Find the Best Ostomy Gear

If you just got out of surgery or are pretty new to the whole world of having a stoma then this may be a good article for you.  I struggled to find the right things that would allow me to live the life that I wanted.  This is not because I am unique or have a strangely shaped stoma, although some people do.  I think it is because I didn't want to change my life at all.  I enjoy being an active person and love being outside and enjoying the great outdoors.  I think this is why I struggled with finding gear that simply worked for me.  Now, I am by no means the most athletic person and don't pretend to be an expert but I know that we are all different that what works for one person with a stoma does not work for another necessarily.  So that whole issue got me into trouble and I want you to be able to avoid my mistakes and to find the perfect ostomy gear for you.  So here is how I go about learning about gear and where to find it.  There are many places to look and most have problems, but they all have benefits as well.

 

Now in real life, I still admit that there usually is nothing better than in person information from a professional.  That means that the best advice that I can give is to find knowledgeable people who have used the gear or create the gear to be the best option.  That means that my first suggestion is to go find professionals in the field and most people only have to look to their phone or right down the road to the pharmacy.  For me, it was going to my local pharmacy to talk to the head pharmacist that put me on the right path for learning. 

 

This gentleman worked for 30 years in the industry and had purchased tons of brands and talked with thousands of people who had a stoma.  He stocked the gear that worked for them and he had had hundreds of conversations about it.  This means that this doctor had a lot of experience in why he liked certain companies and what they did for his customers.  He spends probably 20 minutes talking me through all his gear and gave suggestions for me and also other places to look and shop.  His goal was to have the best basics for most situations, but he knew that for specialty gear that others could get it at better prices from online locations and he led people to those locations.  He also told me to talk to the big companies because they had customer service agents who were knowledgeable in their products and how they worked for different people.

 

So I took his advice and called those companies up and asked all the questions I had. In the end, they gave me way more questions and knowledge than I had even thought of.  This was amazing and they sent me some free samples to see what may work best for me.  The experience was positive and all these people and companies earned some loyalty. 

But I also cross analyzed this information with social media and online forums from people with stomas.   It was a great way to learn what worked best for me and I hope it does for you.

The causes of A prolapsed Stoma

A prolapsed stoma can be quite surprising and scary! But you shouldn’t panic, it’s not life-threatening in most cases. In a lot of instances, they’re treated without surgery. It’s common in some cases later on after the stoma forms. While prolapses occur in different kinds of ostomies, it’s commonly seen in the loop version. But we’ll discuss what happens, and some tips as well if it does. A prolapsed stoma of course is when it becomes way bigger than normal, sometimes extending much further outwards than it should.

 

Causes 

The causes usually involve the muscles getting weak. Other reasons may involve the following: 

• Pregnancy 

• Lifting too heavy 

• Weight gain or obesity 

When the abdominal muscles aren’t strong enough, this also causes the stoma to pop out, especially when you are moving about through the day. It can reoccur especially if you’ve prolapsed once. This if of course, due to the weakness that was created because of the abdominal pressure as well. 

What to Do 

The first thing is to not panic of course. But if it does happen, you should contact the stoma nurse. If it’s normal after surgery, then they’ll tell you how you can take care of this. If the prolapse is working normally and is a color that’s healthy or reddish, it means that it isn’t very concerning. However, you should get a ruler and monitor how big it is while you stand upright. You can then check it again and again as it gets bigger in size. As long as this does naturally reduce when resting or even lying down, it can be pushed into place gently, and it’s generally not a concern. You should worry if it’s purple or blackish, is painful, starts to ulcerate, or it doesn’t function period. 

Does it Always Change Appearances 

In most cases, it does, simply because it’s swelling and is bigger in size. However, you may want to cut the aperture size accordingly to prevent these leaks, the skin sores, and the ulceration that comes from this. The stoma nurse may show you techniques in order to apply your pouch without compromising how the adhesion fits, such as maybe putting a split on the paper that’s used to release and the like. They may also encourage you to use washers and seals to learn how to adapt your aperture of the pouch in order to protect the skin area, allowing for the prolapse to expand as needed. 

If the prolapsed stoma fills the pouch you’re using, the stoma nurse may tell you about some special types of prolapsed pouches that are longer and bigger, so that the bottom of this won’t rub the end of it. It also may be good to consider a two-piece system to help with the flange as well, since that may be an option for some people, but it may be a little awkward. There is also a support garment for this that you can wear. You may also want to consider the “stoma shield” as a helpful action, but only if the prolapse is able to be reduced. You should be careful of support garments or lighter clothing, since it can cause trauma and reduce the blood supply to the stoma. You may want to possibly look into surgical intervention if the blood supply begins to be compromised, especially if there’s an obstruction that’s associated with your stoma, and if it affects the quality of your life. You may want to talk to your stoma surgeon in that case, since they may do something to help you. 

