New ileostomy - skin problems help!

Hey! Good to see you here. It's kind of a learning process with the ileo at first. Is yours a loop or an end? You're having a reversal in the future, right? If it's an end, and I think you may have said it is, i personally would attempt to not change daily. The more I changed, the more my skin was impacted. You're on the right path though by getting adhesive remover. I don't know what I would have done without spray and wipes. I also used barrier wipes and powder to dry the area. There is a routine people use, where they use a barrier, then powder, then repeat, sometimes multiple times. Since your so new to having an ileo, it's going to take you some practice to get used to, but you will find a process that works for you. There are 2 piece appliances too. The bags snap on and you can leave the wafer. With my end ileo, I would leave it for a week. Can you get in earlier to see the wound care/ostomy nurse? They know all the tricks. You really do need products though. Also, you could try other supplies. I always found the hollister wafer to be the nicest, but the bags are soooo long. Contact the companies and request samples.

Thanks for your replies.
Nssg - Im following you around! Yeah its an end ileostomy. Not sure if I'll get a pouch or permanent ileo and im nowhere near deciding yet.
My gp has prescribed the brava adhesive remover but its not on our local nhs stoma guidelines list so she thinks it may be substituted for a cheaper version. I didnt want to wait so my lovely pharmacist gave me another cheap brand that she had out the back! Its alcohol free and silicone based so hoping it works.
Plan is to change bag using spray tomo. I think as well my template is wrong. It was miles too big and i had a half cm of skin showing. But now i think ive cut it too small as its touching the stoma and kind of riding up where it touches if that makes sense. So tomo I'll cut slightly bigger. I will try changing every 2nd day and using lots of spray.
My gp gave me hydrocortisone cream for the sore pink skin but not sure if i should wait to see stoma nurse next monday first?
I really hope the skin settles down. With this whole surgery and stoma business i thought id struggle with having a bag and cleaning stoma. In fact i can clean stoma no bother at all. And emptying and wearing bag is easypeasy. Its the surrounding skin and itching and soreness that is the issue. V frustrating!

Hi Keith
I am changing my bag daily because all 3 of the stoma nurses I saw when I was post op in hospital told me to change the bag every day!
I dont think its a yeast infection. The worst red bits of skin are where Ive had difficulty pulling the bag off. Youch!
I will google the barrier sheet. I take it that just protects your skin more?

I notice in the UK people change the bag and wafer a lot, most change every day over there. Here in the US we will wear the wafer for a week sometimes. I would wear the snap together systems and just replace the bag when the wafer was in good shape but i wanted a clean bag. My wafer held up well for long periods, i felt more secure with a wafer that was well-attached vs a new one.

You should really contact the manufacturers and get some products shipped. Since you plan to keep your end for a while, once your healed, and it stops shrinking you can get precut wafers. The first few weeks after surgery you will probably notice the size go down a bit. Cutting it to the right size is very important, too big and your skin can burn, too small and you can block yourself. Is your stoma long or short? With a short stoma, you may need convex.

I was working on this sample list:

Pouching
https://www.coloplast.us/about-us/coloplast_samples/Ostomy_Stoma_Pouching_Samples/
https://www.convatec.com/ostomy/
https://secure.hollister.com/en/samplecheckoutpage
http://nu-hope.com/Sample_request/pouches.html
http://www.bbraunusa.com/products.html?id=00020743040000000504
http://www.clinimed.co.uk/Order-Samples.aspx
http://www.marlenmfg.com/request-a-sample.php
https://cymedostomy.com/samples.html
http://www.securitusa.com/order-samples
http://nu-hope.com/Sample_request/pouches.html
http://www.peakmedical.co.uk/pages/view/complimentary-samples.html
http://www.pelicanhealthcare.co.uk/sample-form-pouches/
http://www.salts.co.uk/en-gb/order-samples.aspx
http://www.ostomyezclean.com/free-pouch-samples/
http://wellandmedical.com/distributor_location/the-americas/

