Sweaty rash around stoma

Hi,

My husband for the last week has had a rash around his stoma from faeces getting onto the skin. The rash is red and sweaty and stings quite a bit.

The nurse inspected the stoma site last week and there was no infection. The nurse gave him a powder and a washer for the bag. The washer, which he puts around the stoma to prevent leaks worked the first few days (and the rash started to get better), but now it is not working. As such his rash is becoming worse. I'm talking to his stoma nurse tomorrow. Has anyone else had this problem with fitting the bags? How did you solve it?

Appreciate any help.

Thanks,
Clara

And by washer do you mean barrier ring? For barrier rings there is only one that works for me and is actually the one recommended by The Mayo Clinic ostomy nurses. They are Perfect Choice Barrier rings. Healed my skin and prevent leaks. If you contact them they are awesome about sending samples out.

Hi Cupcakesprinklegal,

Thank you for your reply. I haven't heard of zinc paste. Do you have to go to a special place to buy it?

Yes, the nurse did give him stoma powder, but he is not crusting it. I will get him to try that.

Oh yes I do mean barrier rings when I say washer. I just called it a washer as that is what it looked like. He thinks he is not fitting the barrier ring properly, it worked the first few days and has now started to leak again. I guess it's trial and error.

If you are in the US beadreauxs butt paste can be found at most local drugstores in the baby aisle. This is the brand recommended by an ostomy nurse bc it has such a high zinc content to help heal the skin and doesn't have many other ingredients.

From what I was taught is the stoma powder doesn't do much without being moistened and crusted with a barrier wipe. That is what helps make a better seal/protection.

I had a similar problem with trying to get barrier rings to stick and to form a really good fit around my stoma. I found the two most helpful things were:

(i) To get someone else (my wife) to stretch the barrier ring to the right size. I find it hard to get the size right by myself, especially on the underside of the stoma, which is hard for me to see. My wife can judge the size far better. (I think in time this would get easier for me though).

(ii) I know some people prefer to put the barrier ring on the bag, and then stick both on the stoma together - but I put the ring on my stoma, then stick the bag on over it. The first few times I tried to put the ring on, I was trying to do two things. First, I was trying (and failing) to get the shape right. Secondly, I was trying to get the ring to stick really firmly before the bag went on. As both sides of the ring are sticky, all of my efforts to press the ring down (without the bag) were counterproductive, as I kept on pulling the ring off when trying to push it onto my skin. That also spoiled the shape of the ring.

So instead, here's what I now do. My wife shapes the ring and puts it in place, she very gently brings it into contact with the skin. She prods the ring gently to make sure the seal is the right shape. Then when we're sure the seal around the stoma is good, I then put the bag on and press on it (quite firmly) for 30 seconds. This gives the bag and barrier ring a good seal. Since we've started doing that, I haven't had any skin problems.

Hi notsosicklygirl,

Thank you for your message.

His stoma is not that short. I would say an inch maybe.

He does have a stoma nurse. There is a team at our local hospital that we talk to. They want him to try the barrier rings for a few more days and if he is still having problems we can try another bag type. He currently changes the bag every day. Today was the first day I helped him and it seems to have worked. It is not stinging. We just have to keep trying.

I'm trying to get him to shower without the bag, but he is nervous to do so.

Hi Clarabella,

Glad to hear the barrier ring seems to have worked so far. It's hard to cut the bag to the right size at the start, as your stoma keeps on getting smaller for the first while - which is why I had some skin burn issues, as I wasn't keeping up with my stoma shrinking as I was cutting the bags. Barrier rings have made all the difference though. Once we worked out how to get them on (and sealed) properly, my skin had made a full recovery within three or four days.

Is your husband also using barrier spray and adhesive remover? I wasn't using either for the first month or so. I found that the adhesive in the bags was irritating my skin, which was made worse when taking the bags off. Adhesive remover is amazing - you spray it around the bag/between the bag and your skin when peeling it off, and the bag comes off so smoothly. Once my skin has dried, I use barrier spray before I put on the barrier ring/bag, which gives my skin an extra layer of protection.

You can get all of that stuff on the NHS (I'm in the UK as well). I hope he finds what works best for him. Once you get a good fit/seal around the stoma, having an ileostomy gets much better.

Hi Albannach,

Yes he does you the adhesive remover, but not sure about the barrier spray. I’ll have a chat to his nurse. He is still using the powder and for the last few days he says the rash is getting better. It is still here though so hopefully it should clear up soon.

Thank you for your advice - it really helps!