Washing the stoma site

AEC

I'm a firm believer that guidelines are just that and if using soap and water works for you and you don't have any problems carry on as long as you don't over soap and rinse off thoroughly and pat dry before applying your appliance.

see this from Dansac

If when showering or bathing I can't see how you can avoid getting soap near your stoma.

Consider using a mild soap without lotions included.

Hope this helps

Ian

Thanks Ian, that is useful.

Dansac makes the point about leakage around the peristomal skin area.  My bags have never leaked but when I take them off there is always a ring of output around the peristomal area.  Is it possible to cut the template so snug that you get zero leakage in that spot?

I've never managed that, whether it was me or the stoma nurse cutting the template.

AEC

AEC

I have always found that opinions differ on this subject, Coloplast tell us we should make sure our appliance fits "snugly" around our stoma but then they clarify it by saying  ""You'll want to make sure that there's about a 1/16 – 1/8″ (approx. 1.5 – 3mm) gap between your stoma and the edge of the hole. Remember, as wafers do swell, you may need to adjust this gap accordingly.""

Have you ever noticed when you are doing a change that your stoma expands and contracts quite quickly normally expanding when its about to spout out poo.

If you cut the hole too small there is a likelihood that you could strangle your stoma and see a lot of blood above the peristomal line.

It is all very well if you have a nice round stoma and you use a guide to measure it but in my case I have a stoma which is 61mm across and 48mm top to bottom with a lot of variations all round.

Talking about guides which type do you use a paper one or a plastic  sheet with all the hole sizes on them which is far superior to paper, you should ask your supply company to obtain some for you. It should be A5 size and clear plastic

I think it is normal to see a ring of poo around the peristomal area when the pouch is removed

If you are using a barrier ring or similar product, it's ok to cut the hole slightly larger (but not too much!).

At the end of the day it always boils down to "Trial and error" by each one of us to find the happy medium which works for us.

Ian

Yes I use the A5 sheet with lots of holes.  The stoma is about 29-30 cm round so I cut just inside the 30cm mark.  I guess that's about as good as it'll get.

I've never noticed the stoma expand in the way you describe.

If it's too tight you can irritate the Stoma and get bleeding or granulomas.  Well that's what I was told.  I always have a bit of output around the hole  and Stoma when I change as well.   

Ast