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Stoma Tips

Have you heard of the term ‘granuloma’? It is a common side effect of having an ostomy and can be easily dealt with by your stoma care nurse.  Basically a granuloma is your skin healing up on broken skin; they look like little red lumps around your stoma site and some can bleed or be uncomfortable. You can get them from friction caused by your bag or your peristomal skin being sore or damaged. Your stoma nurse can remove these with silver nitrate which can sting a bit but it shrinks them down to nothing over a short period of time. It is a very similar treatment to what they use for warts. I had a couple of granulomas when I...

Having an ostomy can feel like one thing after another and it isn’t always fun and games. We go through the possible minefields of finding out what foods agree with us and wont cause us blockages to trying to stay hydrated enough. The one thing new and old ostomates often find a struggle is getting the right appliance and routine that works for you. On my personal blog have reviewed all the different bags I have tried over the last three years and the main thing I have learnt is having the right items doesn’t always have to be from the same brand or even the same items each time; I have a bit of a pick and mix going...

Are you new to having an ostomy? Did you know you if you maybe eligible (UK only) to get up to 6 garments a year which usually include underwear, support garments and support belts. In this post I want to talk to you a little about how you go about using this service. Firstly it does sometimes seem to be down to your GP’s discretion as to whether you need to have a medical exemption card or not so you may want to check with them first. The main point that I want to get across is that you don’t want to order lots of things at once because they may not suit your needs or fit. The best way...

So what do I mean when I say “flush”? Well it basically means how close your stoma sits to the skin on your abdomen. You often see people with stoma’s (not generally urostomies) that have quite a protruding stoma and that isn’t because of a prolapse but just the length the surgeon created it to be. I have often found that with people I have spoken too the ones with longer stomas tend to have had a loop surgery. This basically means everything is still attached inside but their stoma is formed whilst their insides are healing, this can be temporary or some people have it like that for as long as they feel comfortable with. My ileostomy is very...

Hopefully we are getting to that time of year again where the weather shows some promise of getting warmer and with that promise I wanted to talk again about hydration and just how important it is for all ostomates. For years we get told to drink more water or to ensure we are drinking enough fluids and whilst that is true as ostomates we have to be very careful about what we are drinking. I believe that it is something we should be aware of all year round to be honest because in winter we have the heating on and that can also affect our hydration, but we are generally speaking less active and notice it less. Then in the...

I have to admit I am pretty darn lucky when it comes to my stoma I have very few issues with it; generally it is just trying to regulate my output as one day it can be so thick it pancakes or becomes incredibly watery. However I know it may pale in comparison to some of the skin issues some people suffer with but the patches of eczema that are under my base plate drive me crazy.I have never really suffered with skin issues except dry skin and two random patches of eczema one under my breast and one behind the back of my knee. These are often itchy but are thankfully come and go, however the patches that turned...

You may know by now that stoma’s off all types can come in different shapes and sizes due to the type of ostomy you have. But did you know that they can change shape too?  Now I can only from experience talk about ileostomies (as that’s what I have) But yes they can in fact change shape! Both of my stoma nurses have over the last three years have had differing opinions on the shape of my stoma because when my stomach is relaxed it was oval and when stretched it was round. To combat this I had been using an oval convex bag from Peak Medical but cutting the hole round. Last week I had a routine appointment to...

This week I wanted to share with you what I found helpful in preparing myself for ostomy surgery. Some of these may not be for everyone but I took to Twitter to ask other ostomates what they did too. Preparing for any surgery can be a scary time; whether it is your choice or is an emergency – some emergency surgery isn’t a case of deciding and then whoosh you’re in theatre it could still be a day or two wait. I found that I felt like I shouldn’t be scared about my surgery because it was something I fought to have but deep inside I was fighting myself as I was still terrified but the other side of me...

 hopefully won’t have to use this either ever again (wishful thinking) or very rarely but I have spent a good chunk of my life in and out of hospital and I have learnt a thing or two that was helpful for admissions. So I thought for those who may be new to chronic illness I would do a little post on what I do for those just in case moments. I always have a bag packed because if I am in a lot of pain I really don’t want to be faffing about packing a bag, plus since having my ostomy 00Steve doesn’t know what I use – now don’t get me wrong he would definitely grab me some bags but...

Christmas with an ostomy can be a scary thing what with potential visitors, visiting others and the Christmas feast to contend with. However it isn’t something to worry too much over and after your first festive season under your (ostomy) belt you may think to yourself what is all the fuss was about. This is my third Christmas with my ileostomy although the first doesn’t really count as i was three months pregnant and completely off my food. I wanted to share my top tips for “surviving” the festive season with you all – now bare in mind I have an ileostomy so these may not affect you but hopefully at least something is of use! I have in my...