Filter Problem with Convatec Natura Plus pouches

I love Convatec wafers. Nothing sticks to me as well as their wonderful Durahesive material and it has given me confidence to do so many things without worrying about my wafers coming off.

That said, I am really disappointed with their Natura Plus pouches. My regular Convatec Natura opaque filterless pouches have been on backorder from Byram since at least November, so I have been ordering the Natura Plus ones instead. I really don't mind them in general. The tail folds nicely in the Lock-it pocket and the fabric is great. My big problem with them has always been that the Natura+ pouches don't come in a filter-less option that is also opaque. They only make filter-less in transparent and I am not fond of clear pouches. I have problems with filters on all brands of appliances leaking a little bit of moisture to the outside of the pouch. I am sure the charcoal takes care of bacteria in this moisture, but is still grosses me out. When I do use pouches with filters, I make them work by just putting a piece of heavy-duty tape over the filter exhaust vents on the outside of the pouch. The filters never work to release gas once they are wet with output anyway so it really doesn't matter if I cover those exhaust holes.

Thank goodness I did cover them! A couple of days ago I was emptying my pouch only to discover that the entire filter had come off the inside of the Natura Plus pouch and basically slid out of the tail with my output. Had I not had a piece of tape on the outside covering the exhaust holes, output would have poured out of them. I actually wonder if this has happened before and I just hadn't noticed that the filter inside the pouch had fallen off.

I decided to examine the filter on an unused pouch more closely. The entire thing is held on to the inside of the pouch by a sticker and not a strong one at that! I was able to easily peel it off by hand. No wonder it fell off when exposed to acidic ileostomy output. Sure, there is a layer of plastic sort of covering the filter in the Natura+ pouches, but ileostomy output flows right behind that shield of plastic due to its more watery nature.

Anyway, just wanted to give folks a warning that if you are using Convatec Natura+ pouches with an ileostomy, make sure to put tape over the filter exhaust holes on the outside of the pouch in case the filter falls off inside the pouch. I am guessing the filter would probably stay put okay with thicker and less-acidic colostomy output.

I am planning on contacting Convatec about the problem too.

The filters on the Convatec Natura+ pouches really are the worst!! I've never found a filter that works well at all, but the Natura+ is doubly bad because they don't work, almost always leak after a few days and aren't held in place very well! Problem is, I also LOVE the Convatec wafer, and MUCH prefer the Natura+ pouch over the regular Natura pouches because of the material and lock it pocket. I do have some of the regular Natura pouches for when I just don't want to deal with the filter issues of the Natura+, but I really don't like how plasticy they are. I would LOVE if Convatec would come out with an opaque, filterless Natura+....maybe we can start a petition or something?! :)

Well, I'm a newbie and I have pouches with filters only because they sent them to me as samples and I'm using them just because they're free. I ordered new pouches without filters, except for the mini-bags; they don't make them without filters. (Hollister) But you're right, I don't like them either... I have this vacuum-sealed thing going on which makes it extremely difficult to empty the bag! So I covered the filter with duct tape. The next bag I painted nail polish all over the filter and let it dry. Neither one of those ideas seemed to do a lot of good after a while. But I'll watch for having the filter come all the way off, thanks for the heads up! Eeewww!!!

Blueheron - good to see/hear you are doing well, other than the convatec pouch issues (more about that below) - I seem to remember more of the folks on here prior to and right after I had surgery. Good to hear from ya!

W/regards to the convatec pouch - yes - it has become a big disappointment for me as well. and, such a shame considering how good the wafer works. I am seriously considering going back to Hollister two-piece new image because that pouch could take a beating and not ever start leaking - LOL! In addition to the filter issues (mine haven't been as bad as others have stated), I feel I have to treat the pouch 'gingerly' when opening/closing the tail as I had an instance once where I kind of 'slapped' it, and it created a small leak - the new-image pouch never had that issue.

Please let us know what you find out from convatec!