Tip #1 - Changing Your Bag
So you recently had an ostomy, now what?
As you have probably discovered by now, you have to wear your ostomy appliance everywhere and all the time. Unless you take care of the skin around your stoma, having one can be a very frustrating. If you ever had the unbearable urge to drop everything you're carrying and itch like a monkey, then you need to pay attention to this. In my first article, I will talk about the steps of changing an ostomy bag while maintaining healthy skin around the stoma, which is called the peripheral skin. I will also mention couple of products that I have used to treat skin problems and found very helpful.
First Things First: How to Change a Bag
What you will need: Water, some strips of gauze, paper towel, a new pre-cut ostomy bag, and a hygenic way to dispose of the old one.
1. Strip: That's right, take it off. The shirt, anyways. I recommend inserting a papertowel between your skin and underwear. This makes changing bags in a hurry nice and neat.
2. Removing the old bag: Holding the skin down with one hand, pull away the ostomy bag until you completely uncover the stoma. Throw away the old bag. I keep my waste bin a hands reach away because I will need it again.
Extra: shaving away the hair around the stoma will not only help the bag stick, but also cause less torture when pealing away the bag.
3. Soak the strips of gauze under the tap and wipe the peripheral skin, paying attention to the skin immediately around the stoma. Go ahead and wipe the stoma itself until it's shining pink like a renovated 1959 chevy.
4. Dry the skin and stoma with a paper towel. The reason I use a paper towel is because it absorbs well without sticking to the skin.
Optional: Occasionally, I use Dansac Skin Lotion. This apparently keeps the skin from becomming soar. However, I feel as if it hinders the bag from sticking very well. You make the decision.
5. Applying the new bag: Grabbing the sticky thing from the edge of the sides, apply the new bag, Once it is on, I use the palms of my hands to literally squish my stoma, making sure the bag sticks well. This also heats up the wafer, which helps the bag stick.
Some Skin Problems and their Solutions
Redness: Sometimes I get red patches of skin, which happens when the size of the hole is either too big or the stoma has shrunk. To solve this, I apply a layer of Orahesive Protective Powder, by a company called Convatec, before applying a new bag. It usually takes 24 hours to get better.
Pimples: It is not unusual to have small painful pimples around the stoma for the same reason above. The contents of the bag are an irritant and if it makes contact with your skin it can cause such problems. Again, I use Orahesive Powder. Hey, at least it's not in the middle of your forehead.
Other Tips
When to change your bag: Based on experience, I recommend changing the bag first thing in the morning. This is when the stoma is the smallest, although still active.
How often to change your bag depends on your supply and partly on the behavior of your stoma. For example, my first stoma, an end-ileostomy, was very managable, therefore I used to change it every other day. After my second surgery, I ended up with a loop ileostomy. Now my stoma is very active and changes sizes frequently, which is why I must change my bag every day. If you can afford it, changing your bag every morning is a great idea.
"How often to change your bag depends on your supply and partly on the behavior of your stoma."
If you would like to comment on this article, or recommend another one, contact the author at essamrashad@ohpoo.net.
Look forward to my next article: Excersizing with a stoma: Getting back to Fitness.