Living A Different Life With Ostomy Appliance

By Sharron Cantu


A medical operation that will connect an organ in the body to the outside to allow access of waste products such as feces and urine out of the body is called ostomy. A stoma created by through this surgery. In this opening called stoma an ostomy appliance will be placed.

This appliance can be called a bag or pouch. It will drain the bowel movement products or urine. This pouch is made to be convenient in a form of lightweight, thin and made to seal the unpleasant odor of waste products. With this the stoma will be covered and protected to lessen possible complications.

To avoid unnecessary problems you have to look closely at it. Take it on step at a time, particularly to those who are first timers. I may be unbearable at first.

Cleanliness is very important when you have this thing around you. Before you start cleaning the pouch, you need to prepare everything. Empty your pouch. Flush all the products bowel movement or urine. Clean the stoma first and then the skin that surrounds it with a clean linen and warm water. A soap may be used, but make sure that you are using a mild soap. Rinse and pat dry. Before attaching the new one, dry everything out to lessen the chances of having irritated skin. You may provide skin cream for extra skin care.

Replace it as needed. Usually three to seven days. Everytime you replace the it check and measure the diameter of the stoma. There is a measuring guide in the appliance kit. Also, check for edema. Edema can affect its size. A little bleeding is normal when touching it but, you have to report to a health care professional if there is unusual discoloration, shape and size.

Before attaching the adhesive wafer, apply some skin cream around it. Have a few minutes to allow your skin to absorb the cream. When placing the wafer, make sure it fits well without irritating the skin around it. The stoma is placed in the center of the hole. It should be firmly pressed and no wrinkles. Seal the wafer gently, clip the pouch in the bottom. Always make sure it is in place.

Waste management is not that complicated, so do not make your life difficult. Flush the waste products in the toilet when you empty it. Throw everything except for the clip. You can still use it. Throw it just like how you throw your garbage at home. But there are also some types of pouches that can lessen your burden of throwing and throwing many. This type is the drainable one.

For some tips, do not eat late at night before replacing your ostomy bag to have lesser output. When changing ostomy pouches or bags have an old towel or paper towel to catch some waste from the stoma. Always follow and listen to the instructions of your health care provider.

After your surgery, you might say you will not going to enjoy it. Yes, it will be different living with this, but it should not hinder you from doing the usual things you do. You are not alone. There are many people like you who got their life back even with an extra baggage.




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