Skin Protectants, Rings, Adhesive Remover, Odor Prevention & Elimination, Lubricant
http://www.eakin.eu/sample-request.aspx
http://www.ostomyessentials.ca/samples/
http://sns-medical.com/free-samples/
https://torbot.com - website under construction but products available on various online retailers
http://trioostomycare.com/product-range/request-a-sample/
http://www.nascent4u.com/freesamples/index.php
http://www.ostofresh.com/contact-us/
http://www.alpglobal.com/Free-Sample-Request.html

Vents
http://www.kemonline.com/content/Contact

Disposal
http://www.bagitaway.com/

UK
[email protected] www.dansac.co.uk Use our FREEPHONE 0800 581117 to call our dedicated Customer Services Team for free samples and product information.
http://www.opus-healthcare.co.uk/
https://www.oakmed.co.uk/sample.asp

I am not sure if all are available in the UK, but you can give it a try. They are free and they usually ship quite fast. I was having a lot of fun trying products - i know that's whacky, but it is what it is!

Maybe a two piece is better for you if your skin is so sensitive. Or at least to start with for the first month or two.

Some samples arrived already! I have 4 eakin rings to try. The slimline ones. They look good. My prob just now is that the skin is now pink and itchy and bumpy everywhere it touches the ashesive in a big circle. Wondering if its a sensitivity to the sensura mio adhesive. I have ordered some Salts samples so will try them soon. I used some steroid cream as itch driving me mad. Hope I can find a product combo that works!

Hi been reading the posts, good suggestions. I’ve had a perm ileostomy for 17yrs now and very occasionally get
sore skin. On days when it was raw, I’d shower and go bag free, adding some sudacrem and lie on a towel for a few hours to give it some air and a chance to heal. If the sore and bumps are on the area directly between the aroma and skin, silver nitrate is good to seal the burns. Ask your stoma nurse. One piece I find less fiddly and only change when reqd, 24-48 hrs. I go swimming and all sorts before it starts to break down, you’ll find your way with these lovely attachments lol. I agree that you’ll need to try different products, I have a dip in my skin and it kept leaking, so now have a curved pooch, no more accidents! It took me years to discover, that this is not normal!! Coloplast products are great. Hope it clears up soon for you x

Hi, CatLover! I’m a cat lover too...and a dog lover! 😂

I’ve had my ileostomy for 29 years due to severe Crohn’s disease. I use Convatec products and haven’t had problems with the product at all. I really like them. But, several years back I started getting leakage and that caused skin problems. My issue was that I had been using the same template to trace the opening on my wafer and the template hole had gotten larger. This allowed the leaking under the wafer. But Contatec has pre-cut wafers, which I didn’t realize, and probably all brands do, and I found the one that fit with maybe 1/8 inch around. It works great and I have no more leaking.

I got the bumps on the skin but there is no way I can go without the pouch. My ostomy seems to work non-stop. But I do use Smith and Nephew Skin Prep wipes. They come in a little packet like alcohol wipes do. They are great and do protect the skin. I think they help when getting the wafer off, too. With the protection to the skin that this offered, the bumps cleared up along with any redness and even a runny spot I had from the leakage. My skin is good again because I took care of the problem and continued using the Skin Prep.

By the way, I was given the Skin Prep right from the beginning because I’m allergic to adhesives! I break out in blisters. After surgery they couldn’t even use paper tape on me. But the Skin Prep works great!

Once your stoma gets to the shape it will keep, do look into the pre-cut wafers. I use the two piece system because I can guide the wafer perfectly around the stoma. Nothing blocks my view. Then my pouch attaches with a Tupperware-type seal. I just make sure that is on good. I use a magnifying mirror for this. I never take the pouch off once I put it on.

