Common Issues Related To Ostomy Bags

To check whether or not an ostomy pouch fits your requirements well is to see if the use of it results in uncomfortable issues. Those issues include leakage, bleeding, and irritation.

Leakage

An ostomy pouch should form a seal with the skin barrier for a predictable amount of time. It means that it should not allow any leakage to occur between the time when you connected the skin barrier with the skin and the time when you are going to have to take it off. Some common reasons for leakage may include the following.

• If the opening of the skin barrier is too large, the stool can come in contact with the exposed part of the skin, allowing leakage to occur under the skin barrier.
• Sometimes, you might face a problem setting the skin barrier on the peristomal skin. That can lead to the creation of pockets between the skin barrier and the skin. These pockets can compromise the ability of the adhesive to form a proper seal. As a result, leakage can occur.
• A stoma must protrude above the skin by a few centimeters. If there is no protrusion, it can result in the skin barrier’s inability to cover where the skin and stoma meet. This problem can be fixed with the help of convex skin barriers.

Skin problems

The skin around the stoma should be similar to the skin on the rest of the abdomen. If there is a difference, you are likely to have a peristomal skin issue. Apart from pain painful, skin problems can also compromise an ostomy pouch’s ability to adhere nicely to the peristomal skin.

It is necessary to address the root cause of the problem. You will need to see the reason behind the skin problems. Once you find out the problem, you can fix it with the help of an ostomy care nurse. They may suggest you some skincare products to treat your problem.

Next, you will need to make sure that the ostomy pouch you use fits around the stoma. The skin barrier should settle nicely on the peristomal skin.

Bleeding

There can be varying reasons for the bleeding to occur. First, you will need to determine where the blood comes from. You can press that spot a little and clean the area with a dry, clean pad. It will solve the problem in most cases.

If there are spots of blood in the stool, you need to contact your nurse for guidance. Heavy bleeding means a bigger problem. It is something you cannot afford to ignore.

When To Change An Ostomy Pouch

Whether you have a permanent ostomy or a temporary one, you are going to have to learn about the right use of ostomy supplies to manage your stoma in a better way. That’s because poor management of your ostomy can lead to several complications related to your peristomal skin and your GI tract. In the end, it can result in the quality of life getting affected unpleasantly.

When it comes to ostomy management, it doesn’t have to do only with the use of the right ostomy care supplies. You also have to schedule the ostomy bag changes. Many people change their ostomy bags before going to bed, and some do it in the morning. The reason they pick these times is that they find their stomas less active during these hours. If your stoma is active before going to bed or in the morning, you should not consider changing your ostomy bag at that time.

The best course of action is to find the best time when you can change the ostomy bag. Generally, you can change the ostomy bag every three to five days, given that you are using drainable ostomy pouches. If there is a lot of leakage occurring under your skin barrier, you should consider contacting your ostomy nurse. They can provide you all of the necessary information about the appropriate ostomy supplies and also about the right schedule for changing those supplies.

Sometimes, it becomes difficult to keep track of the schedule. The best way to make it convenient for you is to write down when you last changed your ostomy pouch, and when you are going to need to replace the current bag with the new one. You can even write dates on the ostomy pouch. Setting a reminder alarm on your phone can also be of great help. You can give a title to that reminder to quickly realize the need to change the bag when the time comes.

You should always pay attention to whether or not you are feeling any discomfort in the area where the skin barrier has formed a seal. If you feel any discomfort, you should immediately remove the skin barrier, and check your stoma and the skin around it. If there is any soreness in the peristomal skin, there are several skincare products that you can use to treat the condition. The stoma powder is one of the most effective skincare products that can help you get rid of mild to moderate peristomal skin complications. If there is no relief with the use of skin care products, you can always contact an ostomy care nurse to discuss other treatment options.

Adapting To A Diet Routine After Ostomy Surgery

It is normal to feel unsettled when you get back home after ostomy surgery. The good thing is that you don’t have to worry about most of the aspects of your lifestyle, including your diet. You can adapt to a healthy diet routine, which will certainly not be a restrictive one. You only have to keep a few things in your mind, and you are all set to be yourself.

