Skin care post surgery

For me less is more. Initially I had some redness that seemed to subside the more my skin adjusted.

I like using the Safe n Simple peri stoma cleanser wipes when removing the wafer and initially cleaning up the skin. They are a good size, soft, and don't leave any residue. Then I just wet a piece of gauze and clean with warm water. Make sure skin is totally dry.

For right around my stoma after I've cleaned I use a little stoma powder and crust it with a barrier wipe. Any time I have a little red or raw skin right next to the stoma the stoma powder really helps. I usually crust it twice. I don't use anything on the rest of my skin before putting my wafer on.

I was overwhelmed by all the products at first and trying to keep my skin healthy but after a couple months it becomes much more routine. I usually change every 4-5 days.

Probably is wise to have your Dr or stoma nurse look at that spot.

Thanks. I haven't heard about those products yet. I'll ask about them. I've just been using wet cotton wipes and dry ones.

Yes, I have the SenSura Mio 1-piece pouch and I change it every day.

Charlotte,

I had separation of my stoma from the skin which created a raw weeping mote for about 4 months. Now the skin is just alittle red and irritated.(6 months post up)

Ointments made my skin too oily and my wafer would not stay on. I can use coconut oil to take off the wafer (I use convatec 2 piece) but I have to wash and dry the skin really well and then I use the the adhesive remover wipes and wash my skin again...then I double crust with stoma powder except when it is redder, itchy and sort of achy....then I use a very thin layer of stomahesive...(comes in a tube and thicker than toothpaste. ) and I always use at least 2 barrier wipes. I change my bag every 3 days. My stoma nurse asked me to stop changing daily as my skin was becoming more irritated and it could not heal with the daily changes. My nurse also recommended that I start taking more showers without a bag on and start using the adhesive removal wipes instead of coconut oil. Less is more. Tried it today and it saved me 5-7 minutes....

I would think that it would be normal to have some redness around the stoma 4 weeks post up.

If you didn't receive samples and you are in the U.S. Hollister, Convatec and Coloplast all send a box of samples. If you are having issues and working with your stoma nurse they will send you additional samples as needed. They all worked with me for 3-4 months after surgery to find something that woold work.

Hang in there. It gets easier every day.

Clo

Thanks to all of you for the tips about the free samples! I just reached out to a few websites.

Clo, good to hear that the redness has gone down. I will try the powder. My stoma nurse is in Denmark where I live and I am visiting the US at the moment. I'm just waiting for approval from my insurance to see the GI specialist here. I've had some redness that has come and gone, but the small hole next to the stoma seems a little different. It's not getting bigger, so hopefully that's a good sign. Hopefully it's an easy fix.

For now, the redness is just in the area surrounding the small hole, so I'm continuing to change the pouch daily. I can reach out to the stoma nurse over the phone and ask about whether it makes sense to keep the pouch on for another day or 2. I really like changing it every day - but not at the expense of the skin's ability to attach to the adhesive.

How is it taking a shower without the bag on? I'm afraid to try it as I am not the only person that uses my shower. Do you just clean the shower drains afterward?

Vdahl & Roo, sorry to hear about your ileus and then the UTI. Hope the UTI goes away fast.

My stoma is still changing as well. It's been a bit of a challenge to use the tool to measure the size of the stoma. Once, I realized I had to lift the stoma up a bit as it had been covering some of my skin. There was some redness on the covered skin because it took me a few days to figure it out, but luckily the redness went away pretty fast.

Looking forward to clearer skin!

Charlotte,

Quick catch with looking under your stoma for skin irritation. My stoma looks like a mushroom so that's not an issue I have to worry about.

Showering without a bag.....I have a cart of stoma supplies. I prepare everything for a quick bag change, get a plastic baggy (in case Freddie decides to become active) get all shower stuff ready and hop in. I am very careful that shower head is on a soft spray (not pulsate) and that it doesn't hit my stoma directly. (It made Freddie bleed once and we were both very very concerned...but he got better after a couple days. My stoma nurse told me not to let that happen again...Lol)

I have shower doors and I leave them closed while drying. (Freddie went crazy once and it took me an hour to clean up his mess and we had to have a whole new shower!) I immediately put on my new bag, then I spray the shower with lysol and let it set for 10 or 15 minutes, spray it down with water to rinse and repeat. Then I will wipe the whole thing down with a clean white towel that gets washed and then bleached. (I am paranoid that I will miss something so.....) Yes it is more work but gosh....it feels so good...and I have found that as long as I schedule them when Freddie is sleeping and I make it semi quick...no problems... 30 minute shower stimulated Freddie and we both got a work out.... Trial and error.

Please let us know how it goes with your spot. I had a small spot open up, they checked for hernia and fistula but both came back negative. It healed back shut after a couple of weeks.

I hope you enjoy your visit to the US.

Be well

Clo

I rarely shower without my bag mostly bc I feel like everything takes longer. For example my skin drying after a hot steamy shower seems to take longer than if I just cleaned with water and gauze.

In the beginning when I wanted my skin to breath more I would eat about a tablespoon of plain gelatin in a little water or tea and that always stops my stoma for at least a half hour.

I hope the doctor appointment went well.

When you use the stoma powder make sure to crust it/ wet it with the barrier wipe. Just powder will affect the adhesion. There are some good YouTube videos about it.