For years I changed my appliance once every four days but I now have an inoperable peristomal hernia and the movement of that helps break down my seal so I now change my appliance every two days. It works but I sure wouldn’t want to change every day! That would damage my skin after a while. Your ostomy nurse might have a good reason for you to do this right now...so soon after surgery...but I bet pretty soon you can try wearing the appliance longer. You can tell by looking at the part of the wafer that’s touching your skin, when you take it of. If the tacky part is eroded and you see a plastic base, that lets you know you shouldn’t wear it longer than you did. Maybe even scale back one day. As I said before, I wore mine for four days for about 23 years but the hernia made me change that pattern.

Lastly, I was told not to lift anything over 20 pounds so I would not get a hernia. I did as I was told. But I got a bad cold and coughed really hard and I felt the muscle tear. So a word of caution...do hold your abdomen tight when coughing or even sneezing to give it more support.

I hope some of this has helped you and do try the Smith and Nephew Skin Prep. It’s a great product!

Sherrine

My stoma was oval also. I can’t remember how long it took for it to get it’s permanent round shape but it does happen. While the stoma is oval, you will need to continue to trace the shape and cut the wafer yourself. What a pain! 😖. But before you know it, you can get the precut wafers.

In my Convatec wafer box that held wafers I needed to cut, there was a fold out template with several sizes of precut holes for wafers that they had for the size wafer I was getting. I used that sample and put ones that looked best over my stoma and that’s how I found the best size for me. Simple! Check your wafer box and see if there is something like that in your box. If so, pull it out and save it for when you are ready for a precut wafer. The boxes I get now that are already precut do not have the sample template. I wish I had saved a few from before but my stoma size hasn’t changed at all once it went down to being round. But it is good to check.

I’m not sure that spray is good because you shouldn’t have anything gooey or see any output under the wafer after only one day! It’s that output that is chewing up your skin. There are a lot of enzymes or acid that break down food in it, I believe, and it’s hard on your skin. When I remove my wafer, the back of my wafer is dry, my skin is dry, but the tacky part is eroding some around where the opening was cut, which, if left unchecked, would allow leaking under the wafer. It sounds like you had leaking under your wafer in only one day.

The only place I have that occasionally needs some adhesive removed is the very edge of the wafer...the part that’s kind of like a band aid. I use Smith and Nephew Uni-Solve to remove that quickly. A couple of times I had a problem shortly after applying my wafer and had to change it again. This happened when I was cutting the hole too large. I had the Stomahesive paste to deal with under the wafer. What a mess! But the Uni-Solve made quick work of that.

It’s VERY important that your skin is dry when applying the wafer. On the days that I change my appliance, I get up and do whatever for about 1 1/2 hours. This gives my digestive system time to get rid of any residue left over from laying In bed all night. I do not eat anything but I will have a little hot tea. The stoma usually behaves itself for me then. I prepare the wafer with Stomahesive Paste and then I remove the appliance. I take the clip and put it on my fresh pouch so it’s ready to go too. Then I wash the area with soap and water. I stand over my sink just in case the stoma does want to act up. I then use my hair dryer on the low heat setting and dry my skin. I feel the skin just to make sure it’s dry. I wipe the stoma with a tissue so it is dry and then I use the Skin Prep to wipe around the stoma and any place adhesive will touch my skin. I get right up to the edge of the stoma. It has never hurt my stoma at all. Then I use the hair dryer again and dry that area. It usually is quick because it’s almost like alcohol. I again feel the skin to make sure it’s completely dry and then I apply the wafer right away. Then I put the pouch on and use a magnifying mirror to make sure I have pressed the seal completely down. That’s it! I don’t have to think about it until my change day arrives again. I put a little check by the day on my calendar so I know for sure when to change my appliance. I don’t want to go over that day because I could end up with skin problems.

Your skin should heal up pretty quickly IF you are not leaking under the wafer. I think it was about a week or so and I only used the Skin Prep to protect my skin. I think it also helps keep adhesive from sticking really badly too.

I had my surgery at the Cleveland Clinic and was given all of these products after surgery by my ostomy nurse. I’ve had great luck with all of these. And, I can change my appliance in five minutes now. I just have everything set up ahead of time. And my ostomy gave me my life back. I’m no longer chained to the toilet. 😂

Sherrine