Cleaning Stoma?

Hi Jelly,

the stoma, on the outside of your belly, is your small intestine, so nothing is going to happen to it when there's digestion on it. The skin around it - that's another matter. It is very crucial that no digestion get on it or stays there. So when you change your bag, make sure you clean the skin very well with water, neutral, gentle, non-perfrumed soap, and dry it gently and thoroughly before putting on the new bag. You may want to apply stoma powder on the skin first.
Imagine that you're using skin-colored bags, instead of see-thru. You wouldn't know what is on the stoma, and it's going to have its own output on it all the time. That's ok. You can take the bag off when you take a shower, and the flowing water will clean the stoma off. You could output during the shower too, but don't worry about it, it just goes down the drain.

Agree with all the rest.... the stoma is just the tip of your intestine, and the rest of the intestine is dirty all the time (for an end ileo, the end is turned inside out, like a turtle neck sweater, so what you see is actually the inside of your intestine). Losing battle to try to keep it clean....

I much prefer opaque bags....

I think it's too early for pickles, because of the seeds and skin as you say, and possibly the fiber if they are crunchy..... could you kind of suck on one? Might not appeal, but might work..... you could also cut around seeds and skin, if it's a soft one.

For a few months before my surgery I was craving pickles too, as well as olives, was just crazy how much I wanted them..... since surgery, I haven't craved like that, but I do like them.....

Not sure what that craving is about, but they are very salty, so if there's anything else salty you can eat or drink, that might help some..... the fermented aspect is good for digestion, w/probiotics and all, when you can tolerate it.

How is your stoma sore? Is it around the base or elsewhere? Around the base, you could be cutting the wafer too small, or else too big and having the output irritate there. If it's just bleeding a little here or there, that's normal -- the skin bleeds easily.

You are pretty soon out of surgery, so it also could just be sore from the swelling and the surgery itself.

Ok, thanks. I kinda figured that was the case. I don't know why I'm craving them so badly! It's the actual stoma that seems sore ( I think ). Sometimes, it seems sore when it is active. It seems to have grown some since I've been home so, maybe the wafer is too tight?

Any other suggestions on some foods that are good for me to eat? I don't have a good appetite so, it's been hard for me to eat much and find things I will eat. What things are high in protein that are easy to eat?

Sorry, this is so new to me. I'm so scared of having complications that I have a million questions. :)

Thanks for all the food tips! I'm freaking out a little right now. I went to change my bag, and when I lifted my shirt I had dried blood down my stomach, pus, & dried blood on part of my incision. I called the Dr on call. She said if it gets worse go to ER b/c she can't see it to tell me. I don't know what to do! It's upseting me. I really don't want problems.

Thanks for the info. It has dried completely, but now I can't stand as straight as I was able too. I'm scared it my open if I try to straighten myself. I'm having a little trouble breathing. Although, it could be from being anxious over the bleeding. I checked my temp and so far have no fever.

How are you doing today? Thinking of you.

Hope you are doing okay today.

Fevers with wound infections seem hit or miss. I had a 101 degree fever with a tiny infection in my incision at one month post-op. I didn't even take antibiotics for it. My surgeon cleaned it out a little and the infection went away. Then two months post-op I got a fairly large abscess in my incision and surprisingly had no fever with that one at all. My surgeon did say that the skin was hot and very red with that infection, but honestly, I couldn't even tell. I think I had been looking at that non-healing incision for so long I had no idea what the heck it was supposed to look like. I just knew it hurt. Really bad pain seemed to be the constant for any of my wound infections. Does yours hurt a lot?

Good thing is, the infections are usually resolved well with cleaning out and/or antibiotics.

It is scary going through all this. There is so much uncertainty and it is overwhelming not knowing what is "normal" and what is something you should worry about. It is always best to error on the side of caution and call your surgeon or go back in to have things checked out. When I kept having to go back to the hospital with complications, I did develop some short-term anxiety issues. Still, after a while I realized how amazing the doctors and nurses were. They were always able to solve the problems that came up and get me back on the road to recovery. I soon started to worry a lot less and just rolled with it... knowing that things would improve eventually. Now that I am a year out from surgery, I haven't had to see a doctor (other than a quick visit with my stoma nurse and my yearly physical) since March. Things do get much better. You sometimes just have to weather a few bumpy storms first.

Hang in there!

If things are that bad, it might be best to be in the hospital and have them looking after you. I know it's awful being in and nobody wants to go back, but sometimes it's the right thing for us.

The cramps sound like low electrolytes. Are you drinking plenty of electrolyte drink? I use G2 or Powerade Zero because I cant handle the full sugar versions.

I had to go back in the hospital for four days w/an abscess that I got a week after I got home. It's a really common complication. Definitely was a drag to go back in the hospital, but really it doesn't feel like a huge deal in the scheme of things w/my healing...

The electrolyte drink sounds like a good idea. Maybe some IV fluids tomorrow will help, amazing how much better they can make you feel.


If you can tolerate them, eating some marshmallows before changing the pouch will likely slow your output down.

Sorry you've had such a bad day. I'm glad you're getting medical help tomorrow, and I hope things are better soon. Keep us posted.

I know what you mean about wanting to cry at the thought of going back. I am running another low grade temp tonight and it is starting to concern me. I really don't want my husband to have to take more time off to take me to the hospital again. I don't want to be away from my kids again. Mostly, I just want to be well and I feel like I'm slowly moving backward. It's such a kick in the ass too because I felt so good the first couple of days out of the hospital.

Hang in there. I'm rooting for you.

Thanks, hon. Hopefully tomorrow is better for both of us.