Tips To Attach An Ostomy Pouch

An ostomy pouch is a heavy-duty plastic bag with an opening that fits around a stoma. This opening has an adhesive or a plastic locking ring to connect to the skin around the stoma to prevent leaks. After connecting with the abdominal skin, this pouch collects wastes from your stoma. Because the stomal output can irritate the skin and cause several complications, it is necessary to avoid leakage.

The frequency of changing your ostomy pouch will depend on the kind of ostomy pouching system you use. However, the fundamental steps are almost the same. You will learn how long you can keep wearing an ostomy pouch before changing as you become more comfortable with your ostomy care regimen.

Here are the tips to attach an ostomy pouch.

• First off, wash your hands thoroughly. Use soap and then dry your hands thoroughly.
• Placing a two beneath your clothing and under your stoma can help you manage the entire process quite nicely. You may want to lay out all of your supplies to have everything you need at appropriate proximity. You can change your ostomy pouch in front of a mirror to know what you are doing.
• Before applying the ostomy pouch, make sure that the skin around the stoma is clean and dry. Remember, wet skin will not allow the adhesive on the skin barrier to form a seal. At this point, you will also need to check your skin for any signs of irritation.
• You have to determine the type of skin barrier you will be using. It usually takes 6-8 weeks for a stoma to settle into a proper shape and size after surgery. If your stoma is not quite regularly shaped, you will have to measure it using a stoma measuring guide. After that, you will need to cut the skin barrier to match the shape and size of your stoma. You can use a pre-cut skin barrier if your stoma is regularly shaped.
• If your stoma sticks out an inch from your abdominal skin, you can use flat skin barriers. Convex skin barriers are required when your stoma is recessed or flush. These skin barriers have an inward curve to reach the base of a recessed or flush stoma.
• If you are using a one-piece ostomy pouch, all you have to do is to remove the paper backing from the adhesive side of the skin barrier and attach the pouch to the peristomal skin. Make sure to press the skin barrier around the stoma to smooth it evenly.
• A two-piece ostomy pouching system comes with a skin barrier and a pouch as two separable elements. The skin barrier element, also known as a flange, allows the pouch unit to snap on. The primary advantage of using a two-piece ostomy pouch is that you do not have to remove the skin barrier while removing or replacing the pouch.
• After attaching the ostomy pouch, press it on the skin for at least 30 seconds to make it adhere properly. You can cover the flange part with your palms to allow the warmth of your hands to strengthen the seal.

You can discuss with your healthcare provider or a nurse the type of ostomy pouch to use. They will help you select the pouching system that fits your requirements nicely.

Ostomy Caretaker

As an ostomy caretaker, I have a lot of responsibilities and patients. My job requires me to either say at a patient’s house or stop by from time to time. Most of the time, if I have to stay at a patient’s home, it is no longer than a month. I am there to help the new ostomy patient get used to their unique situation and with any needs they may have. Ostomy patients are not any different from you or me; they just have a few things they need help adjusting to, and that is what I am there for. 

I like the jobs where I have to stay at the patient’s house. I say this because it just makes my job a bit easier, and it is better for them as well as I am there immediately rather than a drive away. Not to mention I have had the opportunity to stay in some charming homes because of my job. As an ostomy caretaker, I have seen some very odd things. For example, I had one patient who still felt the need to sit on the toilet when they needed to make their bowel movements. I say this is odd because that patient had an ostomy bag and had no need to go and sit on the toilet. Eventually, they told me it was because they did not want to forget what it was like to sit on the toilet for bowel movements. 

Another odd thing about my job is that it is really just a lot of sitting around with the ostomy patient and talking. One patient I had could talk my ear off for days on end. They would love to sit on their back screened-in patio and talk and look at nature. I can’t say I blame them. They had a beautiful backyard pushed up against some woods. We would hear the birds singing in the morning, and deer would frequently visit. My patient loved to feed the deer. They told me that they even named them because of how often they see. My patient looked at them as pets at this point, kind of odd. I mean, who can say they have pet deer? I don’t think many people can. 

I had a patient who loved to sing, and they were pretty good at it. They wanted me to learn how to play guitar so they could form a band. I found it amusing and humored them. I knew I had a guitar sitting around at home, so one day I went to get it and bring it to my patient’s house. As the days went on, I learned some cords and could string them together to make some sort of beat. My patient wanted me to know a specific song so they could sing along, and again I humored them and learned their song. I think this was one of my more enjoyable experiences, not to mention I learned how to play guitar. 

Being an ostomy caretaker has some advantages. I have learned a lot from the people I have helped during my time in this profession. It is an enjoyable job and has provided me with a lot of new information about the world. It is interesting to see how people live their day-to-day lives with an ostomy, but as I said, most of them are just like you and me. They can still do just about whatever they want. 

