Sorry I cant help as I have never used those I have used stomahesive Past & poeder it helps with the skin irritation & healing
Thank you for the information. I actually did order some of the powder as well but I don't have any idea how to use it (i.e., in what order, etc.). The only thing the hospital gave us was the stoma paste and we've had no real counseling on the colostomy. We were shown how to do change it 1x and that was it. So any information or instruction you can provide would be greatly appreciated. For example, I don't know how often the bag "needs" to be changed, etc. I've heard the wafer needs changing anywhere from 3 to 7 days but that's about all I know. Thanks again for any information.
Dear Rosemarie
I am sorry to hear that your mum is having so much hassles. I had loads of leaks etc and the best thing that helped me was Cavilon spray. You spray it on just before you put the bag back on, it dries up in two seconds then put the bag on, it will stick. It also helps to heal the bad skin around the stoma. I change my bag every other day as the seals start to break down. This helps with leaks and bad skin, so try that. When taking the bag off, try using medical adhesive remover spray, it peels the wafers off really nice and does not let you pull at the skin too much.
Good luck, and your pray mum and you get better soon.Bless you
Rop
Well i have an ileostomy, just a bag on the other side, my whole colon was taken out about 4 months ago after unsuccessful treatment for Ulcerative Colitis. I had some awesome ET nurses (Enterostomal...the ones who train you on your ostomy), and i learned alot, and you just pick up tricks as you go. But who wants to wait when i can just tell you what i know so far?
first of all, the bag changing...i would definitely do it every other day (not every day cuz you will only irritate teh skin more by continually pulling off wafers) while the skin is still irritated. I had alot of irritation, mainly cuz my skin reacted to the adhesive in the bag system i was using (you may want to experiment with different bags...you can go online and search under ostomy bags to find companies like Hollister (the company i use) who will send you free trials of bags so you dont have to buy them until you see how they work for you. There are 1 and 2-piece systems, just depends on how your skin lays, prevents leaks if the wafer lies flat. I have to add some Flextend Skin Barrier (just a sheet of adhesive like stuff) to even out my tummy ( i am way underweight due to 40 lb weight loss after surgery) so the wafer has a flat surface to stick to.
Making it stick- Definitely use some Cavilon spray or No-sting skin barrier (also spray on) to get things to stick better so it lessens the chance of a leak.
Paste-most pastes have alcohol in them that just BURN already irritated skin, not much you can do but find one that hurts the least...i use Adapt paste, much less painful generally, but sure does hurt at first...
Cutting the bag-fitting it- you want to make sure you get the wafer as close to the stoma as possible in order to prevent irritation/leaks, and be sure to use as much paste as you need to fill in the gap (miniscule as it may be) between the stoma and the skin...VERY important. Also, when you put the paste on, make sure you let it dry before you put the bag on it, so you can spread it out...you want to make sure the stoma has room to evacuate without pulling off a big glob of paste with it and compromising the seal...i just push it back with a wet q-tip around the outside of the wafer, next to the stoma, and i tap it down so i know there is paste preventing a leak down on the skin by the stoma.
Cleaning the skin-definitely only adhesive remover (which you still have to rub a bit, just do it slowly so you dont hurt the poor thing) or water...no soap or other products. Let air hit the skin for as long as you can...have some gauze or my fave, paper towel (TP is too flimsy) to catch anything that comes out while you are airing it...it needs the air like any part of your skin does...the more air it gets the better it will heal up...
I think that is it...if i remember more ill post again...any question be SURE to email me...i cant believe you didnt get proper training, what a crock! This is soooo important! ndturp@yahoo.com
~Eileen
Currently taking ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
NO PREDNISONE!
Current weight loss-40 lbs!!!!!
It will always get better...always
Thank you so much Eileen for the information you've provided me. I do have a couple more questions for you if you have a chance. It sounds like you put the stoma paste on the skin, is that correct? The one time the nurse showed me how to use it she put it on the inside rubber part of the wafer. When I tried it, the paste did squeeze out and cover more of the stoma than I wanted it to. Am I understanding you correctly about putting the paste on the skin around the stoma and then letting it dry? Also, when then do you use the skin barrier? Is it before the stoma paste? Sorry for all of these questions but I don't have a clue what I'm doing. Thanks so much for taking the time to share all this info with me.
