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Stoma Tips

Christmas time can feel overwhelming for a lot of people at the best of times, then there's adding an ostomy into the mix! It's fair to say that you are not alone if you are worried about navigating Christmas, but thankfully, there are some top tips in this post from fellow ostomates...

Whether you're new to ostomy life or whether you've had an ostomy for a few years, several years or more, it's normal to come across things that you may find a little more difficult to navigate. It's also normal to also find some things challenge. Not everyone experiences the same challenges but at the same time, no ostomy is the same from person to person. Everyone experiences ostomy life differently.

A stoma is considered to be prolapsed when the bowel protrudes to a larger extent than anticipated. This can vary for the individual, anything from a few centimetres to more than ten. Experiencing a stoma prolapse can be distressing and hard to come to terms with, however, it is usually not said to be serious. An ostomy prolapse must be looked at by a medical professional such as a stoma nurse. A larger bag or larger ostomy bag hole may be needed, for example, to account for the prolapse.

Having ostomy surgery can understandably be a daunting prospect and it's perfectly normal to feel scared & unsure.  Today, we would like to be myth-busters (move aside, Ghostbusters) and take you through some of the below myths to reassure you.

You are sore and perhaps bloated from surgery, not feeling quite like yourself. You may be relying on medication, and testing your food tolerances with your new accessory to see what you can and can’t tolerate. With all this in mind, what seemed as simple as going out to catch up with a friend over coffee can bring up many questions: What toilet facilities are there? Do I need a radar key if I need disabled toilet facilities? Will I need to empty my bag there? (You may not have done this in public yet) What happens if my bag leaks and needs changing? Can I have caffeine?

Now the weather is getting colder, it can be handy to be aware of ways in which the colder weather can affect ostomy life.  See it as your self-efficient hot water bottle, if you like! Providing it isn't a leak and output stays in the bag, see it as your little winter warmer!

It is easy to assume when an ostomy is concerned that it is a messy, dirty situation for those involved! Unless you are not getting on with your ostomy appliance, that simply shouldn’t be the case at all (apart from a leak of course). Keeping your ostomy clean is not only best for you practically whilst you carry on with your day to day life, but as important as your daily hygiene. Your ostomy should be kept clean just as the rest of your body. Put simply, your ostomy is your anus that’s had a visit from Phil and Kirsty and relocated up north!

One of the most common questions as you start to adapt to life with a stoma is "what is the best way to sleep with a stoma?" Especially if you were a stomach sleeper before your surgery, even doing something so natural as sleeping can seem quite the challenge! Add hospital nights with beeping machines and being woken up what seemed like a zillion times to get your blood pressure checked and even getting back into some sort of sleeping routine can often take a good while. 

It is a comforting feeling when your ostomy supplies delivery arrives on your doorstep. After your door shuts, how do you go about organising your ostomy supplies? Do you store them all in one place or have some in different rooms? Are you super organised and label where everything is or do you put them in a drawer and hope for the best? However your organisation style may be, we are going to give you 5 ways to store your ostomy supplies below. 

Hot weather - you either love it or hate it! However, if you have an ostomy, it can cause problems. Hot weather can and does cause problems in ostomy life, but everybody is different and is affected to different extents. Knowing how to handle hot weather with an ostomy and how you may need to adapt your daily routine definitely helps and also enables you to feel more in control. Read on for some tips to help make the heat more bearable!