Differences Between Colostomy, Ileostomy, And Urostomy

Ostomy surgery involves rerouting a part of the digestive or urinary tract outside the body after disconnecting it from the rest of that tract. Your doctor will opt to perform this surgery if your digestive or urinary system has a disease or disorder.

Urostomy

To create a urostomy, the surgeon first takes a small piece of the ileum. Then he disconnects ureters from the bladder and connects them with that piece of the ileum. This part of the small intestine is known as a conduit, and it functions much like a bladder. It collects urine from one end and passes it to the other, which sticks out on the belly as the stoma. A urostomy is usually not reversible.

Since a stoma doesn’t have sphincters, it tends to pass out urine whenever your kidneys are at work. You will have no voluntary control over your urine evacuation. That is why it will become necessary to wear an ostomy bag over the stoma to manage that urine evacuation. It is recommended to wear an ostomy pouch with a skin barrier that tends to stick to the peristomal skin for longer durations. It will prevent the leakage of urine underneath the flange. Some people are concerned about their ostomy bags becoming overfilled at night. Such people can benefit from a night drainage system, which consists of a larger bag with an adapter that connects to an ostomy pouch.

Ileostomy

An ileostomy is created by diverting a portion of the small intestine to an opening in the abdomen. This type of ostomy may become necessary for people suffering from inflammatory bowel disease. An ileostomy can be temporary or permanent.

Since an ileostomy produces watery stools, you will have to select a drainable ostomy pouching system. This pouch can be one-piece or two-piece, depending on your requirements or preferences. Because wastes passing out of an ileostomy contain more digestive enzymes, you have to make sure that your ostomy pouch’s skin barrier has formed a leak-proof seal with the peristomal skin. These enzymes can be quite irritating to the abdominal skin. You can consider using extended-wear skin barriers to ensure a long-term seal.

Colostomy

Your surgeon will bring a part of the colon out through a cut in your abdomen during colostomy surgery. This way, there will be a diversion placed on the passage of your fecal wastes. The purpose of doing so is to prevent your fecal wastes from passing through a diseased or removed part of the colon. They, instead, leave your body through the stoma on your abdomen. This ostomy, like ileostomy, can be permanent or temporary.

There are four types of colostomy, depending on the site of the stoma along the colon. These four types are ascending, transverse, descending, and sigmoid colostomy. A stoma more proximal to the ileum produces more liquid stools, whereas a distal stoma will produce solid tools. The type of ostomy pouch you have to wear over your stoma will depend on the type of colostomy.

Each type of ostomy can result in complications or issues. You can overcome these issues or prevent them altogether with the assistance of an ostomy care nurse or a healthcare provider.

Logger with ostomy

As a logger with an ostomy bag, my life has been relatively easy, all things considered. Due to a work incident, I was rushed to the emergency room, where my life was changed forever. I do not dread this change in my life. Not much has changed, really. There are a few things that I can not do with ease, but I push myself to do them as I do not like them to ask for help even though I do appreciate it. Having an ostomy bag was life changing but not life altering. I did not need to change anything I was doing, and I’m actually going to get this reverted in a few short months, so I am looking forward to that day with glee. 

One day at work, it was like any other day. Clear blue skies and not a single cloud were insight. It was a real hot one that day. If my memory serves correct, it was about one hundred and one that day. As I got to work, I met up with my good friend Chuck. He and I had a friendly chat about our weekend before we decided to get to work. As we began to work, I noticed something was wrong with my friend and asked him if he was feeling alright. He told me he wasn’t and, in fact, was feeling slightly lightheaded. I told him to get some water and take a break; come back here when you’re feeling better. He neglected to tell me that the tree he was working on was almost cut all the way through and needed to be fallen. I began going back to work on the tree I was working on, and the next thing I knew, the tree Chuck was working on to my left began falling. I did not see it in time. 

I woke up in the hospital, where the doctor was talking with Chuck and my wife. Both had tears streaming down their eyes. When I woke up, they immediately stopped their conversation and asked me how I was feeling. I told them I was alright, but my stomach was hurting really bad. The doctor told me that it was due to the fact I had a tree fall on me and hit me exactly there. He told me that I would need a temporary ostomy so that my internals could heal. Chuck was apologizing profusely, and I told him it was alright. I know it was not his fault by any means, plus he was not feeling dehydrated that day, so I understand. 

After my procedure, I got back to work after about a week and a half of sitting around the house. I realized that my job was not going to be any different due to my injury. It was still pretty easy to do my job, but there were a few movments I could not make. My boss also said he did not want me to do any climbing as he did not want to risk me getting a more severe injury. I appreciated him looking out for me. 

As a logger with an ostomy, it has not been much of a change, except I can not climb until I get it reverted. Speaking of, I am having that procedure done in a few weeks, and I am so excited and looking forward to it. I am still close with Chuck, and almost every day, he apologies for his mistake that costed me. I always tell him not to worry about it and jokingly say ill get him back. 