Ecommerce and Stoma's are a great match

Knowledge is power and I think that saving a little here and there can be really useful over the long run! I think the same thing applies for when you are looking for ostomy gear as well.  I am a firm believer that we should be using the best gear for us and not what someone says is best.  This goes for a lot of the world today and that people push their opinions and agendas on us with only their intentions in mind.  For myself, I like to let people choose what works best and I am a firm believer that when it comes to your stoma that only you can be the judge of this.  I learned that everyone is different and that what works best for say the best athlete in the world doesn't work best for me.  I think shopping is pretty important. It can be the difference between being rich and poor.

If things go well you will get a great Nurse after your surgery.  I know that I certainly did and this lady changed my life.  My nurse gave me advice on what to look for and who to talk to about learning even more about my stoma and how to find good gear.  Her first advice to me was to go and talk to many local pharmacies and to see what brands they carried and why.  This was a great way for me to get out and talk about my condition with others, which I was really afraid to do. But I took her advice and learned a whole lot from different perspectives.  I loved talking with the pharmacist because they are a doctor and salesman.  It is part of their job to run a store that is based on sales and people like good items.  It was a fun conversation.

Now I do all my own research to learn all that I can about different products. Some online company's catalogs of items were drastic and huge and I didn't know what I was getting into.  So I talked with a lot of representatives and even some higher up designers and engineers and found things out about hi activity items or swimming items.  Different philosophies of gear and why people made items. But It was useful and I learned a lot about what worked for me.

I went to social media to see what I could learn from others in my situation.  I saw social media starts and people paid to promote.  I found forums with lots of different people's ideas on topics that some made no sense. But all in all, it was a super cool and awesome situation.  With all of this in mind, I took a lot of information and started to move it into my life and get samples of items that I thought would fit my lifestyle best.  I found that purchasing online was the best price, but that I would be at the mercy of not knowing it if would work first.  So companies would directly send samples to me for free and that allowed me to shop more wisely after trying the item.  I suggest doing this before buying. I really do suggest doing a lot of work on your own and learning all you can.  There is nothing better than becoming your own expert.

 

How you can Avoid Ostomy Odors

If you’re someone who deals with ostomy odors and complications, you may wonder if there is anything you can do. The same question may be after you get one, and you wonder I there is anything that you can do better. You may wonder how you can stop these embarrassing smells and odors. Well, you’re in luck, because here we’ll discuss how you can make sure that you have less ostomy odors as well. 

The appliance matters 

You want to make sure you’ve got the best ostomy supplies that fit. Something that sits snugly against the stoma does reduce leaks and odors as well. Whenever you do change form one appliance to another, check to ensure that there aren’t any other skin irritations and the like, and make sure that there isn’t. You have a lot that you can use, so don’t be afraid to try out a few things to help you figure out what’s best. 

Empty the Pouch a Lot 

This may seem obvious, but the more you have in the pouch, the more likely it will have odors, or it may leak due to how much that you have in there. Don’t be afraid to empty it whenever you can, and usually, don’t let it get over halfway through for best results. 

Deodorize it 

If you’re worried about it smelling while you’re out in public, you should get those Deodorizing tablets and drops to help make sure that your ostomy pouch doesn’t smell. This can help to eliminate odors too. There are some pouches that come with the filters too right before you put it on. You can also have a deodorant spray as well, which you can spray in there to hide the odors as well. 

Avoid Certain foods 

If you know that there are foods that make you gassy, try to eliminate them. This can include fibrous foods, since this also causes gas as well. Sugar also can cause this too. You also should avoid certain smelly foods such as cabbage, broccoli, apples, beans, nuts, beer, eggs dairy products, alcohol, and also soda too. 

That doesn’t mean you can never have them again. You totally can. But make sure the pouch is emptied a lot, and you use a deodorizer after you eat them to help with making sure that the smells aren’t there. There are some veggies and fruits that’ll cause fewer smells, so if you make sure that you want to eliminate that, have more of those. Water and yogurt usually are also good for helping to keep odors at bay. Probiotics can also be a good and helpful addition. 

Talk About Medications 

If you notice that you still can’t get rid of the odors that are there try to ask doctors about medications to help reduce this. There are some medications that can help to get rid of smells from the waste you excrete along with flatulence too, so for those gassy people, this could be what you’re looking for. You should ask your doctor, however, about any of the side effects that come with this, and of course any of the other drugs that may be there. 

When it comes to reducing odors and whatnot, it’s important to make sure that you’re mindful of these. Taking care of this in the long haul and making sure that you get the most out of this is important, and you can always ask for more and more help too if you need it, so you can keep all of the odors at bay, and to do it quite fast as well.