Caring for the skin that’s around you stoma helps to mitigate discomfort, and also helps make sure there are no problems after the ostomy that you got. Ileostomy and colostomy surgeries actually are really good since they can help to treat cancer and UC, but at the same time there are a bunch of new things that can involve the skin surrounding it.
Ileostomies involve taking a portion of your intestinal tract out. Usually a colostomy involves the removal of your large intestine. During all of this, you may get an opening over the abdominal wall that drains out the fecal matter, oftentimes called the stoma s well. A stoma is typically healthy pink or maybe a deep red color. When it’s in the right conditions, the pouching system will feel good. If the skin gets infected though, it may cause inflammation, pain, and the like. That’s why caring for the skin around this is very important.
Caring for the Skin
If you notice the skin is itchy or looks inflamed, you’ll want to definitely get this checked out. But a part of it as well is avoiding the discomfort, which we’ll discuss here. First, you want to make sure that the pouch is the correct size, and that includes the wafer. You want to make sure that the wafer and pouch are the correct size to adhere correctly. Too small can cause strangulation, too large causes fecal matter to get onto the skin, creating irritation.
You should also check your skin during pouch changes too, which are done up to ever 5 or so days, and you can check to see if the skin looks red and inflamed, or if there is discharge and bleeding. If you do notice that there is irritation, you might need to use products to maintain stomas in most cases to help with the treatment of this. Finally, you want to use products that fit the skin, and are designed to protect it. When you do take out the pouch system, you want to make sure that there isn’t any old adhesive left on the skin there, since it can actually cause the wafer to not attach correctly in a lot of cases, especially if there is a lot of adhesive left over.
You want to make sure to use skin prep wipes, since this can help to get rid of the adhesive left by the peristomal skin, offering a dry and clean way for you to take care of it.
You’ll want to make sure that you do put on the powder, but then make sure that you also prepare the skin with the powder as well. You want to make sur that the wipes you use are specifically for stoma care. Baby powder, along with skin wipes are not good for your peristomal skin, and don’t use this since it can damage and irritate the skin, and also affect the adhesion of this too, which can ultimately be a problem.
If you notice that it’s going away, then keep doing this so that there is no more peristomal skin issues. But if you notice that it’s getting worse or it’s starting to become a bit more unsightly, then y you’ll want to make sure that you talk to the stoma nurse or doctor to help with this, in order to ensure that there is no problems with the stoma and the management either. Care for it today, and you’ll be able to prevent further problems that come from this too as a result and keep the skin healthy.
Ostomy Management 