Eakin Seal and irritated skin--need help ASAP if possible.

I just got some Eakin Seal samples today.

I have a quick question I HOPE someone is online to answer soon since I need to change my bag very soon (as in hours).

I have a loop stoma where the opening is on the bottom, straight into the skin. And it is what I've seen described online as "flush" with my skin.

So.. I have irritated skin.

Can I treat my skin like I have been (powder/skin barrier/powder/skin barrier) and the eakin seal stick on top of those layers? Or just put the eakin straight on the irritated skin.

My skin feels like a bad sunburn all the time now. So I really want to do what is best to give it a rest from the poo and the best protection available to me tonight.

Thanks!

Jen S

Thanks!!!!

yes crust it up first... even up to 3 times with powder and barrier and then the eakin on top. make sure you are changing frequently if you are getting leaks.
and are you using a convex wafer? and a belt? those both help if your stoma is flush

I'm sorry to hear about your frustrations mystique. My hubby also has a "flush" stoma and we have leak problems often. We also struggled with finding the right supplies and how to use them. We have actually stopped using the sticky seals and gone to paste. The seals/rings seemed to expand too much on my hubby ... we even started only using half of the ring and rolling it out like dough and then wrapping it around the wafer and it was still expanding a lot and getting very "flat". Most of the ring would end up inside the wafer hole coming overtop his stoma.

So, we just switched to paste and it seems to be working much better. Also, I think the more flush stoma people don't get as much wear out of their pouches...at least that's what we're seeing. We were trying to keep his pouch on for like 4-5 days but it would never last that long and would always start leaking on day 3.

His skin was also starting to get a bit irritated and would start bleeding a bit when we cleaned it. So, we changed a few things:

1. We change his pouch every 2 days (maybe will go 3 days ...we're testing the waters on this).
2. We switched to stoma paste. I think this has really been the biggest help. The paste seems to make a better seal for him cause its (obviously) paste when you squeeze it on and it can mold to the shape of his body more I think? It also turns into an almost cement like consistency when it dries and he feels more secure.
3. I realized we were cutting his wafer hole too large... his stoma had actually shrank a bit since his surgery in October and just never bothered to do a "refit".
4. He makes sure he shaves his tummy and up near his stoma... the hair seemed to be causing the "stick" to wear off faster.
5. We try not to get the skin barrier stuff all over his tummy. Before we had been putting it on and not really paying attention how much of that stuff got farther away from his red skin. Believe this was causing the ring to not stick to him as well.

His skin is doing really well now and we seem to be staying ahead of the leaks. And I dunno if you are using them but 2 piece convex with a belt seems to help a lot too. I can definately see his stoma pop out a lot more after we put the wafer on and then his belt.

Good luck! I hope you get it resolved... I know how frustrating it is to not be able to find something that works for this stuff. I guess I hadn't thought about a flat tummy vs. a non flat tummy... I wouldn't think it would matter since regardless if your tummy is flat or not the stoma needs to get pushed out more? But, I'm not a nurse... so what do I know! Hehe...

Anyhoo, I hope you figure out what works best for ya.