Tools to make cleaning your bag easier

I thought it might be a good idea for everyone to make a list of essentials or their very best tips for people who are new to having ostomies. I use to have a colostomy bag when I was younger and I know what a huge pain they can be and how so much of it is trial and error. There are so many things out there to help out, but I didn't learn about most of them until I had mine reversed. So I thought it might be nice to just make a short and sweet list from the experienced ostomy owner, to the inexperienced ostomy owner.

One thing I wanted to mention was that when I had mine, my dad went to the hardware store and for under $10 bought some simple supplies and made me a great hose that connected to the faucet in the bathroom and made it so I could clean out my bag SOOOO much easier. It was so amazing and I dont know what I would have done without it. They taught me to use cups. To keep refilling them and pouring the water in and swishing it around, much harder. He is pretty creative. I had a long one for public restrooms as well.

I am going to see if he can tell me the exact things he used to create it so that you all can duplicate it if you want to. It was pretty simple and much less money than other products. Recently I asked him if he could make one for a friends father who has a colostomy, and he said of course. He said that he would even try to make it so they could flip it on and off without having to get up and turn off the faucet, which helps if you dont have assistance. He is also trying to figure out a way so it never has to be detached from the faucet, because that was always annoying for us since we only had one bathroom to have to screw it on and off everytime.

I will post the supplies and instructions if I can get him to be able to remember how he made it.

summerstorm said...
that is a good idea.
I think that a squirt bottle is very helpful, i went to wal-mart and got the ones like they put ketchup and mustard in at resturants, lol. i dont' use the water everytime, but sometimes. And when i do use it, i usually use a mix of water and mouthwash to clean with. I have a gallon jug of water that i pour about 1/4 full with mouthwash then the rest with water and use it to clean with.

That's similar to what I do as well. Though I'm not very consistant when it comes cleaning the inside of my pouch. However, I always try to keep the outside as clean as possible. For that I use the mouthwash method as well.

i only clean the inside like that if i have eaten something that makes it really thick or really smelly (like fish, or something with blue dye) but if i get soemthing on the outside i clean it with just pure mouthwash.

Oh you guys seem to all have great little techniques. Things I never was introduced to with my colostomy.

Cecilia, I don't have Crohn's although what I do have has similar features. I actually had a birth defect, when I was growing in the womb my intestines grew the opposite way, which didn't cause any major problems until I was 10 yrs old when I got a volvulous or however you spell it and had to be rushed to the ER for my first of many surgeries. I ended up having about 9 different intestinal surgeries throughout the last decade. I have been through a lot but there are little tiny kids I have met who have been through so much more. I met a lot of little little kids with cancer and stuff along the way which was crazy.

FCL and Allin...you both couldn't of said it better...I never like to think of myself as sick when I see children in so much pain!