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Airport Scanners - This is Maybe an Odd Question

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NeverSusie
New Member
Joined : May 2013
Posts : 15
Posted 6/21/2018 6:58 AM (GMT -7)
Last year I traveled by air (which I don't do very often at all). When I went through the body scanner at the airport, both going and coming, I was pulled out of line to be searched. I looked at the image on the scanner display and area was around my waist/abdomen that was lighting up. I had on elastic waist leggings with no metal or anything around that area. Since it happened both directions and was the same area both times, I was curious if possibly something I am taking for UC is causing this. I know that may sound nuts, but I can't think of anything else, and I found it odd that it happened both times and that it was the exact same area. I am currently taking Mesalamine orally and using a mesalamine enema nightly. I have pancolitis that has been in remission for two years as of March 30 - which I am very happy about. Apparently the meds are working for me. Anyway, I just wanted to throw the question our there and see if anyone has any thoughts on it.
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iPoop
Forum Moderator
Joined : Aug 2012
Posts : 16180
Posted 6/21/2018 8:35 AM (GMT -7)
I've gone through the body scanners at airports a number of times since my diagnosis and have not been set aside and searched once *shrug*. I've taken mesalamine oral and rectal since 2012. I'm usually wearing a tshirt and jeans.
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DBwithUC
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2011
Posts : 4545
Posted 6/21/2018 9:49 AM (GMT -7)
Unless the elastic leggings had some metallic threads in the waistband, it is puzzling. Did the elastic in any noticeable way alter your body shape? I have surgical incision hernias on both my waist (appendix) and stomach (colon resection), and they always show on the scanner and get a followup pat. But they are obvious bulges.
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Sara14
Veteran Member
Joined : Mar 2007
Posts : 6235
Posted 6/21/2018 11:04 AM (GMT -7)
Wow, how weird! I rarely travel, but I've never had this experience so I don't it is the meds.
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NeverSusie
New Member
Joined : May 2013
Posts : 15
Posted 6/21/2018 11:39 AM (GMT -7)
I don't know of any metallic thread or anything that would be in the elastic of these leggings. Well, it was odd, but this was the only thing I could think of. I'll see what happens next time I fly!!
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quincy
Elite Member
Joined : May 2003
Posts : 32548
Posted 6/22/2018 10:55 AM (GMT -7)
Possibly foodstuff passage through the small intestine?
q

I just read perspiration can cause that.

q
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GoHerd92
New Member
Joined : Jan 2018
Posts : 1
Posted 6/28/2018 5:26 AM (GMT -7)
This happened to me the last time I flew. It floored me because the TSA agent asked if I was sick or having issues in my colon area. I was having a mild flare at the time, which lead to a bad flare. I don't know if I even answered her question because I was so shocked that she had asked me that and that my colon area lite up the scanner.
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iPoop
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Joined : Aug 2012
Posts : 16180
Posted 6/28/2018 6:59 AM (GMT -7)
From what I can tell, the scanners cannot see anything internal within our bodies. They are looking at surface area of our clothing and of our bodies. If there are any lumps, bumps, or other things that aren't expected then we're flagged.

"If a large cyst or mass appears to stick up above the skin or body outline around it, or looks like a solid mass compared to the area around it, the scanner may reflect that, said Dr. Mahadevappa Mahesh, a radiology and public health researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore who wasn't involved in the case report."

"It's more common for patients that have been injected with or ingested a radioactive material for nuclear medicine exams to be flagged for airport screening because radiation may be detected if they travel shortly after their procedures, Mahesh added.

While smaller cysts shouldn't confuse airport scanners, it's more likely that travelers would be flagged when they have larger ones, said Dr. David Brenner, a radiology researcher at Columbia University Medical Center in New York who wasn't involved in the case report.

"If you do have a large (greater than 2 inch) external skin lesion which is located under your clothes, you would be prudent to get a doctor's note before traveling - but you still might expect a patdown," Brenner said by email."

"One female traveler with a common type of skin cyst was flagged for a hidden explosive search at a U.S. airport, her physician, Dr. Warren Heymann, notes in the report. On future trips, this woman traveled with a doctor's note explaining her condition that she could show airport security agents, Heymann said in the case report."

"The man with the hernia had a protrusion in his groin area that alarmed airport screeners. This traveler was interrogated and subjected to a genital exam, Heymann reported."

"I would suggest that people be aware that this could happen to them if they have prominent lesions on their skin," Heymann said by email.

"Having a letter from a physician noting the presence of a cyst, hernia, or other lesion might help, but understandably, the TSA agent may still wish to perform a pat down and a swipe for contraband," Heymann added. "Mutual understanding and respect should allow the screening process to go smoothly."

/www.scientificamerican.com/article/airport-scanner-flags-common-cyst-as-a-security-threat/
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Andrina
Veteran Member
Joined : Aug 2011
Posts : 3691
Posted 6/28/2018 7:09 AM (GMT -7)
Hi I remembered an article about silver in yoga pants. Maybe that would explain it

/globalnews.ca/news/1452176/why-some-clothes-could-pose-a-safety-hazard-during-mri-exams/
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suchatravesty
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2017
Posts : 322
Posted 6/28/2018 4:14 PM (GMT -7)
The last two times I flew (the first since my UC diagnosis), they totally patted down my colon area and I was wearing leggings and a simple solid color cotton dress with no embellishments and no pockets. Very odd. I will be flying next week, so let's see!
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IntestinalWasps
Regular Member
Joined : Mar 2018
Posts : 226
Posted 7/2/2018 9:58 AM (GMT -7)
So. Um. Weird, but. EVERY SINGLE TIME I FLY, this happens to me without failure. Always in the same spot.
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Bull101
Veteran Member
Joined : Feb 2015
Posts : 653
Posted 7/3/2018 1:23 PM (GMT -7)

IntestinalWasps said...
So. Um. Weird, but. EVERY SINGLE TIME I FLY, this happens to me without failure. Always in the same spot.

Do you always wear the same exact pants or shirt when you fly?
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