Well i wish someone would have told me all this too, so no problem, any way i can help!
As to the paste, you put it on the inside of the wafer, the way the nurse did, i must have sounded all jumbled sorry. You put a relatively generous circle around the pre-cut whole where the stoma will fit through, then you slap it on the skin you have sprayed with skin-prep which only needs about 2 seconds to dry (skin barrier i guess you can use interchangeably, the term i mean. There is the spray stuff, awesome. Then there is the stuff i use to flatten the surface of my stomach, which is in a sheet and you cut to fit where you need it, not the same thing for sure though.). You want to put pressure on it for about 5 minutes, pushing the stuff that squeezes out around the stoma to the sides, and packing it down lightly to make sure it is a good barrier under the wafer...does that make better sense?
Lemme know if this helps!
~eileen
Currently taking ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
NO PREDNISONE!
Current weight loss-40 lbs!!!!!
It will always get better...always
~eileen
Currently taking ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
NO PREDNISONE!
Current weight loss-40 lbs!!!!!
It will always get better...always
Thanks Eileen. It makes sense. Until this forum, I hadn't heard of a skin prep spray. They told me to use the skin prep wipes. I learned about the skin barrier sheets on the internet and I'm sure that they would help my mom. She has osteoporosis and so has pretty much lost her waist. As a result, she has a few lines and folds where they normally wouldn't be. She has psoriasis and her skin is very sensitive so I'm want to do my best to protect it as much as possible but I think I'm afraid of covering up the stoma in the process. What is the difference between the skin prep "spray" versus "wipes"? Have you ever used the protective powder?
Thanks again for sharing.
Rosemarie
well the spray makes the skin really tacky really quickly, as soon as you spray you can slap that sucker on...the wipes i havent used, so i dont have much to say on that. But i can tell you the spray you can spray all over, on the skin (even the broken skin..thats why i use no-sting) and on the stoma, it wont hurt anything. The only wipes i know of are the ones i use to get the adhesive of excess paste off when i have removed a bag. So if you are worried about the stoma, at least with the spray you can have at it without worrying about hurting the stoma.
The powder ROCKS...i use it all the time. My seals break a bit more often cuz of the weird skeletal look of my body now, so i get skin eaten away every once in a while, i change it when i feel the burn, but the skin in the very least is a bit red from irritation. You just put some powder on a finger (gloved of course, since the skin is broken or irritated already...you can get gloves at any med supply store, make sure you get latex free if you or your mom is allergic) and tap it onto the affected skin. Its a much easier way of doing it that attempting to shoot it from the bottle onto the skin, that can be too messy. When you put the powder on, make sure the skin is dry, and you want to use it before any skin prep, since its job is to heal the skin and it needs to be in direct contact for that. When you apply it, just blow off any excess, and then be sure to run a wet cloth around the area around the powdered section, because you want to make sure no excess is on the skin around the area, since it can affect how the bag sticks...then spray and slap on that bag and hold it down for about 5 minutes to make sure you get a good seal...if you get a two piece you can push away that paste like we talked about after you slap it on, then attach your baggie and youre good to go...or your mom is, that is!
So, is this clear? i have a tendency to ramble on, so please ask any questions you have, i know i can be jumbly...
~Eileen
p.s. as to eakin seals, i think you mentioned those once, they work for some and not for others. They actually reversed on me, causing the seal to pull away from the skin, and burning my skin...i guess i developed an allergy to it pretty quickly...ouch! But when it does work, it works wonders for people, so i would at the very least give it a shot. it comes in a sheet, so you just cut a strip, roll it quickly (handle it as little as possible) between your hands into a snake, and wrap that where you would normally put the paste on that wafer, then slap it on...
Currently taking ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!
NO PREDNISONE!
Current weight loss-40 lbs!!!!!
It will always get better...always