dry skin around stoma

I have been keeping my Stoma uncovered for a couple of hours before I put the new appliance on. It seems to help my skin some.

Maybe the kind of appliance you are using is too harsh for your skin. The Ostomy nurse can help you with that. There are various adhesives that are used.

Hope you find one that works. I had some troubles with that. They are starting to settle down.

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This heights by great men reached and kept, were not obtained by sudden flight, but they while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.
H.W. Longfellow
Thyroid cancer removed 1988
Stomach problems finally figured out 2001 Crohn's/Colitus
Tried every drug without much success
Colon/rectal cancer removed Aug 2009
Trying

Hi there. I am BRAND NEW to this forum—as in, you are my first reply message.

My 10 year old son has an ileostomy. His surgery was July '09. He is having similar problems, compounded by additional very dry skin around his abdominal scar. (He ended up with the small bowel perforating the muscle, which resulted in a second surgery.) Anyway, we feel your pain!!

We have tried antibiotic ointments, by prescription, that work well on the dry skin which in my son's case, became a rash. We are finally back to just dry skin. The nurses told me to JUST use stoma powder on it.

For the past 2 nights, he has been using a hot wash cloth soaked in hot water & Epsom salts. He removes the bag, and then we wash the area ONLY with water—no soap. No lotion, no adhesive removers to remove the bag. We cover his stoma with damp gauze, careful not to cover the inflamed area. We cover the wet wash cloth again with a heating pad set to low for 20 minutes. Then, we use damp gauze pads (water only) to clean off the are. Then, we sprinkle stoma powder over the red/dry areas. We pat off the excess powder and apply the bag again. We have been doing this for 2 days, and so far, it's looking better. Tonight will be the third night. An added blessing is that he seems to be scratching less at the dry skin.

I hope this helps you! I have joined this forum looking for helpful advice from veterans. I'm happy to help others if I can.

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My 9 year old son was diagnosed with severe ulcerative colitis in March 2009, after ZERO prior symptoms.
Subtotal colectomy July '09.
Pending J-Pouch/Takedown June '10.