front desk person on duty at night very difficult. But rather than try to fall asleep in a loud room in a wet bed, I made the ‘walk.’

 

Tips

Ok, so the ‘bad stuff’ sounded pretty bad. I wanted to offer some tips for those bedwetters sufficiently brave (or prepared), to stay at a hostel:

Shower Bag – Have a shower bag with all the necessary things you need for a typical shower, but also to get changed for bed. You’re going to want shower sandals anyhow, but having a larger shower bag lets you bring everything you need to discreetly change in the washroom. Having a separate smaller, waterproof bag with a drawstring for any absorbent underwear you need to change into is also advisable, as you would not want these to get wet from say a damp towel.

Bring a Towel – Douglas Adams was right, bring a towel, and perhaps 2 if you can manage. One is for normal shower stuff, and the other is for discreetly getting to the washroom is you have a leak or more serious accident. And of course all the other reasons that a towel is an awesome and necessary travel item.

Spare PJs – Depending on how long you are travelling, bring at least 2 pairs of sweatpants/PJ bottoms. Sweatpants work well because you can wear them in other circumstances, as those who pack light, don’t bring two pairs of PJs.

Sleep Shorts – In addition to PJ bottoms, I also bring along high-waisted sleep shorts. I wear these over my diaper. It might just be me, but I’m a little paranoid about being blissfully asleep and having my diaper exposed through a trick of the sheets. These might also be more practical given the climate you are travelling in. For those really concerned about discretion, a pair of track pants may be advisable, as these mask the tell-tale sound that any night time protection might make. They also conceal leaks rather well.

Extra Opaque Garbage Bags – Always very useful, at least one per diaper that you are bringing and if you are really concerned about your privacy, you can wrap each one in a garbage bag before leaving, making it easier to discreetly transfer them to your shower bag to change.

Skip the Bed Pad – As I’ve said, almost all hostels have waterproof mattress covers (or mattresses), so these can be left at home. Also they add to the bulk.

Bring Spare Protection – So you are packing light, and want to bring only as many as you need, but I recommend bringing a couple of extras. Travel can be unpredictable, you never know when you might be delayed a night, or some other incident (like what happened to me at one hostel), bring one or two spares at least.

Bottom Bunk – There is considerable debate about this, as the top bunk offers a little more discretion (as people can’t say, look down on you), but I vote for the bottom bunk in a hostel. I stayed at a surprising number of hostels that didn’t have ladders up to the top bunk, necessitating a complicated climbing maneuver. This is not something I would look forward to doing while wearing my night time protection before bed, let alone in the morning after an accident. Also, I have this strange fear about having a serious accident, and it somehow dripping onto the person below me. This is a mortifying thought, and I choose the bottom bunk as a precaution. Because I would anticipate being woken up in the middle of the night more often than normal, and because this would suggest more opportunities for someone to wake up wet (possibly at odd hours), being able to more easily get in and out of your bed is a must.

Don’t Panic! – Like I’ve said elsewhere, you are not going to see these people again. So if anything does happen, I know it can be horrible, but try not to stress out too much. Relaxe and enjoy exploring the world!

I’m sure I’ve missed some advice and most likely some issues/challenges with staying at hostels. I would very much love to hear about some of the experiences of my readers. Feel free to leave a comment,  or send me an email.

 

 

 

Hostling as a Bedwetter – Part 1

For many, backpacking and staying in cheap hostels is a part of growing up, part of that one summer of adventure between being a teen and growing up. Backpacking can be the ultimate freedom, travelling wherever you want. Backpacking can also be an amazing social experience, as the hostels in which you stay are full of other young people from around the world, on adventures of their own.

The social aspects of hostels make them great places to meet friends, but also present some challenges to visitors who may still wet the bed. In this post, I wanted to explore some of these challenges, with advice and tales from my own, albeit limited experience backpacking.

 

The Good Stuff

First of all, the good stuff. I probably don’t need to sell you on backpacking and hostelling, if this is your thing, you are on board and if it’s not, I’ll probably bump into you in a hotel lobby some time. I did want to encourage readers to get out there. Don’t be afraid to go see the world, even if you are suffering from enuresis, never let this stop you from seeing the world, doing whatever you would like to do, and going wherever you would like to go.

