Sore skin around stoma and leaking

Hi Debbie62

I had the same in the first two weeks I told the stoma nurses they had to see me and they did. My stoma was bleeding which they weren’t concerned about but I was.
My products were sorted and I was given a script to stop the acid output burning my skin. It’s horrible so I feel for you. The tablets didn’t work out so I tried two dry crackers late evening. It worked. The output thickened and wasn’t so acidic. Jelly babies and marshmallows are good to thicken the output too. 
Hopefully the nurses  will  sort out your order and give you enough supplies to last until you receive your order
My stoma took near eight weeks to form properly though usually its six. It seemed sunken to start which caused the terrible burning and leaking. 
I used calomine lotion which really soothed my skin around the stoma, I changed daily washing and allowing some air to get to the skin. It’s tricky though with a watery output you have to keep it covered. 
I hope this helps and that you see the stoma nurses soon. 

Hi Debbie62

Oh, it's horrible isn't it?  I see from your profile that it's quite early days yet,  but it will get better, I promise you.

Ann has given you lots of helpful advice but, as I had the same issue for weeks, can I just add a couple of tips too.

Firstly, to thicken up output I find that bananas or stewed apple (in an apple tart, crumble or pudding, if you prefer) are good thickeners.

Secondly, are you warming up your pouches and rings enough before you apply them?  In the early days I don't think that I warmed my pouches up enough. Now though I wrap mine in a towel and put them on top of the radiator whilst I'm in the shower.  Then, after I've fitted the pouch, I keep my hand over the top and apply slight pressure for a full 60 seconds. I think it's about 7 months now since I last had any leaks (hope I'm not tempting fate by saying that ).  If the output is constant, keep some wipes and toilet roll/kitchen roll handy to hold over the stoma whilst your cleaning and drying around it and also try to make sure that the ring is as close as possible to the edges of the stoma.  Don't leave bare skin showing. 

If you're running out of bags then phone the stoma nurse.  She'll be able to arrange an emergency supply for you.  I'm in Scotland where the ordering procedure is possibly a bit different but my stoma supply company told me that I could call them direct any time I needed emergency pouches and they then contact the stoma nurse for a prescription. They said they could get products to me in 24-48 hours if necessary.

In the early days it's an awful lot to take in.  I thought that I was absolutely useless and a total failure.  I wasn't though - I was just stressed, anxious and a wee bit lost. This forum has been great.  I've had lots of good advice from friendly folk which helped me to cope.

I hope this helps.  You can ask anything here and there will always be someone who can point you in the right direction.

Best wishes x

Thankyou for your help. 

Thankyou, I will try warming the bags. And I do feel like I'm failing at times. Got some bags from the hospital.this morning and no leaks since yesterday evening, so better day today. 

Oh that's good.  I'm sure it will get better day by day.  You're doing absolutely great!

You’re not failing you’re adjusting and so is your stoma. I didn’t think I could manage to start with. I hated changing I couldn’t see the thing. It’s really frustrating but in no time I didn’t even think about it. 
I’m pleased you got some more products and hopefully get your order soon. 
The warm hand is a must and I also wear the Eakin slims with convex and I flatten the ring and smooth it as flat as I can keeping a wipe over my stoma, then apply the pouch holding it for a minute , then open up the top opening where I see my stoma and smooth the ring and then double check the pouches plate is flat and smooth. 

I have an ileostomy and like yours I need to empty it frequently as the content is very liquidy .the nurse gave me drainable convex bags to start with and although it is not pleasant to empty, it's so much better than frequently  changing the bag.

• I too had extremely sore, red raw skin around the stoma: the nurse said the bag's hole was slightly too big, she cut it then put a thick stoma paste around the hole, then carefully put the bag on my stoma. She explained that, not only does it prevent leaks but it also helps the healing. So far I have changed the bag twice ( you can keep the drainable ones 2 days!), and I must say, the skin is much less painful, the burning sensation is gone..Call your nurse tomorrow. Good luck x

Thankyou. I will ask the nurse on thursday. None of them have suggested paste yet, just the rings. X