Right after surgery

During the first few weeks after surgery, your stool is going to be fluid-like. The waste gains a thicker consistency with time. You can consider having foods that can help you thicken your stool.

Every day

You must aim for the intake of at least six to eight glasses of water every day. Dehydration can pose grave risks to your health if you have an ostomy. If your urine is straw-colored, pale or clear,  it means you have enough fluid in your body system. If your urine is brown or dark yellow, you need to drink more water. You will need to talk to your doctor about the diet restriction you might need to follow every day.

In six to eight weeks

Your stomal output will develop a consistency that will be constant. Make sure that your diet consists of the right amount of fluids, salt, and calories. If you are not sure what and how much you need to eat, you need to talk to your doctor to get a diet plan.

Once you start feeling better

You may feel like yourself when your body is ready. Once you are fully adapted to a diet routine, you have different and new foods. Generally, it doesn’t take much time for ostomates to return to their pre-surgery diet, with only a few limitations.

Get into a routine

The best thing about following a diet routine is that once you adapt to it, it becomes the most convenient thing to do. There are no set rules on how to set a diet routine. Every patient’s case is different due to several factors that may include lifestyle and social values. Once your system recovers from surgery, you can have a diet like other people without ostomy have.

Final thoughts

It’s good to work on your own to settle into a diet routine because you know your body well. But make sure that every step you take is not going to be harmful to you. It’s better to have your doctor or ostomy care nurse on quick-dial.

 

Things You May Want To Know About Ileostomy

Before having ileostomy surgery, a few questions could arise in your minds regarding your GI tract’s ability to digest the foods you eat. In this article, we are going to talk about the food digestion, and also about the digestive tract’s response to the ileostomy surgery.

Information about your gastrointestinal (GI) system

Your GI system starts functioning when you eat and drink. The food enters the stomach through the esophagus. The enzymes present in the stomach break down the food to turn it into a liquid mix. This liquid mix then flows into the small intestine.

The small intestine is 20 feet in length. That is where the entire process of digestion happens. The small intestine absorbs all of the nutrients present in the food that comes from the stomach. After the nutrients are absorbed, the leftover waste, which is usually in the form of liquid stool, travels to the large intestine.

The primary function of the large intestine, or colon, is to absorb any water left in the waste while moving it towards the rectum. The waste keeps collecting in the colon until you have a bowel movement that creates an urge for waste excretion.

What is an ileostomy?

An ileostomy is a result of a surgical procedure that aims at diverting the small intestine from the colon to the abdominal wall, forming a stoma, which is an opening used by the intestinal tract to evacuate bodily waste. The part of the intestinal tract ahead of the stoma is either removed or bypassed.

A few facts about ileostomy, which you may want to know about, include the following.

• When you have an ileostomy, you will no longer be able to use your anus for waste excretion. Instead, the bodily waste will pass through the stoma.
• The principal function of the colon is to absorb water from the stool and store it until there is a bowel movement. Without the colon, your digestive system still retains its primary function of absorbing nutrients from the digested foods.
• Your stoma will not have sphincter muscles, meaning that you are not going to have any control over the excretion of your waste. That makes it necessary for you to wear an ostomy bag, which fits over the stoma. This bag will collect waste. You will have to empty or discard the ostomy bag when it’s full.

Depending on the reason for surgery, an ileostomy can be permanent or temporary. If there is cancer in your colon and your doctor finds it curable without removing the colon, you will get a temporary ileostomy. If the underlying condition is incurable, your doctor may have to remove the colon, resulting in the permanent ileostomy being the only option.

How To Minimize Ostomy Odors And Gas

The occurrence of odors and gas after ostomy surgery is one of the significant concerns for ostomy patients. You can prevent such issues from happening by using the right products and making a few simple changes to your routine.

Ostomy odor

The ostomy pouches that you can purchase these days come with an odor-barrier film. This film prevents the odor from coming out of the pouch. The only time you may feel odor is when you change your ostomy bag. If there is odor at any other time, you need to check if the pouch seal is compromised.

Here are the ways you can prevent odor leakage from your ostomy pouch.