I’ve shared one of my positive hostel experience here, with my stay at the Haggis Hostel in Edinburgh. I’ve stayed at probably upwards to 15 hostels in my day, so far from being a regular, I will use my limited experience for this post.

Firstly, from what I can tell, mattresses almost always covered with some sort of waterproof cover. Hostels are used to this. In addition to world travellers, hostels are frequented by a wide range of people, many who are looking for a cheap place to crash while visiting a nearby city to party. As many people have likely experienced, people who get very drunk sometimes wet themselves and/or their beds, and hostels are prepared for this.

Now this can make for some sticky nights as thin bottom sheets are sweat through and stick to a vinyl mattress cover, but it does mean that the mattress is protected and you don’t need to ask anyone for this.

The other thing to consider is that many people who stay in hostels are open minded people. In my experience, hostel visitors are pretty friendly and welcoming, and generally respectful of others (though you can’t exactly choose if you snore). Now different people have different ways of being friendly and respectful, and sometimes, as I’ve mentioned, people out for a night on the town use a hostel as a place to crash, which means you get drunken people, with all the inconveniences which come with them.

But most of all, the most important thing to remember is that you will almost certainly never see any of these people ever again. So someone spots your diapers in your luggage or while you are changing, or you have a bad accident and there’s no hiding the wet sheets – it doesn’t matter, none of these people know who you are.
The Bad Stuff

Now a lot of this bad stuff exists regardless of whether you wet the bed or not. Hostels are cheap but there’s a reason for this. I’m not going to try to sell you on hostels either way, instead let me just discuss the ‘bad stuff’ as it relates to bedwetters.

For me, the shared rooms, and associated lack of privacy was very stressful. Hostels will typically have different rooming options, everything from large 18 person co-ed dorms, to single person rooms. The price tends to vary, with the price increasing with privacy. The lack of privacy that exists in a dorm is pervasive, and a challenge, sure you can change into your night time protection discreetly in the washroom, but you still have to remove it from your bag.

One of the largest issues with staying in a dorm, is what to do in the morning. Changing discreetly in the washroom before bed is one thing, but dealing with waking up wet is an even greater challenge. Assuming you are wearing protection and it does not leak, matters can be easily and discreetly attended to in the shower. I noticed that most of the hostels I stayed at had private shower stalls, which was nice, but there are still very often people around at all hours. I recall at one hostel feeling like a thief, when I discreetly tossed a bag containing a used diaper in it in the washroom trash (smuggled under my towel).

But this isn’t always the case, due to another problem, one associated with backpacking in general. If you are travelling light, you will not likely have the best night time protection with you (and bed pads for example), and so accidents and leaks seem more likely. At least they did for me.

This means leaks and/or wet beds in the morning, and this was always a huge stress for my while staying in a dorm. Hostel dorms are not like say a school dorm (of which I have no experience admittedly) where everyone gets up at the same time. This situation, I would assume, would make dealing with a wet bed a little easier, as you could simply wait for others to clear out, and be just a little behind schedule. But because everyone is on a different schedule at a hostel, this really isn’t an option. Unless you are lucky to awake to an empty dorm or a dorm of sound asleep guests, you are going to have people moving about you in the morning. Not to mention that this movement is also likely going to wake you up.

I can’t say I had a very good solution for this, and I’d be interested to hear what others have done. On the several occasions where this happened to me, I had a spare pair of PJ bottoms at hand, and changed into these under the covers. There wasn’t any way to hide the sound of my removing my wet diaper, but I did this as discreetly as possible. One a couple of occasions even had to change my shirt, as it had got wet. Once changed, I would slide out of the bunk keeping the blanket and top sheet covering the bed. Then I’d end up messing about with my bag and things on my bed, during which time I’d bag the wet diaper, and at some discreet point soon after getting up, I’d ball up everything and take them to the laundry pile.

Continued in Part 2.