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Posted Today 11:37 PM (GMT 0)
Well, six years into this, and after every shower I've blow-dried my flange dry. Does anyone else do this, or do you just let it air dry?

Does drying or not drying effect weartime?

My ostomy nurse said to do it, which is the only reason I'm doing it today btw.

Guess the end result of this question is whether I can go swimming and not have to dry the flange afterwards, just letting it air dry, and if this effects weartime

Responses appreciated! :)

Matt
Posted 12/2/2012 12:07 AM (GMT 0)
Matt,

I have a terry cloth pouch cover -- kind of like two washcloths sewn together w/a hole.... I put it on right after I shower. I go swimming three times a week. By the time I dry off the rest of me, apply lotion/deodorant, and get back to my locker to put on clothes, it's dry.

I think swimming does affect the wear time a bit, but I doubt that not blow drying the pouch is an issue.
Posted 12/2/2012 12:08 AM (GMT 0)
I blow dry mine when I am at home but when we were in Germany and Paris I didn't. I won't have a chance to blow dry it when we are in the Dominican either so I hope it doesn't matter.....I only do mine because my nurse told me too as well.

Will be interesting to hear what others do.
Posted 12/2/2012 12:38 AM (GMT 0)
I wear sure seals, so the flange does not get wet :)
Posted 12/2/2012 1:09 AM (GMT 0)
Blueglass, did you make your cover?? What a great idea! I wear Sure Seals too when I swim....helps to keep it dry and stuck on!
Posted 12/2/2012 1:51 AM (GMT 0)
I've either blow-dried it or wrapped a washcloth around it and kind of tucked it into the waistband of my pants. I've been having to change my pouch every 2 days since I got my ostomy, so I can't talk about wear time (the changing every two days is to treat/keep track of pyoderma).
Posted 12/2/2012 3:35 AM (GMT 0)
i wear sure seals too, so i don't worry about the flange. But if you don't wear them and you don't get it dry it can cause a yeast infection under there, and make it itchy. So, i would probably use a hair dryer. As for the pouch part, the ones i wear don't stay wet very long, so i just put a piece of towel between my clothes and the bag for a few minutes to soak up any water.
Posted 12/2/2012 4:19 AM (GMT 0)
I wore sure seals too, but I just ran out :( It was nice to be able to just dry and go.
Posted 12/2/2012 8:39 AM (GMT 0)
Wow, no one ever told me about that. I just always found it mildly annoying that it would stay wet for so long, but never thought to use a hair dryer (duh!). If I was keeping this thing any longer I would totally look into those sure seals you guys are talking about, because in addition to the annoyance of a soggy bag, I feel like when I shower it does affect the wear-time of my flange, which is one of the reasons I've showered less often since I've had it. (Good thing I've been on medical leave the whole time, so I'm the only one who has to put up with me, LOL.)
Posted 12/2/2012 11:35 AM (GMT 0)
The wafers that I wear are Coloplast, which I believe are made from pectin, so I just wipe them dry. As for the bags, I am doing what the ostomy nurse told me to do while I was in the hospital, and it has worked very well so far. Every day, after a shower, I take off the wet bag, rinse it out, hang it to dry, and replace it with a dry bag. This routine goes on until I change my whole appliance, at which time I use all new supplies.
Posted 12/2/2012 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
I'll have to give the sure seals a try. For some reason I thought I tried them in the past and didn't like them, but maybe I'll give them another go. thanks for the input!

Matt
Posted 12/2/2012 12:19 PM (GMT 0)
I forgot to mention that I also wear sure seals, so I was thinking more of drying the pouch than the wafer.

I got my pouch cover from C and S ostomy pouch covers, http://cspouchcovers.com/quick-dry-c-8.html, but if you sew, it wouldn't be a hard project to make one.

Sometimes when I don't have the pouch cover w/me, I just wrap a washcloth around the pouch..... that works too, just falls off easier.
Posted 12/2/2012 2:13 PM (GMT 0)
this is all so weird. it seems everyone blow dries their bags.
i have had mine for 9 months and have NEVER ever blow dried it OMG.
what a pain.
why on earth would you bother?

i have been swimming lots and in the shower with my bags.
i just wipe it and press it with my towel.
it dries the rest of the way on its own surprisingly fast.
i was shocked how quick it dries by itself to be honest.

i use coloplast 1 piece shallow convex and used to use 2 piece. no cover. ever.
with 1 piece it air dries pretty quick. with 2 piece, if i was home i would just change bags and leave the base plate. but if i was at the beach it was pretty quick drying.
if i changed my clothes the bag wouldn't even leave a wet spot on my sundresses or tank tops.

either way the base plate stayed on for 3-4 days just the same if i got it wet or not.
no skin issues.
no itching or irritation.
didn't make a difference at all.

i wouldn't worry too much. i highly doubt that the companies making these things made them dependent on people having and using a hair dyer on them.
they are WATERPROOF and made to be able to get wet without using a dryer.
Posted 12/2/2012 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
I have always dried with a hair dryer. Just seems like the thing to do to keep my clothes dry. No advice from an ostomy nurse...ever. Does not seem to affect wear time. I shower every day with pouch on and change once a week.

Dan
Posted 12/2/2012 11:40 PM (GMT 0)
kazygirl -

Yes, they are meant to be waterproof, but I think aside from some of us not wanting to wait around with a soggy bag for things to dry (it does take a while sometimes - I'm sure different supplies will vary in this regard - even after I pat it with a towel, and if you get dressed right away and cover it up with clothes, it can take even longer)... There is the issue/risk of developing a yeast infection on your skin from the moisture remaining there for too long. It does happen, as I have read on this forum.
Posted 12/3/2012 3:57 AM (GMT 0)
I've never bothered to blow dry mine in 35 years. I just let my body heat dry the wafer naturally. My bags have a cloth like cover so I just pat that down with a towel and it's fine.

PS I get about 5 - 6 days weartime from my wafers/bags.
Posted 12/3/2012 4:57 PM (GMT 0)
I never blow dry my flange after showering or swimming. I do the same thing as Blueglass with the terry cloth covers. I like showering at night, so basically I just throw on the terry cloth cover and go to bed. Otherwise, if I don't happen to have the terry cloth cover with me (always forget to bring one to the gym to use after swimming), I just use my regular cotton pouch cover which absorbs moisture pretty well too. I wear one of these 24/7, so I always have one with me. I sew my own pouch covers, but this company makes something similar, including the terry cloth ones: http://cspouchcovers.com/

I don't use Sure Seals either. I don't find them necessary with my Convatec Durahesive wafers. They stick so well that I sometimes have trouble getting them off. I have to use adhesive remover even after the times I have swam a lot. I don't go for marathon wear times though so maybe swimming would have an effect if I was trying to get 6-7 days. I change every 3-4 days. Not because my wafers peel off, but because my output erodes my Eakin ring and wafer right around my stoma and irritates my skin if I try to go longer.
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