1. < Ostomy

Questions about managing a Stoma Pouch

Posted by gordy6898p @gordy6898p, Nov 10, 2023

During the past several months I've had an indwelling Foley catheter and leg bag....

Apparently external stoma pouches have to be frequently drained, every 2-4 hours from what I gather.

It should be easy to simply connect the stoma pouch to a leg bag with a short length of tubing.... perhaps extending drain intervals to 6-8 hours.

Would this be a practical solution?

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Ostomy Support Group.

gordy6898p | @gordy6898p | Jan 22 9:58pm

Thanks, very helpful information......

In my case, the final Chemo #6 was on January 17. My next appointment is scheduled for February 7.

Hopefully, sometime between now and February 7, the VA docs will have decided on the surgery date.

From what I gather, a major concern with stoma care is skin irritation due to urine leakage under the seal adhesive.

Since some urine will continue to seep during bag changes, there should be a way to prevent that.

My thoughts are, why not temporarily, and very carefully, plug the stoma? Using, for example, a Q-tip coated with "Skin Repair Cream."

P.S. Your suggestion of placing the overnight bag in a bucket is a good idea. I rarely use the overnight bag, relying on the leg bag. After I awaken the leg bag is never more than half-full, and my bladder is always empty. The VA nurses discourage me from doing that, but I don't see any problem there.

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harrison221 | @harrison221 | Apr 15 11:08pm
In reply to @gordy6898p "Thanks, I will." + (show)
@gordy6898p

Thanks, I will.

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Call Hollister. They make the bags (pouches) and they will send you samples of bags and other items.

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harrison221 | @harrison221 | Apr 15 11:19pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "@gordy6898p, you may find some useful tips about leakage in this related discussion: - Ileostomy leaks..." + (show)
@colleenyoung

@gordy6898p, you may find some useful tips about leakage in this related discussion:
- Ileostomy leaks and skin care
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/ileostomy-leaks-and-skin-care/
It looks like you've done some extensive searching online about ostomies, so you've probably already seen this article from U of Chicago Medicine. I find it clear and it answers a lot of questions

- A Guide to Ostomy Bags and Pouching Systems https://www.uchicagomedicine.org/conditions-services/colon-rectal-surgery/ostomy/guide-to-pouching-systems

When will you be getting your stoma?

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Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray my skin twice with skin barrier spray before attaching the pouch with the barrier ring installed on the pouch it has not leaked.
Also my Stoma nurse at Mayo told me that you need to cut the hole in your pouch about 1/16 of an inch larger than the Stoma so the barrier ring can creep through between the Stoma and the pouch. If you do it proper you can see a white ring around the Stoma about an hour after changing

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3 replies
harrison221 | @harrison221 | Oct 22 9:17pm

It is something that you will have to try. If done properly I see no reason why it would not work.

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piki | @piki | Oct 23 8:34am
In reply to @harrison221 "Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray..." + (show)
@harrison221

Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray my skin twice with skin barrier spray before attaching the pouch with the barrier ring installed on the pouch it has not leaked.
Also my Stoma nurse at Mayo told me that you need to cut the hole in your pouch about 1/16 of an inch larger than the Stoma so the barrier ring can creep through between the Stoma and the pouch. If you do it proper you can see a white ring around the Stoma about an hour after changing

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The VON (Victorian Order of Nurses, Ontario, Canada, ) call this turtlenecking.

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harrison221 | @harrison221 | Oct 23 1:28pm
In reply to @harrison221 "Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray..." + (show)
@harrison221

Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray my skin twice with skin barrier spray before attaching the pouch with the barrier ring installed on the pouch it has not leaked.
Also my Stoma nurse at Mayo told me that you need to cut the hole in your pouch about 1/16 of an inch larger than the Stoma so the barrier ring can creep through between the Stoma and the pouch. If you do it proper you can see a white ring around the Stoma about an hour after changing

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Update - Cutting the hole 1/8" larger will not work for me. My Stoma is 1 1/16".

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harrison221 | @harrison221 | Oct 27 8:43pm
In reply to @harrison221 "Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray..." + (show)
@harrison221

Because of leakage I change pouches every 3 days. Recently I've discovered that if I spray my skin twice with skin barrier spray before attaching the pouch with the barrier ring installed on the pouch it has not leaked.
Also my Stoma nurse at Mayo told me that you need to cut the hole in your pouch about 1/16 of an inch larger than the Stoma so the barrier ring can creep through between the Stoma and the pouch. If you do it proper you can see a white ring around the Stoma about an hour after changing

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After trying this several times I found that it did not work for me. My hole has to be very near the size of the stoma.

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1 reply
Moderator
Colleen Young, Connect Director | @colleenyoung | Nov 4 3:24pm
In reply to @harrison221 "After trying this several times I found that it did not work for me. My hole..." + (show)
@harrison221

After trying this several times I found that it did not work for me. My hole has to be very near the size of the stoma.

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@harrison221, did you find a solution?

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1 reply
harrison221 | @harrison221 | Nov 4 6:48pm
In reply to @colleenyoung "@harrison221, did you find a solution?" + (show)
@colleenyoung

@harrison221, did you find a solution?

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Not yet. There are no Stoma nurses here. I've been to the Wound Center which is about 50 miles from me twice in the last month but this is a situation that I have to solve myself. I'm trying different Barrier Rings from different companies and hoping that I will reach a solution. If I can't solve the problem I will have to go back to Mayo in Jacksonville which is 300 miles away to see my Stoma Nurse there. Thanks for asking.

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2 replies
lauramae3 | @lauramae3 | Nov 6 9:05am
In reply to @harrison221 "Not yet. There are no Stoma nurses here. I've been to the Wound Center which is..." + (show)
@harrison221

Not yet. There are no Stoma nurses here. I've been to the Wound Center which is about 50 miles from me twice in the last month but this is a situation that I have to solve myself. I'm trying different Barrier Rings from different companies and hoping that I will reach a solution. If I can't solve the problem I will have to go back to Mayo in Jacksonville which is 300 miles away to see my Stoma Nurse there. Thanks for asking.

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fortunately, our Ostomy Clinic is relatively close. We had been using the Coloplast Brava Moldable Ring which apparently was too high and didn't move the feces downward enough causing leakage. The new Hollister Adapt CeraRing Slim #8815 has now been used without any breakthroughs. The Coloplast can still be used by cutting it in half and remolding it to the proper shape. Good luck

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