Having an ostomy necessitates you to care for it, or it will affect your quality of life. A significant part of ostomy care refers to the use of the right ostomy pouch and caring for your stoma and the skin around it.

If you have a colostomy, you may choose to irrigate it to have control over when to have bowel movements. You will need to discuss with your doctor if you want to irrigate your colostomy.

You can learn about how to take care of your ostomy from ostomy care nurses, who are generally available in the medical centers across the city.

In this article, we will discuss how to care for a colostomy or ileostomy.

Caring for your ostomy

The most convenient way to care for your ostomy is to empty and change your pouching system when needed. You will need to wear an ostomy pouch to collect your bodily waste and gas. The best practice is to empty or replace it when it is one-third to half full. Make sure to prevent the pouch from getting too full, or it will become too heavy for the skin barrier. The extra weight will raise the risk of the skin barrier losing hold of the skin.

Ostomy pouches can be drainable or closed-end. Drainable pouches come with an open end, which can be secured with a clip or clamp. You can empty it by squeezing waste contents out of the bag after removing the clip. You can reuse this pouch after emptying it.

The second type of pouches includes closed-end ostomy bags. These bags have a sealed bottom, meaning that those are meant to be used once. Once the bag is full, you will need to replace it with the new one.

Replacing an ostomy appliance

How often you are going to have to replace your ostomy pouch will depend on the type of ostomy and the pouching system you prefer. If you are using a closed-end, one-piece ostomy pouch, you will need to replace it every day. Most pouches can remain in place for 3-7 days. You will need to change the pouching system immediately if you notice leakage of the stomal output underneath the skin barrier.

Here is how to change an ostomy pouch.

• First, you will need to prepare an ostomy pouch. This preparation mainly involves the creation of an opening in the skin barrier. You will need to make sure that the opening is right according to the shape and size of your stoma. It is generally easier to work with a two-piece ostomy appliance because it allows you to handle the flange element separately. You will need to snap the pouch on after placing the skin barrier element on to the skin.
• To remove the old pouching system, press the skin around the edges of the skin barrier; and, at the same time, pull the skin barrier away from the peristomal skin. Make sure that you are doing it gently.
• After removing the old ostomy pouch, clean your skin well. Be sure not to rub, as it can irritate the skin. Use warm, clean water to rinse the skin. If there is any adhesive residue left on the peristomal skin area, use an adhesive remover to clear it away.
• Put the pouching system on while making sure that it fits around the stoma nicely. Neither should it be too narrow to strangle the stoma nor should it be too wide to expose the peristomal skin. Use your fingers to work around on the barrier to remove creases to make sure that the skin barrier settles evenly on the skin area.

To know more about ostomy care, you may want to talk to your doctor or ostomy care nurse.