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Has the NHS served you well as an Ostomate?

Your undies might not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering your skin health around your stoma or surgical wound, but they can have a very critical part to play in keeping your skin healthy. Lets uncover why?   When it comes to our skincare routines, we often focus on the products we apply directly to our skin, the lotions, moisturisers, or scrubs etc but have you ever considered the role of the fabrics you wear in promoting skin health? Fabric wicking, a remarkable feature found in many modern textiles, offers significant benefits to our skin. So let’s delve into the world of fabric wicking and learn exactly why it is essential to your skin health. Understanding...

Introduction:  Living with a stoma can be a life-changing experience, and finding the right support wear is crucial for comfort, confidence, and overall well-being. Whether you have a colostomy, ileostomy, or urostomy, selecting the optimal stoma support wear can significantly enhance your quality of life. In this blog, we will explore the key factors to consider when choosing stoma support wear, along with example case studies that illustrate the benefits it can provide. Understanding Stoma Support Wear: Stoma support wear refers to specialized undergarments and accessories designed to support and protect the stoma, while also providing comfort and discretion. The right support wear can help prevent leakage, reduce the risk of skin irritation, reduce the risk of developing a hernia...

Having a stoma comes with its own ups and downs. Many of us have different experiences however I can imagine most of us experience the same problem with having a stoma – the horrible red, itchy and/or sore skin around the stoma (known as Peristomal Skin) Peristomal skin problems are usually very common however these are not normal, but the good news is that these can be resolved. As the saying goes, prevention is better than the cure, but if you notice any bumps, discolouration, red or purple patches in the peristomal area and you skin is sore, itchy, or painful, then this may be a sign you have a peristomal skin problem. If you notice any of these symptoms,...

Recently I have faced quite a few struggles with my ileostomy and they have taken quite the toll on my mental health; this comes after having my ostomy for over 4 years and having little to no issues prior to this. Some of the struggles I have been experiencing are: leaks – I do suffer with leaks but these have been happening far more often than usual sore peristomal skin itching increase in retraction swelling blockages soreness stoma cramping – this is probably my bowel kinking or becoming caught on adhesions and my goodness it is some of the most debilitating pain I have ever been in! To an extent I have experienced all of these before but not to this...

You may, or may not, have seen the recent news last week regarding a male Inflammatory Bowel Disease patient, aged 34, at Barnsley hospital being given the right to die because he didn’t want to live with a permanent stoma bag. Before I go any further with this blog post, I am going to say that I am in no way making this about me and taking anything away from the man’s struggles & the struggles of his loved ones having to see him get to this dark place in his life. I am merely expressing my opinion & in no way is my opinion fact. It is what I feel and I believe we should all have the right...

You may, or may have never, heard of this term. You may have also heard it being spoken about along with protruding or retracting stomas. A flush stoma is a stoma that sits level with the abdominal skin level. My experience with a flush stoma I have had issues with this, which was caused by a narrowing just before skin level, just inside my abdominal cavity a few centimeters behind my stoma. The narrowing was causing my stoma to be pulled back down to the skin level. A few things can cause a flush stoma such as surgical technique, a narrowing behind the stoma as I have just mentioned, weight gain/loss and it can also simply just occur over time...

Starting the year as I mean to go on but what exactly do I mean by that? Well it is obviously around my stoma but it is divided into three parts! They are: my ostomy supplies my diet my fitness They look like the beginnings of resolutions but I’m not thinking of them as such, so how do I plan on doing this? Firstly the stoma supplies – as we all know the NHS isn’t in exactly the best position to keep providing us with ostomy supplies on a free prescription we need to keep on top of what we have and how much we are ordering. Now this can be a bit of an awkward one as we try...

Firstly I would like to apologise to all my lovely readers for being a day late but the sickness bug had hit the Simpson household! Firstly with Ra-Ra being sick, then my bag kept filling up – I managed to be safe from vomiting as I took some anti sickness after laying on the kitchen floor dry heaving at 5:30 in the morning. 00Steve then was sick and got migraines and the only person who seemed free of the bug was Button although he was sick a few days before. I have done a post before on what it is like being “normal” person sick when chronically sick. But now onto the partial blockages as I suffered that the night leading...

So this week’s post is a little late as my house was hit by the 24 hr tummy bug and along with a partial blockage I got struck by it twice! I wanted to talk about a little about my experiences with a smaller tummy bug rather than the gastroenteritis I suffered with last year! And how it all affected us differently. So it technically began on my birthday (26th) and my kiddies went to stay with their Grandma so that 00Steve and I could have the night to ourselves – not that we had anything planned in particular. His youngest brother still lives at home and his girlfriend often stays on the weekend. She ended up being the first person to...