Mountain climber getting a Colostomy.

My whole life, I have always had a fascination with mountain climbing. I did it a few times when I was a young teen with my dad and some of his friends. On one of those trips, I had an accident that changed my life. I told myself after; I would keep pushing and keep climbing mountains. My dad has always encouraged me to keep doing what I love, no matter what the circumstances. I’m glad that he taught me that because if not, I think I would be a lazy person sitting around all day, pitying myself because of my situation. 

My dad was an avid mountain climber. He loved to tell me about the climbs he and his friends would do. Eventually, I told him I wanted to go with him, and that’s when he shared the dangers with me. I had to listen to him very carefully and memorize all that he shared. He told me that the next trip he did, I would get to go with him. I was so ecstatic. When the day came for us to travel to the mountains we were going to climb, I could not contain my excitement. When we finally got to the mountain, we were going to climb. We had to make sure we had all our equipment before the accent. We made sure to double and triple-check as when we begin the climb, there is no going back for at least four days. 

As we began to make our way to the base of the mountain, I got more and more excited. My father looked over at me and told me to settle down as I needed to focus on what I am doing. I shook my head in agreement, and we began to do the climb. At first, it was warm and a gradual incline. After about an hour of walking, the mountain began to get steeper and steeper. At this point, we took a break to tie ourselves together. This is a safety measure to ensure no one falls. The climb went without any problems arising. When we got to the top, I felt like the king of the world. I was thrilled to experience my first climb with my dad. On the way down, things took a turn for the worst. 

As we made our way down, the weather got bad, very bad. I slipped, and the rope holding me to everyone broke; I was sliding down the mountain on my stomach, picking up speed. I acted quick and grabbed my climbing axe to stop myself but not before I went over a very sharp rock that cut my stomach. Part of it broke off in my large intestine. I waited for everyone to get to me, and they called a rescue helicopter. I was airlifted to the nearest hospital, where the doctor told me I needed to get a colostomy as my large intestine was shredded like string cheese. 

Getting an ostomy procedure was not enjoyable. I was devastated, but the doctor told me I could still do my climbing with my father so long as I am careful. I still climb to this day three years later. Following my accident that changed my life really made me take great care of everything I do, especially when I am mountain climbing. 

Reasons for colostomy

A colostomy is a procedure that creates an opening on the abdomen wall and brings either the side or end of the colon to the opening. Getting the end of the colon to the abdomen wall results in an end colostomy. This is because, as it sounds, it is bringing the end of the colon to the front through the abdominal cavity created. Many temporary ostomies bring the side of the colon up to the opening. The need for an ostomy can vary from reason to reason, but mainly they will be needed due to different diseases and defects.

The first defect to look at is a birth defect called the imperforate anus. This is a birth defect in children that does not allow them to have proper bowel movements. The condition can be a result of the anal cavity being too small or in the wrong place, which can cause painful bowel movements or constipation. This condition can also be a result of a missing anal opening altogether. In cases like this, chronic infections occur. Colostomy surgery is the only route to go when this happens. After this surgery, most if not all children who have been affected by this condition are able to gain control of their bowel movements. There is a boot camp for outpatients to help the children become comfortable and confident with their new pouch. 

Rectal or colon cancer is another reason for needing colostomy surgery. Colon cancer is a type of cancer that forms in the large intestine. Colon cancer typically happens to older adults, but it can happen at any age. It usually begins as tiny lumps of cells in the large intestine that eventually form into polyps. These polyps over time can become cancerous, thus leading to colon cancer. When colon cancer develops, bowel movements become more complex, you may even notice a difference in stool structure. A colostomy surgery can be done to help ease the pain people may experience from cancer. 

Another reason someone may need a colostomy surgery is due to an injury or trauma sustained to the colon or rectum. An example of this could be getting a soccer ball kicked into your stomach very hard; this injury could lead to the need for colostomy surgery. This is not the only kind of injury that will cause the need for a colostomy bag. Any type of trauma or significant injury will result in needing this surgery. 

There are more ways that will require an ostomy surgery however these are just a few examples. The reason for the colostomy helps the healthcare provider what kind of colostomy needs to be done, whether that is an end ostomy or just a normal colostomy. In some cases, the colon just needs a break, so a healthcare provider will separate it to make a colostomy. Some colostomy can be temporary, but as mentioned before, the kind of injury, disease, and birth defects. Permanent colostomies are required for more severe or incurable problems such as cancer. This will require an end colostomy as the problem will continue until the cancer is treated and the patient is in the clear. Recently I have been grateful for my good health. I hope I do not need to get an ostomy surgery, but I know people who have them are happy as it saved their life and removed their pain.