For any healthy person, thoughts of having a stoma can be daunting, but what’s necessary to know here is that a stoma doesn’t aim for making a person’s life complicated, or unhealthy. Instead, it helps that person to spend a healthier life. That said, the key to living an active and healthy life with a stoma is to be good at using the stoma care products. The stoma is a diversion that redirects stool or urine from its related tract and allows it to pass through the opening in the abdominal wall. That means a stoma doesn’t have the sphincter muscles that allow a person to control the waste evacuation. When there is a bowel movement, and bodily waste needs to evacuate from the body, the stoma lets that evacuation to happen. The only way an ostomate can avoid his hands or clothes from getting dirty is to use stoma care products. In this article, we are going to talk about a few, but most crucial, stoma care products. Closed bag A closed bag is the one whose bottom is sewn, which essentially makes it a disposable ostomy pouch. This ostomy bag is ideal for patients with colostomy that produce more firm stool. The patient needs to change the ostomy bag when it’s full. Open/drainable bag As the name suggests, this bag allows the patient to empty the bad. That means you can use this bag again after getting the stomal output out of it. These ostomy bags generally have a clip at the bottom. Removing that clip allows the inner content to flow out of the ostomy bag. This bag is ideal for the patients whose waste has a liquid consistency. Patients with ileostomies are also eligible to use these bags. Urostomy bag From the perspective of functionality, a urostomy bag is similar to an open/drainable bag. The only difference is a small tap in the bottom that allows the urine to flow out of the urostomy bag. One-piece ostomy bag A one-piece ostomy bag is a single unit with the pouch and the skin barrier integrated into it. That means if you want to change the pouch, you are going to have to get the wafer off from the skin. Two-piece ostomy bag A two piece-ostomy bag is a pouching system consisting of the bag and the skin barrier as separate but connectible units. You can connect the skin barrier with the peristomal skin around the stoma, and then connect the bag with that wafer. A significant benefit of this ostomy bag is that you can change the bag portion without detaching the skin wafer from the skin. Skincare products
Stomal output can be highly irritating for the skin around the stoma. The good news is that several skincare products are here to help an ostomate from prepping the skin for the skin barrier to removing adhesive from the peristomal skin.
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An ostomy alters the way your feces or urine leave your body. It involves surgical construction of an opening in the abdominal region. This opening is called a stoma. And to manage your ostomy, you may have to carry an ostomy bag the entire time. This situation begs the question if you can return to your normal life with an ostomy. Can you go outside for a walk? Can you ride your bike like before ostomy surgery? Can your return to having a normal diet? Well, let’s find out. Ostomy diet considerations Except for some specific circumstances, you should be able to have a normal diet, which may also include what you like to eat. But remember, the intake of foods that have been producing gas before ostomy surgery will still produce gas. And since your ostomy tends to behave differently as compared to your normal excretory pathway, you might feel more discomfort with the gas production. Similarly, you do not want to have problems such as constipation, diarrhea, odor, and incomplete digestion while you have an ostomy to manage. These problems can be uncomfortable as well as embarrassing. Physical activity and ostomy You can engage in any type of sport activity of your liking, unless you are fond of contact sports. The problem with contact sports is the heightened risk of injury, which can be specifically harmful for a stoma. Apart from that, you can resume intense physical training after talking with your physician. However, you need to be wary about the possibility of abdominal muscles interfering with your stoma. It is necessary to ask your doctor for the guidance about the level of workout intensity that you need to maintain. To avoid complications, your doctor may advise you to avoid lifting weight. That restriction is going to remain in effect until your stoma and abdominal muscles heal properly. Going to work with an ostomy Going to work is not as intense activity as engaging in sports. Therefore, your doctor is not going to ask you to avoid going to work unless you are too much mentally upset. Furthermore, your stoma is going to be more prone to injury if your work involves a lot of lifting and physical exertion. If you feel nervous about your condition and possibility of it affecting your work, you can talk to your employer. And regarding how to not let your ostomy become an obstruction in your professional routine, you can ask your doctor or ostomy care nurse. Hiding an ostomy
You can hide your ostomy from other people if you want. However, managing your ostomy flawlessly is the key to success. For this purpose, you are going to have to note patterns of your bowel movement that prompts you to get up and have a pouch discharge or change. If you are planning on interacting with people in your social circle, make sure that your ostomy doesn’t make you to rush to the bathroom during a conversation. Remember, your ostomy might become a permanent feature of you. But it is not going to make you anticipate a difficult life. All you need to do is to make sure that you are good at managing your stoma. And for that purpose, you will need to remain in contact with your doctor and ostomy care nurse. Imagine a person suffering from agonizing pain in the abdominal region. It happens to almost everyone. But for some, its reason can be more complicated than what you may think. For instance, illnesses such as Crohn’s Disease and diverticulitis require more than just a pain-relieving treatment. A colonoscopy revealing colorectal cancer is also bad news for a person. And in several cases, motility issues make the bowel to stop functioning. These factors can lead to a person requiring either a colostomy or ileostomy surgery. Depending on the case, the doctor may promise the patient an ostomy reversal, which is another surgical process aimed at restoring the function of the natural excretory pathway. The patients who are eligible for ostomy reversal are the ones with temporary ostomies. While it entirely depends on how long the colon will take to heal, doctors commonly perform reversal procedures after six months.
Reversal procedure, after the colon fully heals, is meant to be a smooth process. However, it is not in many cases. Several people lose functionality of their colon, or a part of it, in 6-12 months due to the colon’s inactivity, only to not get it back again. For instance, in many cases, the sphincter muscles of the rectum lose their function, leading the patient needing to be highly attentive to the bowel movements. In some cases, the connection becomes too narrow to allow smooth passage of the stool along the colon. That can result in bowel obstructions due to the backup of stool. And in several cases, the surgeon may opt for an ostomy reversal out of good intentions, but the patient is not the right candidate due to the illness or overall weak state of health. The reason I am talking on this unpleasant subject is that you need to be prepared for anything if you have a colostomy or ileostomy. Even if your doctor tells you that your ostomy would be a temporary one, you need to be good at making assessments about your health. Of course, your doctor will run tests to determine if you are eligible for reversal. But you are going to have to make sure that your GI tract, particularly at the location of rectum and anus, is ready to handle frequent bowel movements. That said, it is necessary to discuss with your doctor whether a reversal procedure will put your life back on track. You will also need to discuss the possibility of your GI tract failing to respond to the reversal procedure the way you expect. And if such a thing happens, how long will it take for your GI tract to regain its normal function? Finding answers to these questions will be plenty helpful. |
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