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still experimenting with the bag, and having trouble.

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Posted 5/10/2007 12:37 AM (GMT 0)
I think the sticky round thing (the phlange?) is irritating my skin. It's going red right around the patch, and it's feeling irritated too.

I usually get blisters from the trace line patches they use for surgeries etc, so I was worried this would happen with an adhesive stoma thingie. Stoma nurse said it wouldn't happen - they're meant to be hypoallergenic.

What do I do? I don't want to take the patch off... if there are going to be problems, I want to know *now*, before they operate and do something permanent.

Ivy. sad
Posted 5/10/2007 12:23 PM (GMT 0)
have you tried 3m's "no sting spray" ? you spray it on before you install the flange...supposed to cure the irritation situation.

i noticed i had baddd irritation at first because i was shaving the area with a razor...now i use electric clippers and virtually no irritation. my et nurse says unless it feels irritated ALL the time not to worry about it..acute itchiness is normal. how long have you been wearing that particular flange??

--matt
Posted 5/11/2007 9:49 AM (GMT 0)
Excellent! Thanks, Matt. It's great to know that there's a spray. That's one problem deferred for the time being.

I figured out what was causing the problem - it was the bag. It wasn't sitting properly because it was the wrong size, so it was chafing all the skin around the... what do you call it? phlange?... Anyway, I got rid of the bag (or to be more honest, broke the seal when trying to remove it for a shower!), kept the phlange for another day, and was a lot more comfortable after that.

I'm a girl so a lot less hairy than you are, Matt, but d'you think it'll ever stop being painful to change the phlange? Does the hair just stop growing there eventually? I'd imagine that just ripping it off day after day would have to cause irritation and ulceration in the long run...

Ivy.
Posted 5/11/2007 10:27 AM (GMT 0)
When changing the wafer, make sure you push the skin away from the wafer, not pull the wafer away from the skin. It's a lot less painful and causes less grief.

There are also adhesive removers you can buy from ostomy stores that dissolve the glue and allow the wafer to peel away from the skin if you want to use them. :)

A much cheaper alternative to the 3M spray is Nexcare bandage spray - exactly the same thing but not marketed towards ostomates and therefore, is cheaper. Experiment with different brands of wafers - you may not even need it as your skin may like another brand and not get irritated.

PS. most ileostomates don't have to change their wafer daily - average weartime is about 3 - 4 days :)

Posted 5/11/2007 4:39 PM (GMT 0)
skin prep is great for this. As stated above 3m has a spray but they also have wipes and swabs in the no sting formula too. Other companies do have their own version of skin prep too. My skin still gets irritated from the flange but without the skin prep I would be a bunch worse. I have trouble with all adhesives even paper tape.
Posted 5/11/2007 6:39 PM (GMT 0)
My partner uses extra thin Duoderm, which he gets from our practice nurse at the Health Centre, when his skin gets red and sore. He makes a hole for his stoma to fit through, then puts in on his skin, then sticks the bag on top of it and it stays until he changes his bag, which is every other day.
Posted 5/15/2007 12:52 AM (GMT 0)

ivy6 said...

I'm a girl so a lot less hairy than you are, Matt, but d'you think it'll ever stop being painful to change the phlange? Does the hair just stop growing there eventually? I'd imagine that just ripping it off day after day would have to cause irritation and ulceration in the long run...

Ivy.

my hair hasn't stopped growing and it's been 6 months....don't know if it ever does stop, or what.  maybe some longer user can chime in here!

i change my flange & bag setup once a week, it's not a daily occurance.  as was mentioned already it's not painful whatsoever as long as you push the skin away from the flange, not pull on the flange.  the only time i've used an adhesive remover is when i changed a flange an hour after i installed it...short wear times like that i guess need the remover help...never had to use it otherwise.

--matt

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