• Remember to empty to the pouch when it is one-third to half full. That might mean emptying the pouch 2-3 times a day.
• The best time you can change your pouch is in the morning before having breakfast.
• Whether you have to drain or change the pouch, make sure that you are doing it regularly to avoid the ostomy bag from becoming too bulky to cause the skin barrier coming off the skin.
• Your diet has everything to do with the odor of your stomal output. Make sure that you have developed healthy eating habits.

Ostomy gas

You might feel gas in your ostomy bag if you have a colostomy or ileostomy. Your intestinal ostomy starts producing gas as soon as your bowel starts functioning. The amount of gas and how frequently your GI tract produces it may vary. It becomes bothersome when the gas deposits anywhere in the intestinal tract. Excessive gas can also cause the pouch ballooning, which might lead to the ostomy pouch coming off the stoma.

The significant reason for gas is your diet. Swallowing air can also cause gas. Several habits, such as  chewing foodsm smoking, chewing gum and drinking carbonated beverages,with your mouth open can increase the amount of gas produced in your GI tract.

If gas is becoming a concern for you, you can consider using an ostomy pouch with filter.

• The filter allows the gas to leave the pouch, but not the odor.
• A filter doesn’t let the ostomy pouch to become a balloon.
• Filters work best when the stool is more firm, but you may also be able to use them if your bodily waste has a paste-like consistency.

The bottom line

Using ostomy supplies that help you deal with the gas and odor is just a precautionary measure. The best way is to avoid gas and odor by paying attention to what you eat as well as your diet routine. Appropriate physical activity can also help you to keep the gas at bay. If you have a medical condition that results in too much gas in your GI tract, you need to talk about it with your doctor.

Bathing with Ostomies

If you recently got home after ostomy surgery, you might wonder if you should bathe or shower. Bathing tends to be a concern for new ostomates because they’re worried about the appliance falling off due to the water, exposing the area to water, or sometimes it can be hard to dry afterward. But you sure can do this, and here, we’ll go over how to make bathing with an ostomy that much better. 

It won’t Interfere within Reason 

If you do like to take baths, overall it won’t affect the adhesion of the pouch, and how secure this might be as well. It can sometimes actually make the adhesion better especially once you’ve put a new system on. 

But if you like long baths, such as steam or hot tub baths, you may notice that the pouch wear time is shorter than you think. There is no “right” way to wear your appliance, so you’ll be able to make decisions regarding how much  you should wear the appliance based on the enjoyment and preference as well. 

Drying the Ostomy Appliance 

Drying is pretty easy to do, and it is based on the kind of pouch that you use. In general, many of the non-tape types of flanges and non-covered pouches are dried with a towel in most cases. Drying it can be done with a towel if the pouch3s aren’t covered. You can also use a hair dryer as well in order to help dry the covered parts of pouches or the boarders of tape, but don’t use the hot setting since it can melt and distort the pouch with too much exposure too. 

Bathing with the Systems 

For those who have a two piece system, you can actually bathe either with the whole appliance put there, or with the appliance taken off, especially if you’re changing the appliance too. You may hear people say to remove only the pouch and stoma, but this can actually cause flange and barrier melting, along with premature washout, so you need to change this frequently because of that. You can leave it intact. 

For those who have a pouch that is covered with cloth, you can switch to stoma caps or a non-covered type of pouch when you bathe with this. That means you won’t need to actually dry out the pouch once you’re done. There are copolymer wipes that you can use, and by putting it on there you can dry out the tape. 

You may need to do another application with every single shower and bath, since it can affect the adhesion. On scheduled days, you simply remove the appliance, expose the stoma, and avoid to have direct steam there. You should also avoid any oils and gels as well, since that can irritate the peristomal skin and affect adhesion too. Once you get out of the shower or bath, you need to make sure that it’s fully dry before you put the appliance back on, or before you continue on with your day. 

For one-piece systems, you can use these same suggestions, but you also may want to use a hair dryer or a towel in order to help with this and use copolymer wipes for the boarders of the tape. If you’re using a closed system, you may want to remove this before bathing and showering, while also paying mind to the soaps and whatnot, or to keep the pouch on once you’re bathing until it’s over. you can do this and routine change the whole thing once the shower and bath is finished for your needs.